As someone who grew up with a love for all things whimsical and macabre, I find myself deeply enamored by the timeless tale of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Having spent countless hours immersed in the worlds of Tim Burton’s creations, it is no secret that this film has left an indelible mark on my heart.
What’s this, you ask?
Indeed, it’s not a riddle, but rather a tribute to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” which might lead one to think it’s a festive greeting due to its title, however, it’s actually a film that falls under the Halloween category.
Since Jack Skellington, with his genuine curiosity about Christmas, is the ruler of Halloween Town known as the Pumpkin King, it becomes evident at the end of the 1993 animated film that he should not abandon his original profession.
As a lifestyle connoisseur, I must say that this timeless classic never fails to captivate me each Halloween season. With its array of eerie characters such as skeletons, ghouls, monsters, odd-eyed creatures, and the ever-stylish rag doll heroine, it’s not just a movie to revisit during spooky festivities but also serves as an endless wellspring of costume ideas.
Catherine O’Hara, known for her voice role as the resourceful Sally, explained to TopMob News in 1993 that kids often enjoy feeling a little scared, but only if it is followed by assurance that everything is alright.
Thirty-one years ago, cinemas weren’t as crowded as they are now, but over time, audiences—including their offspring—have grown to admire the enchantment of Tim Burton’s imagination, beautifully realized by director Henry Selick, screenwriter Caroline Johnson, and Danny Elfman, who not only scored the music but also lent his voice to Jack’s singing.
Danny Elfman described the movie as feeling more like Halloween but essentially Christmas-themed in an interview with TIME in 2016. He added that it’s odd when films develop their own unique fanbase and enduring appeal long after their initial release, which is sometimes referred to as having a “cult life.
As a lifestyle aficionado, I must say that despite the fact that the movie initially grossed around $50 million at the box office, it’s safe to say its impact has been far from small. Time and again, enthusiasts have filled venues for live sing-alongs, demonstrating an enduring passion for this film. Furthermore, they’ve shown up in droves at conventions across the nation, eagerly seeking out encounters with the talented minds behind this cultural phenomenon.
Chris Sarandon, who is best known for his voice role as Jack Skellington in the classic film, once said that he stumbled upon winning the lottery (or, more accurately, getting cast in the movie). In an interview with ComicBook.com in 2019, he expressed that even after all these years, he continues to feel a deep sense of humility and gratitude for being a part of such an iconic project.
Here it is, folks! You’re not hallucinating; it’s true! A sleigh laden with mysteries behind the creation of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is upon us!
In the early ’80s, Tim Burton was employed at Walt Disney Animation Studios when he envisioned a unique twist on the traditional poem “The Night Before Christmas” (originally published as “A Visit From St. Nicholas” in 1823), which eventually became the concept for The Nightmare Before Christmas. He also designed the initial sketch of Jack Skellington, the ruler of Halloweentown known as the Pumpkin King.
He pitched the idea to Disney as a TV special, but the look he envisioned wasn’t the Mouse House’s bag, though the studio hung onto the rights to the story about Jack’s well-intentioned but ultimately too-scary attempt to take over Christmas.
After Burton gained significant prominence, it was indeed Disney who produced the movie, though it was distributed under their subsidiary, Touchstone Pictures, in the year 1993.
It’s common to picture Tim Burton when thinking about “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but it was actually penned by screenwriter Caroline Thompson, who is known for her work on “Edward Scissorhands,” and directed by the skilled stop-motion animator Henry Selick.
He and Burton met as students at CalArts, then worked together at Disney.
In a conversation with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ A.frame in 2023, Selick stated that Tim is exceptionally talented when it comes to ideas, designs, and what truly matters; however, he desired someone else to take charge of the project. Selick had experience in hand-drawn as well as computer animation, but his passion lies with stop-motion animation, where he enjoys manipulating those puppets.
