Is Nightmare Before Christmas A Halloween Or Christmas Movie

Is Nightmare Before Christmas A Halloween Or Christmas Movie?

Henry Selick’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a seasonal stop-motion classic, but which holiday does the film favor more: Christmas or Halloween?

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Is Nightmare Before Christmas A Halloween Or Christmas Movie

Years after its release, The Nightmare Before Christmas still has fans debating whether it’s a Halloween or Christmas movie. Long thought to be directed by Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a seasonal staple which merges the kookiness and scares of Halloween with the joy and cheer of Christmas. Yet, despite its combined celebration of two vastly different holidays, The Nightmare Before Christmas favors one holiday over the other.

The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington, who’s on a quest to find something more meaningful to do instead of his boring old role as the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. After wandering through the woods and discovering Christmas Town, Jack decides to put his own creepy spin on the holiday. While he ultimately fails in commandeering Christmas, Jack finds renewed purpose in being the Pumpkin King.

Both composer Danny Elfman and director Henry Selick have said at separate events that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie, but what is it about the film that makes it more of a Halloween watch? The whole premise revolves around a character from Halloween Town indulging in the joys of the Yuletide, but that does not necessarily make it a Christmas film. The narrative focuses more on how the town’s residents react to Christmas, especially Jack’s newfound obsession with the holiday and his skewed vision of unleashing festive cheer upon the masses. Indeed, when Jack introduces the idea of presents to the people of Halloween Town, they offer up shrunken heads, tree-eating snakes, and vicious wreaths. On Christmas Eve, Jack rides in a hearse strapped to skeletal reindeer and is later shot down over a cemetery. That feels like a Christmas horror if anything.

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Another aspect that makes The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie is its overall mood. The tone rarely shifts from the dark and dour feel of Halloween Town, even when Jack ventures into Christmas Town. Just the image of a tuxedoed skeleton dancing around the North Pole is off-putting. What’s more, Jack is suffering from boredom and an existential crisis, which enhances the dreariness of the film. Sally is glum because she worries about Jack. Santa Claus isn’t featured as a particularly joyful character, either. When he’s kidnapped and brought into Halloween Town, he is disheveled and confused. The tone definitely leans more into the creepy, kooky, and nightmarish images typically associated with Halloween.

The last aspect is the soundtrack. The Nightmare Before Christmas songs feature lyrics like “they’re busy throwing snowballs instead of throwing heads” or “kidnap the Sandy Claws / lock him up real tight.” In “What’s This?” Jack marvels over the wonders of Christmas Town in comparison to the horrors of Halloween Town. Every song has Christmas sprinkled throughout, but they’re dark in nature. The movie even begins with “This is Halloween,” introducing where most of the story will unfold and all of the town’s frightening inhabitants. This is not to say the film can’t be fully enjoyed during the Christmas season, especially if the viewer doesn’t mind the inherently spooky overtones. But The Nightmare Before Christmas is first and foremost a Halloween movie.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/nightmare-before-christmas-or-halloween-movie/

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