The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas is 1993's stop-motion animated film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. The film tells the story of Jack Skellington, a living skeleton from Halloween Town who finds a door to Christmas Town. The Idea Behind the Film is The genesis of The Nightmare Before Christmas started with a Poem by Tim Burton. He wrote it during his time as a Disney animator in the early-1980s. With the success of burton's short-film "Vincent" in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short-film or 30-minute television special. Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project, and in 1990, Burton and Disney made a development deal. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco. Walt Disney Pictures decided to release the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner because they thought that the film would be "too dark and scary for kids." Voice CastEdit: Danny Elfman as Jack Skellington (singing), & Barrel Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington Catherine O'Hara as Sally, & Shock Paul Reubens as Lock

William Hickey as Dr. Finkelstein Glenn Shadix as Mayor of Halloween Town Ken Page as Oogie Boogie Ed Ivory as Santa Claus

Production: Burton wrote a three-page Poem titled "The Nightmare Before Christmas" when he was a Disney animator in the early-1980s. Burton took inspiration from television specials of "Rudolph," "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas." With the success of "Vincent" in 1982, Disney started to consider The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short film or 30-minute Holiday television special. Rick Heinrichs and Burton created concept art and stroyboards, with Heinrichs also sculpting character models. "Back then, I would have done anything to get the project off ground" Burton explained. "There was a lot of talk of either a short film, like 'Vincent' or a TV special, but it went nowhere. I also wanted to have Vincent Price as narrator." Burton showed Henry Selick, who was also a Disney animator in the early-1980s, the material he and Heinrichs developed.

Over the years, Burton's thoughts regularly returned to the project. In 1990, Burton found out that Disney still owned the film rights, and the two committed to produce a full-length film with Selick as director. Disney was looking forward to Nightmare "to show capabilities of technical and storytelling achievements that were present in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." Nightmare marked Burton's third film in a row to have a Christmas setting. Burton could not direct because of his commitment to Batman Returns and he did not want to be involved with "the painstakingly slow process of stop-motion." To adapt his Poem into a screenplay, Burton approached Micheal McDowell, his collaborator on Beetlejuice. McDowell and Burton experienced creative differences, which convinced Burton to make the film as a musical with lyrics and compositions by frequent collaborator Danny Elfman. Elfman and Burton created a rough storyline and two-thirds of the film's songs, while Selick and his team of animators began production in July 1991 in San Francisco with a crew of 200 workers. Joe Ranft worked as a storyboard artist. Elfman found writing Nightmare's 10 songs as "one of the easiest jobs I've ever had. I had a lot in common with Jack Skellington." Caroline Thompson still had yet to be hired to write the screenplay. With Thompson's screenplay, Selick stated, "there are very few lines of dialogue that are Caroline's. She became busy on other films and we were constantly rewriting, reconfiguring and developing the film

visually." The work of Ray Harryhausen, Ladislas Starevich, Edward Gorey, Charles Addams, Jan Lenica, Francis Bacon and Wassily Kandinsky all influenced the filmmakers. Selick described the production design as akin to a pop-up-book. In addition, Selick stated, "When we reach Halloween Town, it's entirely German expressionism. When Jack enters Christmas Town, it's an outrageous Dr.Suess setpiece. Finally, when Jack is delivering presents in the 'Real World,' everything is plain, simple, and perfectly aligned."

On the direction of the film, Selick reflected, "It's as though Burton laid the egg, and I sat on it and hatched it. He wasn't involved in a hands-on way, but his hand is in it. It was my job to make it look like 'a Tim Burton film,' which is not so different from my own films." When asked on Burton's involvement, Selick claimed, "I don't want to take away from Tim, but he was not in San Francisco when we made it. He came up five times over two years, and spent no more than eight or ten days in total." Walt Disney Studios contributed with some use of second-layering traditional Animation. Burton found production somewhat difficult because he was directing Batman Returns and in pre-production of Ed wood. The movie Jack Skellington, also known as the "Pumpkin King", is the lead character and the main protagonist of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, and all Nightmare Before Christmas media. Jack is a tall skeleton who wears a black pinstriped suit complete with a bat-bowtie. He has earned the title of Pumpkin King by being so terrifying to humans(but never harming them), a clearly well-earned title as it appears he is even able to scare the monsters that occupy the town. He lives in Halloween Town, a world based solely on the holiday of Halloween.

