Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween or Christmas movie?
By Teresa Hernandez
Embedded Files
When characters in a film celebrate a holiday or the scene has holiday-themed decor and backdrops, it's typically easy to determine if the film is based on the holiday or not. There is one movie in question though “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is it a Halloween or Christmas movie?
It’s a Halloween Movie:
"The Nightmare Before Christmas'' uses different plot elements to make it a Halloween film. The film is set in a spooky Halloween town with monsters and creepy creatures such as Jack Skellington (the pumpkin king), Sally the rag doll, and Oogie Boogie, who is a bag of bugs. Oogie Boogie adds a touch of darkness to the story by kidnapping and torturing Santa Claus. The film also has visuals such as bats and skeletons and it has dark colors, including black, gray, purple, and orange. By including the song "This is Halloween," the film perfectly captures the characteristics of Halloween. However, the story focuses on Halloween traditions and follows Jack's attempt to take over Christmas in order to give Halloween a new twist.
It’s a Christmas Movie:
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a movie that has elements of both Halloween and Christmas. The story begins in the spooky Halloween Town and transitions to the lovely Christmas Town, where Jack Skellington becomes obsessed with the holiday. The film includes a set of decorated houses with bright and colorful lights, such as red and green. The movie is also set with presents and candy canes everywhere and has the main character of the holiday, Santa Claus, which gives it a Christmas vibe.
It is unclear if the movie is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie since it visually appeals to both aspects of the holidays. To once and for all decide whether The Nightmare Before Christmas is truly a Christmas or Halloween movie, I interviewed three fellow students at Neuwirth, Tania Leal, Darlene Hernanandez, and Jaritzy Garica, asking them all the following question, “Do you think the nightmare before Christmas is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie?”:
Darlene Hernandez (12) “I think that The Nightmare before Christmas is a Halloween movie because the first holiday that is shown in the movie is obviously Halloween. The characters in this movie are scarier; it's only fair that the movie is considered a Halloween classic. I think a Christmas movie consists more of magical and child- friendly characters, something that the movie only does a tiny bit so it stays in the children's category”
Tania Leal (12) “I think the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie because it talks about how they want to be joyful and they want to experience Christmas! Although the characters are from the halloween holiday, the main point was about Christmas and Jack, the main character, mimicking Santa and wanting to experience that joyful feeling.
Jaritzy Garcia (12) “Umm I think the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie because most of the film is set in a creepy, gloomy village, and the primary characters are all sort of monsters living in that town”
What do I think you say? I think The Nightmare Before Christmas is more of a Christmas movie because it focuses more on Santa Claus and Christmas traditions. The movie’s plot is based on Jack's fascination with Christmas and his journey to understand the true meaning of the holiday.
So, which one is it? That's for you to decide. After all, Tim Burton never really said which it was either.
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