The Nightmare Before Christmas is a cult-classic and beloved movie by famed stop-motion director Henry Selik, with works of the well-known animator and producer, Tim Burton. The movie is known for its intricate details to character movement, background and facial expressions. Most importantly, its plot revolves around the titular Jack Skellington, his boredom of his own holiday and his pursuit to steal Christmas.
All the iconic characters from Sally to Oogie Boogie are made into miscellaneous merchandise like figurines, pjs, etc. However, the most confusing part of the merchandise is that it’s both Halloween and Christmas themed.
So it begs the question: Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or Christmas movie?
The movie aired globally on Oct. 29, 1993, right in time for the Halloween season. But the movie takes place right after Halloween as the people of “Halloween Town” prepare to take over Christmas, done in November and enacted on Christmas Eve.
According to Evangeline Karnchanabut, a sophomore, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie. Specifically, “It’s the joy and cheer and love of Christmas way more than it shows the spooky and creepy side of Halloween. I fully believe The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie because Jack is bringing the cheer to Halloween town rather than the horror to Christmas town.”
Joy and acceptance are key parts of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
However, the spooky themes and songs heavily influence the vibe of the movie. “The iconic ‘This is a Halloween’ song, and character designs, even the Christmas people are scary looking. And the slow motion movement gave me the heebie-jeebies as a kid. I could never see it as a Christmas movie,” shares Malena Corte, a senior.
Additionally, the movie was marketed with both holiday themes in mind. Many of the advertisements include Jack Skellington dressed up as Santa Claus. The advertisement was done to blend the fun scary feelings of Halloween with the whimsical feelings of Christmas.
The advertisements and merchandise, still popularly on store shelves today, connect with the themes of the movie: embracing oneself and living a life outside the box.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is the perfect movie for the creepy macabre imagery during the Halloween and a fun heartwarming movie for Christmas. It can even be a movie to transition between the holidays, with the wise words of Samantha Suwarno, a junior, “There are barely any fun movies to watch in November,” making November the perfect time to watch.
