The Nightmare Before Christmas: Halloween or Chrismtas?

What season are you watching it in this year?

Jackson Kilburn, '23

November, the in-between month of two of the most popular seasons: Halloween and Christmas. We’re taking off our witch hats and finishing the last of our Trick Or Treat candy and putting our Santa hats on and baking cookies. It’s the time of year when we’re calming down from the scares and sitting on the edge of our seats to see what presents we get this year. Throughout all this enjoyable chaos, there’s a debate that’s been sticking in the heads of Halloween and Christmas enjoyers for decades: Which holiday can claim the famous Tim Burton movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas?

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To start this review, I’d like to give a heads-up: Tim Burton is not the director of the movie! As I was doing my research I learned that the real director, Henry Selick, is constantly overlooked and only given a penny of credit to the millions Tim earned for the classic film, so here’s a reminder to give thanks to the directors of your favorite film as well. Now back to the movie review.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 film directed by Henry Selick, and a few of the major cast members are Danny Elfman & Chris Sanderson (Jack Skellington), Catherine O’Hara (Sally), and Ken Page (Oogie Boogie). It takes place in a universe where every holiday has its own home, and the two main holidays we see are Halloween and Christmas, which is the cause for all of this commotion.

Here’s a quick synopsis that explains the argument: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, is starting to get bored with his normal life of darkness and scares. The beginning of this film is set in his home, your entrance to the film quite literally being a song called “This is Halloween” where many of the loveable yet horrifying characters explain what Halloween Town is about and what their roles are. The themes of Halloween and the scary imagery are things that Halloween arguers take as their evidence.

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Image Credit: Entertainment Weekly

However, due to Jack’s tiredness of his world, he laments. While lamenting he finds himself sleepwalking into the Hinterlands, which is a forest filled with trees that have doors corresponding to different holidays. He finds himself sucked into Christmas, where he finds the Christmas wonder that everyone raves about during the season. Because of the joy he experiences, he tries to bring the Christmas spirit back to Halloween Town, which at first doesn’t go incredibly well. However, later on, they are able to develop the Christmas spirit, which the Christmas fans try to take as evidence for their claim.

My personal review of the movie is that it’s enjoyable in any season, Halloween or Christmas. You’ll even find me watching this movie in the middle of summer. In general, it’s a beautiful movie that I think anyone can enjoy at any time. From the beautifully curated stop-motion animation to the wonderful soundtrack, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 10 out of 10 movie. Now here’s my take on the whole debate: It’s a Halloween movie.

From the setting in which the movie takes place, the character design, the moral of the story, the time frame in which the movie was released, to the director himself saying the movie is a Halloween movie, most signs point to it being a Halloween movie. While Christmas may be in the title, Jack Skellington knows that the Pumpkin King can’t replace Santa Claus and vice versa. The hero of the story wasn’t made for Christmas, he’s the Halloween guy and that’s how it’s meant to be.

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But no matter what side you're on, at the end of the day it's an enjoyable movie that anyone can watch at any time. Whether it be during the two sides of the great debate: Halloween or Christmas, or even during a holiday like Valentine's day or Easter, it's a fun movie that I think shouldn't be held down by any holiday.