The Nightmare Before Christmas

Movie Details:

Also known as	Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
Based on	Story and characters by Tim Burton
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Animation, Family, Fantasy, Musical
Release date	October 9, 1993 (New York Film Festival) October 29, 1993 (United States)
Running time	1hr 16min
Age rating	PG
Starring	Chris Sarandon Catherine O’Hara William Hickey Glenn Shadix Paul Reubens Ken Page Ed Ivory
Directed by	Henry Selick
Screenplay by	Caroline Thompson
Adaptation by	Michael McDowell
Produced by	Tim Burton Denise Di Novi
Cinematography by	Pete Kozachik
Edited by	Stan Webb
Music by	Danny Elfman
Production Company	Touchstone Pictures Skellington Productions
Distributor	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Voice Cast & Characters:

• Danny Elfman as Jack Skellington (Singing Voice) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear Away Face (voice)
• Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington (voice)
• Catherine O’Hara as Sally / Shock (voice)
• William Hickey as Dr. Finkelstein (voice)
• Glenn Shadix as Mayor (voice)
• Paul Reubens as Lock (voice)
• Ken Page as Oogie Boogie (voice)
• Edward Ivory as Santa (voice) (as Ed Ivory)
• Susan McBride as Big Witch / W.W.D. (voice)
• Debi Durst as Corpse Kid / Corpse Mom / Small Witch (voice)
• Greg Proops as Harlequin Demon / Devil / Sax Player (voice)
• Kerry Katz as Man Under Stairs / Vampire / Corpse Dad (voice)
• Randy Crenshaw as Mr. Hyde / Behemoth / Vampire (voice)
• Sherwood Ball as Mummy / Vampire (voice)
• Carmen Twillie as Undersea Gal / Man Under the Stairs (voice)
• Glenn Walters as Wolfman (voice)

Storyline:

Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween Town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween — but alas, they can’t get it quite right.

About Movie:

The Nightmare Before Christmas (also known as Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas) is an American stop-motion animated musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his feature directorial debut and produced by Tim Burton, who also conceived the story.

Danny Elfman composed the songs and score, while providing the singing voice for the lead character, Jack Skellington. The voice cast features Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Ed Ivory.

The concept for The Nightmare Before Christmas originated from a poem Burton wrote in 1982 during his time as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. Following the success of his short film Vincent that year, Burton explored the idea of turning his poem into a short film or television special, but it wasn’t developed. However, his interest in the project persisted, and in 1990, Burton secured a development deal with Walt Disney Studios. Production began in San Francisco in July 1991. Disney decided to release the film under its Touchstone Pictures label, believing it to be “too dark and scary for kids.”

The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 9, 1993, followed by a limited release on October 13, and a wide theatrical release on October 29. Upon release, it was both a critical and commercial success, earning praise for its stop-motion animation, characters, songs, and Elfman’s score.

Though a modest box office success at first, it has since gained a significant cult following and is now considered one of the greatest animated films of all time. The film was also the first animated feature to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, though it lost to Jurassic Park.

Reissued by Walt Disney Pictures, The Nightmare Before Christmas was released annually in Disney Digital 3D from 2006 to 2010. In 2023, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Budget & Box Office Collection:

Budget	$18 million
Domestic Opening	$191,232
Domestic Collection	$87,620,624
International Collection	$14,063,814
Worldwide Collection	$101,693,557