As a lifestyle expert, let me share a fascinating insight I gained in 2022: I found myself expressing disagreement with Tim Burton when Disney started marketing “The Nightmare Before Christmas” as his own masterpiece just weeks before its release. In my opinion, I felt it was a bit unjust.
“And I would have been fine with that,” he said, “if that’s what I signed up for.”
Burton is undeniably brilliant, or at least he was during his most innovative periods, as Selick pointed out. “I’ve always admired his story, and he sketched the primary characters,” Selick continued. “However, it was primarily my team based in San Francisco who turned that concept into reality.
In due course, Selick mentioned that Burton arrived towards the finale, accompanied by an editor, and removed certain elements to make the movie more concise.
A year following the public uproar over his perceived unfair remark, Selick stated that the matter no longer held significant weight for him.
Previously, it caused him some inconvenience, but as he shared with People magazine in 2023, “It’s not much of an issue… Generally speaking, everyone in the field and the animation world is aware that I was the one who directed it.
The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first full-length movie entirely made using stop-motion animation techniques.
It required over three years for completion, as Selick’s team progressively positioned their handcrafted puppets and captured them image by image, resulting in approximately a minute of footage being produced every week.
He attributed the painstaking process to not knowing any better at the time.
In 2023, the director explained to Simon Bland at Total Film, “We didn’t experience fear; instead, we were unaware and carefree.
Approximately 3,000 handcrafted heads were made specifically for Jack Skellington’s character due to Selick’s claim that Jack had over 300 unique facial expressions. Additionally, Selick mentioned that there were intermediate expressions and multiple copies, which allowed for several scenes to be filmed simultaneously.
Selick didn’t just do the visuals frame-by-frame, millisecond by millisecond.
In an interview with The Edge back in 2013, Catherine O’Hara, the voice behind rag doll Sally (Jack’s clever love interest), explained that she delivered her lines much like Sally herself – fragmented and pieced together. Her dialogue was also constructed in a similar manner, forming what became known as “Sally speak.
In a conversation with People, Selick mentioned that O’Hara wasn’t fond of the numerous retakes required, as he praised her exceptional comedic skills. He added, “It took many attempts to put her in the right frame of mind. However, she delivered splendidly.
O’Hara has never had a cross word to say (publicly, at least) about the filming process.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Daily News in 2023, O’Hara described working with Selick in San Francisco as an exhilarating and awe-inspiring experience. He stated that creating a single shot, just five seconds of a scene, was equivalent to a week’s worth of labor. When the movie is viewed, it appears so stunningly fluid, realistic, and captivating within its own unique universe, making one forget about all the hard work involved. Nevertheless, O’Hara acknowledged that he truly valued the effort put in.
Initially, she attempted to speak in a more husky tone, as reported to TopMob News in 1993. Her voice, much like her body, was sewn together in this manner, but over time, such an approach could become somewhat impeding.
In her collaboration with Elfman specifically, O’Hara stated that she chose to sing at a higher pitch than usual because it seemed fitting for Sally. At times, she explained, her voice would have a shy, almost choirboy-like quality.
She smiled and said, “I made an allowance by explaining that Sally isn’t very polished, which is why her singing isn’t great.
The cinematographer, Pete Kozachik, created unique moving camera setups specifically for the film, aiming to give it the appearance of a real-life action production.
In the 1980s, Tim created a few sketches of Jack that were influenced by the artist Charles Addams, known for his work on “The Addams Family”. As mentioned by Selick, it was Rick Heinrichs who sculpted the initial version of Jack and beautifully translated Tim’s drawings. Afterwards, the focus shifted to finding the best way to animate this character.
Jack’s physique was remarkably slim, and this presented a challenge when transforming him into a stop-motion character. To overcome this, we employed metal armatures, resembling skeletons, beneath his clothing. However, due to his all-black attire, which blended with the dark atmosphere of Halloweentown, he became difficult to distinguish. To address this issue, I incorporated vertical stripes into his design.
