Debate Rekindles: Is The Nightmare Before Christmas Truly a Halloween Movie or a Christmas Classic?
Jack starts to ponder the question, could I introduce a new holiday to Halloween Town? When he explained his plans for something new, people were skeptical, but were overall on board, except for one.
Ethan Tarr lays down while watching The Nightmare before Christmas.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, made in 1993, a classic holiday movie, but is it really worth your time to watch? Along with the question we all want to know, is it a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie?
Jack Skellington (aka. The Pumpkin King), the protagonist, gets bored of doing the same routine of scaring others year after year. Wanting something new, he ventures off into the forest, leading him to find a mysterious ring of holiday trees with doors. Curious by what it was, he opened one of the doors and fell into it, leading him into Christmas Town. In Christmas Town, Jack starts to ponder the question, could I introduce a new holiday to Halloween Town? When he explained his plans for something new, people were skeptical, but were overall on board, except for one.
She saw this as a sign that something bad will happen while doing this Christmas plan
There are some old themes to this movie like Frankensteins and mad scientists, and when my fellow classmate Jordan Pettingell (grade 9) was asked about why they first watched the movie, they answered, “My mom’s favorite movie was The Nightmare Before Christmas.” This displays how this movie has old themes and is passed down through generations, showing the timelessness of the film.
Ethan Tarr’s anticipation builds as Jack Skellington makes a gutsy decision.
Sally, the antagonist, was a frankenstein created by the mad scientist. She had a vision as a plant she picked up turned into a Christmas tree, before immediately bursting into flames. She saw this as a sign that something bad will happen while doing this Christmas plan. This scene foreshadows how the rest of the film will play out and keeps the viewers engaged and wondering if Christmas will crumble in on itself.
Jack doesn’t realize it until he comes back from the incident, when he realized all of the warnings were just her looking out for him.
Carter Green and Ethan Tarr pose with Jack Skellington.
She desperately tried to tell people about this, but no one listened to her. In the end, she was right as Jack’s sleigh was shot down and everyone thought that he had died. All Sally wanted was for Jack to be safe because she was deeply in love with him throughout the entirety of the movie. Jack doesn’t realize it until he comes back from the incident, when he realized all of the warnings were just her looking out for him.
Tim Burton did really well with giving the characters strong beliefs because he gave Jack the want for change. And later in the movie Tim Burton gives the unexpected character of a rag doll made by an evil genius the feeling of love towards the protagonist Jack.
Well, there are people who will take either side.
With all this being said, tying back to the big question of is this movie a Christmas or Halloween movie? Well, there are people who will take either side. One said that it is a Halloween movie because , “The movie revolves around the concept of Halloween.” And another said, “ It’s a Christmas movie because of the desire for Christmas.”
People should indeed watch Tim Burton’s film, The Nightmare Before Christmas because of its strong messages and creates a strong connection and conflict between Halloween and Christmas.