The magic, eerie creativity of Tim Burton brought The Nightmare Before Christmas to life in 1993. This quirky film told the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown who grew bored with “the same old routine” every October 31st. Longing to find something different, he soon discovers that in the form of…..Christmastown, a new venue centered around the merry December holiday. However, Jack’s take on Christmas soon proves to be hazardous, and chaos ensues when his henchmen kidnap Santa himself, leaving the fate of Christmas in the bony hands of Jack. However, by the end of the movie Jack realizes that instead of trying to make Christmas his own, he should embrace who he really is, and the Pumpkin King decides to make things right so that both holidays can be restored.
This film in my opinion rivals both Beetlejuice and The Addams Family as the best Halloween movie, though I love both films. (That being said, I consider this both a Halloween and Christmas film, but that’s a whole other debate.) I first saw The Nightmare Before Christmas when I was about nine or ten years old, and from then on whenever I came across it on the television I’d sit down and watch it; around Halloween is a give-in, and even Christmas mornings have become a staple. The musical numbers, the characters, and the overall storyline all come together to make this movie memorable. You have the two-faced mayor, the diabolical trio Lock, Shock, and Barrel as well as Oogie Boogie, the evil, gambling boogeyman intent on getting rid of Jack and Santa Claus. Additionally, the songs are all awesome, including “Jack’s Lament”, “This Is Halloween”, “Kidnap the Sandy Claws”, and “Oogie Boogie’s Song.” There are soft, melancholy ballads, and then there are upbeat numbers that have you struggling to resist singing along. After all, when else do you get to partake in singing with a bunch of monsters and goblins dancing around the town square exclaiming gleefully how they’re going to take over Christmas?
Admist all of the shenanigans, Jack learns an important lesson in this movie, and it leads to a message that I feel the movie really tries to present. After seeing that the Halloweentown’s citizens version of “their own” Christmas is causing distress for the citizens of Christmastown, Jack realizes that his whole vision to try something different wasn’t for the best and he actually put people in danger, including Santa. Deep down, he’s not Santa—-he’s the Pumpkin King, and he always will be. But that’s alright, because the theme here is to always be yourself. You should always be proud of who you are and true to yourself. It’s cool to try new passions but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Also, Jack was trying to please both the citizens of Halloweentown and Christmastown with his vision. But what happens when you try to please everybody? You end up pleasing nobody, not even yourself. Jack realizes his true identity will always be terrifying people on October 31st, and decides to make things right and restore Christmas, bringing both holidays back to normal. I always liked the messages depicted in this movie, and while I’m sure other Halloween films have their own themes, I think these not only speak volumes towards children but to adults as well.
halloween, nightmare before christmas, popular films
Image Credit: Steven Van Elk on Unsplash.