Since directing his first film, Selick has subtly incorporated references to the character Jack in each production. As he mentioned to GamesRadar+ in August, “If you look closely, you might find a representation of Jack in almost every movie I’ve created. However, I can’t confirm this definitively, but it could very well be true.
For example, In the story ‘James and the Giant Peach,’ the pirate captain is named Skellington, while in ‘Coraline,’ when The Other Mother cooks eggs, the yolk’s design mirrors Jack’s face.
Danny Elfman, a regular collaborator with Burton, lent his talents to create Jack’s melodious voice in the movie. Additionally, he was responsible for composing the entire score and penning all ten original tunes, including “Here Comes Halloween” and “What’s This?
To achieve an ageless feel, Elfman explained to Billboard in 2018 that he aimed to make the music sound as if it had been written 50 or 100 years ago. He drew inspiration from Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera,” a significant influence in his life, along with musical pieces by Cole Porter and Gershwin, and to some extent, Rodgers and Hammerstein.
By the time they created “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Tim Burton and Danny Elfman had already collaborated on six projects. Their creative bond, which started with “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” in 1985, is still going strong, as shown by their latest collaboration in 2024’s “Beetlejuice.
It’s quite interesting that neither Tim nor I knew how to create a musical animated film when we began working on “The Nightmare Before Christmas“. As Tim introduced me to the project, there was no script initially. Instead, we started shaping the story through songs, and the script followed later – we essentially worked backward, which might seem unusual, but it made sense to us. (Elfman shared this in 2018 with Little White Lies.)
According to Elfman, Burton would share his sketches with him, and as soon as Burton described the scene, a tune would begin to play in Elfman’s mind. It happened rapidly and straightforwardly. Burton supplied all the visual elements I required to feel inspired.
As the charismatic lead of the dynamic new wave group Oingo Boingo, I found myself resonating deeply with Jack’s yearning for something greater, even though I was already tasting success in my chosen profession.
When you’re the frontman of a band, it feels like you become The Pumpkin King,” he confided to Little White Lies. “You’re the head of your own mini-universe, and I understood his longing for, ‘I’m not content anymore, and I don’t know what my next step should be, but I need change.’ When I was composing for Jack, I was also writing for myself. I sang him a semi-autobiographical tune, pouring a lot of myself into it, which made it more intimate.
Despite enjoying working with Jack, Elfman wasn’t quite up to the task for the dialogues, as Selick shared with People in 2023. Consequently, they needed a voice actor whose delivery was similar enough to Danny’s to convincingly fill the role.
Chris Sarandon, of Fright Night and The Princess Bride fame, fit the bill.
In 2023, Sarandon shared with CT Insider that Danny’s singing of the songs was incredibly beneficial for him. He explained that the music had already been completed by the time he went to San Francisco for Jack’s speeches. He admitted it was a difficult task, but on the other hand, he felt they managed to match voices quite well.
And he only had to audition once.
Sarandon sensed early on that he was part of something special.
He recounted on the “Today Show Australia” in 2023, “The first time I saw it, it was in black and white. One day, while working with Tim Burton in the studio to rerecord some lines, I found myself watching a grainy, black-and-white version of it. To my surprise, my three young children had quietly gathered beside me, their eyes wide with amazement.
At the premiere, where he was joined by his children Stephanie, Alexis, and Michael (from his former marriage with Lisa Ann Cooper), the completed item left him utterly amazed.
He exclaimed to ComicBook.com, “I was absolutely taken aback, gasping, ‘Wow, what is this?’ It’s simply extraordinary, utterly one-of-a-kind!
Although Sarandon found working on the movie to be quite a solo endeavor, since it didn’t require much interaction with his fellow actors, he developed a lasting friendship with Ken Page, the voice behind Oogie Boogie, who tragically passed away.
In 2023, Sarandon shared with CT Insider that he developed a strong bond with someone due to their shared experiences at Comic-Cons. Over time, they have grown even closer and he now considers this individual as one of his dearest friends, making the friendship all the more valuable.
