The Nightmare Before Christmas reps Disney Parks transition perfectly but it's still a Halloween movie
By Brian Miller
It has become a classic. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas has withstood the test of time and remains one of Disney's more cherished animated features. The stop motion photography to this day doesn't fall behind in the modern world of digital animation.
Yet for all of it's value and worth both to the ears and eyes, the film is still the center of the biggest debate in Disney movie history. Which holiday does it belong to?
On the surface, TNBC is a Halloween movie but at the core of the story is Jack Skellington's desire for change in the form of turning Halloween Town into a Christmas themed world instead of Halloween.
Personally, Nightmare is a Halloween movie but there is something that many casual or even some die-hard fans of the film may overlook.
There is a tie-in, sort of to the Disney Parks. Yes, there is Oogie Boogie Bash in Disneyland and Jack Skellington has his bony fingerprints all over Halloween at the Disney parks and on Disney television.
What I find interesting is the transition. Nightmare is a perfectly crafted film that blends both holidays into one, a transition from the Halloween season to that of Christmas season, like the similar transforamtions almost overnight from Halloween to Disney on November 1st.
For the Disney parks, it's all about money. Your a fool if you think otherwise. Why else can you trick or treat at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party or Oogie Boogie's Bash in early August when it is 100 degrees during the day and the high 80's after the sun goes down.
Yes, you can literally hit Magic Kingdom on October 31st and take the decorations only to visit two days later to see Christmas replacing the decor.
This isn't a direct tie-in to the movie and there is no tie-in to the parks either but it is interesting that what Nightmare brings is a seamless transition from Halloween to Christmas. It feels like a movie that you should watch on Halloween night as the calendar turns at midnight to Christmas season.
As for the debate? It's a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie but it's really a Halloween movie that wants to be a Christmas movie. Or maybe it's both.