Alyssa:
Since the release of the 1993 Tim Burton movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, people have questioned whether or not it should be considered a Christmas or Halloween movie. The debate is unnecessary as the themes addressed throughout it clearly suggest it is a Christmas classic.
The movie follows Jack Skellington, voiced by Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman, who is the Pumpkin King of the fictional world of Halloween Town. After executing successful Halloweens year after year, Jack starts longing for a change. He stumbles upon a group of trees during a walk in the forest, which happen to hold various holiday-type worlds. Intrigue leads him into the world of Christmas, where curiosity takes over. Jack finds the practices and traditions fascinating, so he decides to make a Christmas of his own.
Throughout the movie, Jack tries to learn about the purpose of Christmas and why people find joy in it. This is a common theme in most Christmas movies, as it is customary for the main characters to learn about the real purpose of the holiday. In this case, Jack figures out that the holiday of Christmas is full of happiness whereas Halloween focuses on aspects of horror. The Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t considered a Christmas movie simply because it’s set in that time frame, but because the movie is in the traditional format of a Christmas movie. The Grinch is another prominent example of this use because the main character acquires the ability to respect Christmas and understand its unique qualities by the end of the film.
Even though some can view The Nightmare Before Christmas as a scary movie, a big portion of Christmas classics also have aspects that could be considered frightening. To name a few: Krampus, Gremlins, The Grinch, Die Hard, Home Alone, Edward Scissorhands, etc. All of these movies also possess themes and situations that are quintessentially “spooky,” similar to The Nightmare Before Christmas; if these are considered Christmas movies, why can’t The Nightmare Before Christmas be regarded as one?
Some argue that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie because it is set during the Halloween season and because there are some Halloween-type aspects. Although the first few minutes of the movie are technically set during that time, the majority of the movie occurs in between Halloween and Christmas. The Halloween characters in the movie are not preparing for another Halloween, they are getting ready for Christmas. Christmas is the main theme of the movie, regardless of the subplots it contains.
Tim Burton is known for creating gothic-fantasy movies. With this in mind, one can determine that Burton has a very unique style of storytelling; The Nightmare Before Christmas explores Tim Burton’s peculiar take on the holiday of Christmas. His style of animation did contribute to the overall eerie mood, but this odd mood doesn’t automatically mean that it’s not a Christmas movie. By including so many Christmas themes and plot points, it is impossible not to consider it as one.
Those who believe that The Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t a Christmas movie are close minded. From the perspectives of many, this movie is a distinctive Christmas classic which is to be cherished for generations to come.
Amber:
Although The Nightmare Before Christmas incorporates an opposing holiday in the title, it is definitely a Halloween movie. This becomes clear in just the first few minutes of the film when Jack Skellington is introduced along with many other Halloween-inspired characters. With animation appropriate only for a film made up of skeletons and Frankenstein-like creations, The Nightmare Before Christmas brings out classic spooky traits to deliver a haunted ambiance.
This is furthered by the soundtrack used in the film. With songs like “This is Halloween,” the film immediately creates an eerie atmosphere only fitting for a spooky film. Later songs in the film add to this with either somber music that fits the dreary mood of the season or songs with a frightening undertone toward the end of the film. To add to this, all the songs are sung by characters, like Jack Skellington, who are created in such a way as to look creepy.
Even when the Christmas elements are introduced with a multitude of bright colors, The Nightmare Before Christmas maintains its spooky feel. This is easily discerned simply by looking at the animation of the well-known Christmas figure, Santa Claus. Though he is known to be jolly, he does not look that way and rather appears not too dissimilar from the other characters if not for his noteworthy appearance.
Santa wears the signature outfit from the red coat to his famous hat, but the colors are muted to match the animation of the others in the film. He acts like Santa for the most part, except for a few moments lacking his usual jolly attitude that makes him different from the Santa people expect.
Additionally, the people who Jack interacts with when he tries to be Santa Claus share this feeling of wrongness. They are animated in such a way that they look like kids who belong in a Halloween film when it comes to their appearance rather than a Christmas movie.
Beyond the characters, there is not much difference between the scenes of his home in Halloween Town and when he visits Christmas Town. The Christmas elements Jack sees during his visit, however, do nothing to change the tone of the film and are instead simply a plot device used to further the Halloween theme. Were it a Christmas movie, the overall essence would change, perhaps into something more uplifting; something the film purposely avoids.
When put together, the music, characters, and animation add up to the classic Halloween movie people know and love. When people think of The Nightmare Before Christmas, it is not Christmas they are reminded of, but things like ghosts and skeletons. When it comes down to it, The Nightmare Before Christmas has a slight Christmas element, but beyond that, it is pure Halloween town.
