The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of Tim Burton’s most famous movies. Sure, it’s about Christmas, but not to the point of it being a Christmas movie. It consists of Halloween characters with the presence of Christmas characters. Jack Skellington is the main character who has a sudden love for the idea of Christmas. When he takes the guise of Santa, he does it with the Halloween twist.
Creepy toys that terrify children and reindeer skeletons — these are things that don’t make you think of Christmas. Christmas is holly jolly and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Not Zero the ghost dog.
Imagine snow falling outside your window and the fire is crackling; you have a mug of hot chocolate sitting warm in your hands. Your parents ask: “Hey kids, want to watch ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas?’” This is not a Christmas movie. While the characters move towards the goal of recreating Christmas, it’s still the citizens of Halloween Town doing so.
Not convinced yet? Here, the aesthetic is gloomy and gray. Plus, it primarily takes place in Halloween Town. Not only do the scenes don’t fit the jolly vibe of Christmas, but neither do the songs. Most movies involved with Christmastime have a soundtrack that has carols. I suppose you don’t hear “This is Halloween” playing on the radio during December.
Sure, I won’t ignore the fact that there’s Christmas vibes in the movie. Skellington does go to the North Pole and see elves. Yes, there are scenes with Santa Claus. But what I don’t get is why suddenly that makes it a Christmas movie. Of course, you might also argue that the plot is built around Christmas, which is true. However, they do Christmas wrong. They make their own form of Christmas involving the Halloween customs. It’s not a traditional Christmas movie and more specifically, it’s a movie you wouldn’t watch during the Christmas holidays. “But the director said it’s a Christmas film!” Then explain to me why there’s more frames of Halloween than Christmas. So, all and all, the Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t the Christmas movie you’re looking for. It’s called a nightmare for a reason! The entire movie is about a skeleton wearing a Santa costume for the sake of recreating Christmas. Therefore, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween movie before anything else.
Sydney Chirumbolo ’28
We all know and love the iconic “The Nightmare Before Christmas” movie directed by Henry Selick, which is considered one of Tim Burton’s best works. I feel like every year right around Halloween this movie picks up traction and sparks debate on whether this movie is a Christmas or a Halloween movie.
I want to settle this once and for all. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is 100% a Christmas movie. Just think about the plot alone and you can debate that it’s a Christmas movie. The movie literally takes place after Halloween is already over and the Christmas season has begun. The whole plot of the movie is based around the fact that the main character Jack Skellington is obsessed with the idea of Christmas.
I think the main takeaway about the plot is that the Halloween characters are going out to improve Christmas. All they do the entire movie is talk about Christmas and what it’s about and how they’re preparing for Christmas. Yes, almost all of the main characters are Halloween characters — but they are all focused on Christmas.
I can kind of see where both sides of the arguments make sense there. You could argue that just because of how much Halloween is talked about in the movie that is what qualifies it as a Halloween movie. However, if you’re using the same logic that you would with a movie like “Die Hard” [that if the movie takes place during Christmas, therefore it’s a Christmas movie], then it is a Christmas movie.
You also need to take into consideration that Henry Selick, the director, says that he thinks it’s a Christmas movie and in a 2024 interview with the New York Post said “Tim’s idea to combine Halloween with Christmas — where, unlike the miserable Grinch, a well-intentioned Jack Skellington takes over the Christmas holiday — is pure genius. Thirty years after I directed the film, beneath its candy corn coating, skeletons and vampires, corpse child and witches, I know ‘Nightmare’ at its heart is a Christmas movie.”
Overall, I think that whether it’s a Christmas or Halloween movie is really all up to the viewer. I think that it makes it an enjoyable movie to watch all season long. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” will always be one of my favorite Christmas movies.
Liv Mott ’27
