The Nightmare Before Christmas defies time and place, and without it, we wouldn’t have had James and the Giant Peach or ParaNorman some years later –Nightmare was indeed the blueprint.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those universally recognised films that everyone has seen. Henry Sellick does a fantastic job translating the spooky, oddball styling of Tim Burton into a delightful, kid-friendly adventure without losing too much of the horror – I’m not sure Jack Skellington would be quite so friendly and charming if we saw him with his (lack of) flesh.
Many may not know that The Nightmare Before Christmas began as a poem by Burton rather than a script. However, numerous rejections for being “too weird” led Burton to venture into live-action storytelling instead. Ironically enough, Burton’s live-action Beetlejuice and Batman convinced Disney that his style could work, but might need a translator.
There’s such a fun and incredible energy held in Nightmare, with its mysterious forest of holiday doorways implanted into trees and Zero, the ghost dog, floating around like a Christmas spectre. Halloweentown and Christmas Town are worlds you want to dive into, exploring every nook and cranny to see what delights you might find waiting behind a door. At the same time, its stop-motion animation ensures a timeless appeal. Its multi-seasonal songs have become iconic, including “What’s This?” “This is Halloween,” and “Oogie Boogie’s Song.” The Nightmare Before Christmas defies time and place, and without it, we wouldn’t have had James and the Giant Peach or ParaNorman some years later –Nightmare was indeed the blueprint.
To this day, Henry Sellick and Tim Burton are the only creatives to have ever encouraged Disney to work with stop-motion animation. This strong legacy solidifies their place as the kooky creatives who got Disney to experiment, albeit briefly.
Follow Us