The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
The Pumpkin King discovers Christmas — and nearly ruins it, beautifully.
Jack Skellington, bored ruler of Halloween Town, stumbles into Christmas Town and decides to take over the holiday, with Sally and Oogie Boogie pulling the story toward darkness and heart. Tim Burton's poem, Henry Selick's direction, Danny Elfman's songs. It belongs to two holidays and owns both.
Tim Burton wrote the poem and designed the world, Henry Selick directed every frame of stop-motion, and Danny Elfman wrote the songs and sang Jack Skellington himself. Disney released it under its Touchstone label, worried it was too dark for the family brand — instead it became the rare film two holidays fight over, dominating both Halloween and Christmas shelves every year. The hand-made imperfection is the magic: you can feel the animators' fingerprints. Jack's lament — a king bored with his own kingdom — gives the spectacle a genuinely sad, grown-up core.
From the Film
The Facts
- Year
- 1993
- Director
- Henry Selick
- Runtime
- 76 minutes
- Genres
- Animation, Fantasy, Family, Comedy
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Chris Sarandon | Jack Skellington |
| Danny Elfman | Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel |
| Catherine O'Hara | Sally / Shock |
| Glenn Shadix | Mayor |
| Ed Ivory | Santa Claus |
| Ken Page | Oogie Boogie |
| William Hickey | Evil Scientist |
| Paul Reubens | Lock |
Good to know: A stop-motion film based on a 1982 poem by producer Tim Burton, released under Touchstone Pictures because Disney considered it too dark and scary for kids.
Where to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas
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More from the 1990s — or browse the full A–Z catalog.
