Tim Burton and Henry Selick's The Nightmare Before Christmas is a timeless, genre-bending classic, yet the message behind the movie and the character arcs require some deliberation. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, is in a creative slump when he sets out to steal Christmas and execute the holiday himself rather than Santa Claus. In the end, Jack sees the error of his ways, returns Christmas to Santa, and goes on being the Pumpkin King. Along the way, he realizes his love for downtrodden Halloween Town resident Sally, who has always loved him in return.
✕ Remove Ads
The plot is moderately roundabout, but filled with fascinating character and production design, as well as the masterful musical work of Danny Elfman in one of his first movies. The best lyrics and quotes from The Nightmare Before Christmas are deeply impactful, even if viewers don't completely understand why. It is a goofy adventure and thrilling mix of two drastically opposing aesthetics which wasn't appreciated by Disney when Burton first came up with the idea, perhaps in part because the meaning of Jack and Sally's story is subtle, coming together through many minor plot elements.
Jack Skellington Becomes Content Again Through Catastrophe
Jack Should Not Have Taken Over Christmas, But The Disastrous Experience Helps Him Find Meaning In life Again
✕ Remove Ads
It is pretty much a given that at the forefront of The Nightmare Before Christmas is the basic statement: Jack should not have stolen Christmas. This is part of what makes the story confusing, as it may come across to some that the lesson is bluntly to never try anything new. For all his faults, Jack is a deeply resonant character going through a common life experience, imbued with a real person's emotions. Elfman states in the episode of The Movies That Made Us about The Nightmare Before Christmas that he identified with Jack, having grown tired of his rock star career.
Jack arguably just enjoys chaos, but the usual chaos of Halloween Town has become routine for him, so he looks for something new.
✕ Remove Ads
Because of this, Elfman was motivated to provide Jack's singing voice and transitioned to focusing on composing music for movies, but Jack gets a different ending. Through Christmas, Jack finds a new way of doing Halloween and revitalizes his passion for his job. It is a realistic thing to feel miserable and nihilistic because of the mundanity and routine of life, but Jack's character arc has bigger consequences for everyone else involved. Jack arguably just enjoys chaos, but the usual chaos of Halloween Town has become routine for him, so he looks for something new.
Related
Jack Skellington is widely believed to have made his first appearance in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, but his debut actually happened earlier.
✕ Remove Ads
Jack genuinely enjoys the experience of his hectic Christmas, even if the results are bad, which helps him settle back into the role that he actually does like on a good day. A minor flaw in the movie’s story is that it doesn’t provide the context of how long Jack has been bored; this really might just be a brief, bad episode in his otherwise fulfilling existence. Owen Keenan also argues (via The Daily Targum) that the events of The Nightmare Before Christmas are a metaphor for cultural appropriation, contextualizing even greater harm done through Jack's actions.
Sally's Character Shows Halloween Town's Injustices
Sally Is Self-Reliant & Resilient, & She Makes The Nightmare Before Christmas' Story better
There is an argument that Sally is the true heroine of The Nightmare Before Christmas when what Jack does is hardly heroic. Writer Caroline Thompson rewrote Sally's character from a typical femme fatale to be experiencing "the Little Match Girl vision of the world" (The Movies That Made Us). Sally's life is unfair: she is the creation of a Frankenstein-inspired scientist who expects her to obey him, she has no power in Halloween Town, she wanders its alleyways with no help from others. She is so self-reliant that she is accustomed to literally destroying and then sewing herself back together.
✕ Remove Ads
Related
The Nightmare Before Christmas's Jack and Sally are instantly recognizable, but their striking design has much deeper symbolism than visual aesthetic.
2
Essentially, Sally's character is the evidence of a greater meaning behind The Nightmare Before Christmas beyond a powerful party planner's boredom wreaking havoc. Jack's actions affect people in the real world for one day, but Sally is pushed around and talked down to all the time. Even Jack, who does seem to think highly of her, speaks to Sally condescendingly and doesn’t heed her warnings. "Sally's Song" is a lovely and deeply sad tune that is strictly about Sally worrying about Jack, but something of her dark worldview also comes across.
✕ Remove Ads
The Nightmare Before Christmas' "Real" Villains Are Extensions Of Jack
Oogie Boogie & Dr. Finkelstein Demonstrate Some Of The Same Harmful Habits As Jack
There is a very toxic aspect of Jack's character, because of how his existential crisis means disaster for others. Many real people may feel the same things as him, but they aren't the rulers of a holiday who can incite such mayhem. If The Nightmare Before Christmas is about egotistical people in power who are looking for a good time and hurt others in the process, then Jack is on one side of the story and Sally is on the other. Meanwhile, the "real" villains, Oogie Boogie and Dr. Finkelstein, are extensions of Jack's characterization and the consequences of it.
Jack is the protagonist of the movie if not the hero, so he gets to realize that he was wrong and improve.
✕ Remove Ads
It is fitting that Oogie Boogie and Finkelstein were originally one character; like Jack, they are both inventive, chaotic, and have little regard for others. They have some amount of power in Halloween Town and use other people as their playthings. Jack is the protagonist of the movie if not the hero, so he gets to realize that he was wrong and improve. Meanwhile, Oogie Boogie has to be destroyed by the more powerful character, while Finkelstein simply manages to create a being that is as subservient as he expects. Yet these characters create an underplayed motif in the movie.
The Nightmare Before Christmas Still Showcases Traditional Christmas Movie Themes
The Nightmare Before Christmas Is An Even Darker Movie When Its Meaning Is Considered, But Still Sprinkled With Christmas Joy
✕ Remove Ads
The Nightmare Before Christmas has several dark storylines that are made more lighthearted by the zany nature of the movie, but still touch upon themes of the lonely and forgotten vs. the celebrated. However, it can be called a Christmas or a Halloween movie, both because of the various holiday trappings and the ultimately happy themes. Like other Christmas movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas totes a resolution about peace and love. Jack does fight to save Christmas and succeeds; Santa, for some shocking reason, brings a snowfall to Halloween town for the holiday.
✕ Remove Ads
The Halloween Town residents reprising "What's This?" when it is snowing showcases what is the more superficial lesson of the movie — to try new things, but in a way that doesn't hurt other people. Then, as part of his character growth, Jack realizes that he has been overlooking Sally for years, and they get together in the strangely otherworldly and sweet final scene. After all the destruction caused in The Nightmare Before Christmas, the juxtaposition of the literal plot and the Christmas motifs becomes part of the movie's charm, and Jack and Sally do find happiness.
Source: The Movies That Made Us, The Daily Targum
Your Rating
Rate Now 0/10
Leave a Review
Your comment has not been saved
9/10
The Nightmare Before Christmas
PG
Animation
Fantasy
Holiday
Henry Selick directs The Nightmare Before Christmas, a stop-motion fairytale from the mind of Tim Burton. Jack Skellington is the king of Halloween and one of Halloweentown's most beloved citizens, but he longs for something more. When he stumbles across a magical door that leads him to discover Christmas, he makes it his mission to replace Santa Claus and bring festive cheer to his perpetually spooky hamlet.
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Director
- Henry Selick
- Release Date
- October 29, 1993
- Studio(s)
- Touchstone Pictures , Skellington Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Buena Vista Distribution , Walt Disney Pictures
- Writers
- Caroline Thompson
- Cast
- Catherine O'Hara , Glenn Shadix , Ken Page , William Hickey , Chris Sarandon , Paul Reubens , Danny Elfman
- Runtime
- 76 minutes