At the given point, Page expressed, “My friendship with Chris is incredibly valuable, as we’ve maintained contact for three decades now. That’s quite a long span of time to stay in touch with anyone consistently. I often refer to him as my ‘traveling companion’.
Following the unexpected death on September 30, 2024, Sarandon expressed his condolences via Instagram: “We’ve said goodbye to an extraordinary individual: an actor, a singer, a director, and a compassionate human. Farewell with deep sorrow to my cherished friend, Ken Page.
Page, who had done all the voice work for the villainous Oogie Boogie, expected to merely be asked to perform a song.
The Broadway star, who initially played Old Deuteronomy in “Cats,” shared with CT Insider that they were asked about the character’s nature and their thoughts. Previously, they had glanced at some storyboards. In response, they suggested a blend of characters: ‘Perhaps it’s a mix between Burt Lahr from “The Wizard of Oz”, Cab Calloway, and the voice of the demon from “The Exorcist.’
It turned out to be an excellent day for an audition.
O’Hara believed that her casting as Sally might have been due to the enjoyable collaboration she shared with Burton during their work in the 1988 film, “Beetlejuice.
In 2023, I was graciously given the opportunity to play Sally in Schitt’s Creek, as I shared with the LA Daily News. Stepping into the recording studio alongside Danny was both thrilling and nerve-wracking. Additionally, we had the privilege of performing a Lock, Shock, and Barrell song, ‘Dear Sandy Claws,’ with none other than Paul (Reubens), who brought Lock to life.
As a lifestyle expert, I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that every project I work on will become a timeless holiday classic. Instead, I focus on collaborating with great individuals, crafting an engaging script, and enjoying the process along the way. After all, predicting success can be tricky; often, it’s the unexpected twists and turns that make the journey worthwhile.
O’Hara credited the lasting appeal of the movie to its relatable themes, which are frequently found in Burton’s creations, focusing on the good-hearted outcast who yearns for acceptance and affection.
Jack is “an unusual individual, yet not an oddity,” she explained to the Daily News. “He’s a gentle spirit, much like Edward Scissorhands and numerous characters in Tim’s films. Indeed, there’s an artistic, musical, and tender quality about him.
In 2023, Sarandon expressed a similar viewpoint to People magazine, stating, “Many young individuals approach me and share that this film made them feel accepted, as it was both peculiar and stunningly beautiful. Moreover, its message was uplifting. Interestingly enough, they now watch it with their own children.
According to Burton, Jack appeared to be a gloomy figure in 2023, but he is actually quite bright-hearted. What he appreciates most are characters like Scissorhands or Batman who embody this complexity. These roles reflected his own feelings, as he was seen as a brooding character externally, while internally he didn’t identify with that image. Therefore, the role was deeply personal for him.
When asked about the possibility of a sequel, Selick mentioned that a prequel could be more fitting, as Burton considered The Nightmare Before Christmas to be “a flawless film” according to his interview with People in 2023. Furthermore, Selick hinted that there might be a more compelling story to explore about how Jack ascended to the throne of Halloweentown.
As a die-hard admirer, I’d put it this way: Ever since I’ve been the voice behind Jack in various video games, theme park attractions, and licensed content, I’ve been ready to jump at the chance to lend my voice again. In fact, if you ever need me for another film, just holler “Sarandon, I need you!” and I’ll be there in a heartbeat!
But about a month later, Burton confirmed there’d be no sequel on his watch.
“I’ve worked on sequels, other projects, and even reboots. But I don’t want the same thing for this one. People might be curious, but I’m not. It’s like an elderly man refusing to sell his land to a big company planning to build a power plant. ‘Stay off my property! You meddling… I won’t sell you this land! I don’t care what you want to do with it. If you come onto my property… Where’s my rifle?’
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2024-10-27 10:20