"The Nightmare Before Christmas is a movie that can do both. It stands on a thin line between Halloween and Christmas. It has the feeling of a happy family movie, but with a spooky edge. The real question… is it really a Christmas movie?" --Cb omand, 6th grade
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a movie that can do both. It stands on a thin line between Halloween and Christmas. It has the feeling of a happy family movie, but with a spooky edge. The real question… is it really a Christmas movie?
The ongoing argument surrounding this tipsy turvy movie is the question, is it a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? There is evidence leaning both ways. This article is a debrief of its attributes, to really understand which holiday the movie was created around, as well as Tim Burton's inspiration for this conflicting movie. Let’s dive into it, shall we?
This classic movie is very obviously set in a spooky tone. idsnews.com says, “The characters are all Halloween-based, including witches, vampires and ghouls, as well as the skeletal protagonist. The main setting of the film is Halloween Town, an aptly named October-themed environment. Despite the movie spanning from Halloween to Christmas, thematically and visually the movie sticks to its Halloween themes throughout, with much of the film being set in the dark Halloween setting.” While it does span into Christmas, with Jack Skeleton trying to recreate Christmas, in the end it sticks to its scary roots and spookifing Christmas, keeping the Halloween theme.
A poll was taken and to my surprise 47.1% of people said that The Nightmare Before Christmas was a Christmas movie. On the other hand, when asked if it was a Halloween movie, 58.8% of people said yes. Mackenzie Luna, a 6th grader at OSA responded to the poll. She believes that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie. “Christmas starts coming in like, 14 minutes into the movie, it starts off as Halloween,” Luna says.
The ongoing argument surrounding this tipsy turvy movie is the question, is it a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? There is evidence leaning both ways. This article is a debrief of its attributes, to really understand which holiday the movie was created around, as well as Tim Burton's inspiration for this conflicting movie. Let’s dive into it, shall we?
This classic movie is very obviously set in a spooky tone. idsnews.com says, “The characters are all Halloween-based, including witches, vampires and ghouls, as well as the skeletal protagonist. The main setting of the film is Halloween Town, an aptly named October-themed environment. Despite the movie spanning from Halloween to Christmas, thematically and visually the movie sticks to its Halloween themes throughout, with much of the film being set in the dark Halloween setting.” While it does span into Christmas, with Jack Skeleton trying to recreate Christmas, in the end it sticks to its scary roots and spookifing Christmas, keeping the Halloween theme.
A poll was taken and to my surprise 47.1% of people said that The Nightmare Before Christmas was a Christmas movie. On the other hand, when asked if it was a Halloween movie, 58.8% of people said yes. Mackenzie Luna, a 6th grader at OSA responded to the poll. She believes that The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie. “Christmas starts coming in like, 14 minutes into the movie, it starts off as Halloween,” Luna says.
Mariah Rico, a 6th grader at OSA told me that she thinks it is both a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie, “I think The Nightmare Before Christmas is both a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie. I think this because it has a lot of things revolving around Halloween and a lot of things that revolve around Christmas.” She also spoke about her first time watching the movie, “The first time I watched it was on Christmas with my mom, aunt, and dog.”
Editorial.rottentomatoes.com says, “Back in 1982, when he was still working in Walt Disney’s animation studio, director Tim Burton penned a poem called The Nightmare Before Christmas, tapping into his lifelong fascination with the spirit of both Halloween and Christmas.”
This could be a hint that it is in fact both a Christmas movie and a Halloween movie.
“Tim Burton has said the original poem was inspired after seeing Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. The juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and his reindeer sparked his imagination,” says Imdb.com. This is yet another clue that Burton was inspired by both holidays.
Even with evidence to back up an opinion, I think this debate will still be something raging in the back of people's minds. I still strongly believe that it is a Halloween movie, but you can think whatever you want. The Nightmare Before Christmas is and will always be a very good movie. No matter what holiday it's meant to be seen on.
Editorial.rottentomatoes.com says, “Back in 1982, when he was still working in Walt Disney’s animation studio, director Tim Burton penned a poem called The Nightmare Before Christmas, tapping into his lifelong fascination with the spirit of both Halloween and Christmas.”
This could be a hint that it is in fact both a Christmas movie and a Halloween movie.
“Tim Burton has said the original poem was inspired after seeing Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. The juxtaposition of ghouls and goblins with Santa and his reindeer sparked his imagination,” says Imdb.com. This is yet another clue that Burton was inspired by both holidays.
Even with evidence to back up an opinion, I think this debate will still be something raging in the back of people's minds. I still strongly believe that it is a Halloween movie, but you can think whatever you want. The Nightmare Before Christmas is and will always be a very good movie. No matter what holiday it's meant to be seen on.