The official film soundtrack contains an epilogue not in the film, stating that "many years later" Santa Claus returned to Halloween Town to visit Jack. He discovered that Jack had "four or five skeleton children at hand" who play together in a xylophone band. Given the ending of the movie, it can be assumed that these children are Jack and Sally's. It can be also assumed Jack and Sally are now married. Sally is the deuteragonist of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. She is a ragdoll created by Dr. Finkelstein. Made of various pieces stitched together, with dead leaves used as stuffing, it is unlikely that she feels any physical pain. as demonstraited in the movie when she leaps from her upstairs bedchamber in Finklestein's Lab. After some of her limbs become detatched upon impact, she sews them back on and limps for only a short while. As the most cherished creation of the doctor, she is always under lock and key. Thus, when she wants to go out, she poisons the doctor with deadly nightshade (covered up with worm's wart and frog's breath) and sneaks out. Sally has a crush on Jack Skellington, but is unsuccesful in showing her affections to Jack. However, by the end of the movie, she manages to let him know about her true feelings, and they later kiss on Spiral Hill. The official film soundtrack contains an epilogue not in the film, stating that "many years later" Santa Claus returned to Halloween Town to visit Jack. He discovered that Jack had "four or five skeleton children at hand" who play together in a xylophone band. Given the ending of the movie, it can be assumed that these children are Jack and Sally's. Sally is voiced by Catherine O'Hara in the original film and by Kath Soucie in the Kingdom Hearts series and Oogie's Revenge. In the movie, Sally has barely any freedom, although she frequently runs away from Doctor Finklestein, her creator. After the Halloween celebration, the Doctor catches her and tries to drag her back to the lab. To escape, she pulls the thread on her arm and leaves it behind dismembered, as she runs off. She then follows Jack all the way to Spiral Hill, listening to his song. Sally then goes back to Dr. Finklestein to get her arm reattached. She hears about the town meeting after Jack returns to town and poisons the doctor again before leaving to go to the town meeting where Jack tells about his expriences in the land of Christmas. She goes back home to the lab again and the Doctor locks Sally in her bedroom.Unable to remain in captivity any longer, Sally puts some food and drink in a basket and lowers it onto the ground, and jumps out after it. Sally gives the basket to Jack, but runs away due to her immense bashfulness. Afterwards, Sally plucks the petals off a forget-me-not, which then transforms before her eyes into a miniature Christmas tree and suddenly bursts into flames: a preminition of things to

come. When she tells of this to Jack, he fails to take the warning seriously. On Christmas Eve as Jack is about to set off, Sally pours fog juice into the town square fountain, creating a thick-as-jellied-brains fog all around, grounding Jack. Yet, Sally's plan doesn't work, because of Zero's glowing nose. Later, when Jack has left, Sally hears the news of the millitary being called in to stop Jack, and she resolves to go and find Santa Claus, discovering him in Oogie's lair. Sally tries to liberate Santa, but fails and gets captured herself . Jack later finds them and fights Oogie Boogie, defeating him.After Santa leaves, Sally and Jack talk, and Jack is about to tell her how he feels about her, when the Mayor, Lock, Shock and Barrel suddenly burst in to rescue them. They all return to Halloween town, and Sally walks sadly to Spiral hill. The story begins with the grand finale of Halloween Town's Halloween celebration, which is hailed by the return of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. When Jack sneaks away from the adoring citizens, it is revealed that he is tired of the same old Halloween routine. He wonders off to the Graveyard to lament over his unfulilled desires, which is heard by Sally, hiding behind a tombstone. Sally understands how Jack feels but he enters the Hinterlands with Zero before she reveals herself. Accidentally sleepwalking through the Hinterlands, Jack stumbles upon a place in the forest he has never been before. What he finds is a grove of trees with colorful doors leading to other Holiday Worlds. Jack is drawn toward the Christmas door and opens it, finding Christmas Town. Inspired by and infatuated with the holiday, he attempts with little success to explain it to the citizens of Halloween Town. After obsessively researching it, he decides that this year the citizens of Halloween Town will manage Christmas, in the hopes of "improving" it. Sally on the other hand, has a premonition that his plans for Christmas will be a disaster. She attempts to warn him, but Jack is too wrapped up into "his" Christmas to recognize her warnings and politely dismisses her fear. Sally's premonition proves to be right: Not really understanding the "spirit" of Christmas, the citizens of Halloween Town create a celebration of the macabre rather than of joy. Jack, dressed as Santa Claus ("Sandy Claws" as Jack calls him) unintentionally brings terror rather than joy to the children of the world. Wanting "Sandy Claws" to rest, Jack had ordered a trio of trick-or-treaters, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, to bring Santa to Halloween Town. However, after Santa is first brought to Jack and greeted warmly by him, the three take him to their master, Oogie Boogie, who mocks, tortures, and plans to eventually kill Santa with his sadistic games. Sally attempts to rescue Santa Claus after discovering that military forces are planning to defeat Jack, but she is captured too. Upon realizing the error of his

ways, Jack overcomes his identity crisis and reaffirms himself as the Pumpkin King. Determined to set things right, Jack returns to Halloween Town, where he discovers that Santa has been taken to Oogie's Lair and that Sally is also there. He manages to rescue Santa and Sally, and defeat Oogie Boogie. Santa Claus returns to the real world to save Christmas and, as a sign of no hard feelings, gives Halloween Town a taste of true Christmas spirit, fulfilling Jack's former desire to a limited extent. Jack also finds Sally on the Spiral Hill blanketed in snow and reveals his own affection for her. At the film's end, the two embrace and share a kiss while Zero looks on.