There are two types of people: those who think 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween movie, and those who are wrong.
Now, you might be thinking, “Celia, it’s clearly a Christmas movie. It’s in the title… and you’re posting this on Christmas!” Yes, very true. But there’s an overarching theme to TNBC: finding new ideas to go into Halloween. Jack Skellington is not interested in Christmas because of Christmas itself, he’s interested in bringing those qualities into his own holiday. Here’s my reasoning…
Winter is also a time for Horror
Sure, Fall is what most people identify with horror and Halloween — makes sense. But winter is also a pretty scary time. If you look at past Xmas Specials, you’ll see that not everything during Christmas is jolly and bright. Sometimes it’s deadly.
Jack “The Pumpkin King” Skellington sees the snow and ice and can’t help but think that snow mounds are great places to hide bodies… well, that’s my opinion, anyway.
Toys from Hell
TNBC might as well be Krampus with all the horrors the toys play on unsuspecting humans. The Halloween Townsfolk — including Jack — transform what would be normal toys, gifts, and Christmas trimmings for the human world into terrifying abominations because they can’t help but put Halloween into everything they do. Sure, they may be thinking they’re doing things right by making gifts like Santa and his elves, but they’re still perverting this jolly holiday into one they themselves would enjoy.
And though Jack has read many books about Christmas traditions, he ignores all of that information and instead recommends using freshly dead animals and encourages adding sharp teeth, striped snakes, and grabby wreath arms to his big bag of “gifts.” He can’t even be bothered to un-scary himself, keeping his thin bony frame and showing his skull to children.
Rampage through the City
Speaking of him delivering gifts, can anyone tell me what is so good and Christmas-y about Jack’s travels through the town making deliveries? Nothing. Might as well be Art the Clown. A sleigh of skeleton reindeer, being attacked by Christmas toys dropped down chimneys, people turning on their fireplaces to keep out danger, and the literal military trying to bomb Jack out of the sky. In what world is that in the same category as Elf, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, or A Christmas Story?
Side note, I typed “christmas movies” into Google and the first row was all Christmas Horror. Don’t know if that’s a sign or not. Just sayin’!
He’s the freaking Pumpkin King!
Jack Skellington is more or less the patron saint of Halloween, the ruler of Halloween Town, and for all intents ad purposes, the King. Why on earth would he give up his livelihood for some other holiday he knows nothing about — and what’s more, has its own ruler already? Jack may be a terror on paper, but he’s not unjust.
And let’s remember what we said at the beginning: Jack wants to bring fresh life to his own holiday. He sees the snow and lights and wants to take those ideas and add them to what he knows already. It may be a Nightmare before Christmas, but it is still a Nightmare.
If you go to 2:25 in that last video, you’ll find Jack’s exact words:
And for the first time since I don’t remember when
Jack Skellington, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
I felt just like my old bony self again
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King
That’s right, I am the Pumpkin King
And I just can’t wait until next Halloween
‘Cause I’ve got some new ideas
That will really make them scream
And, by God, I’m really going to give it all my might
He clearly has been a Halloween creature the entire time.
What would you classify The Nightmare Before Christmas as: a Halloween or Christmas movie? Let us know in the comments!
