20 Lesser-Known Facts About ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’

Christmas typically involves festive outfits, caroling, home decorations, and gift-giving. However, in Halloween Town, these traditions take a darker, more peculiar twist. Released in 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas masterfully blends the eerie with the cheerful, creating a unique holiday experience. Even if this Halloween-Christmas hybrid is a staple in your seasonal lineup, chances are you’re unaware of some behind-the-scenes trivia that even Oogie Boogie might find surprising.

Contrary to popular belief, Tim Burton did not direct The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This misconception stems from the film’s alternate title, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. While Burton was occupied with Batman Returns, he entrusted the project to Henry Selick, a former Disney Animation colleague, marking Selick’s feature directorial debut. Burton’s prominent role as producer, story creator, and character designer earned him top billing, especially given his fame from hits like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and Batman, which overshadowed Selick’s recognition at the time.

The story’s concept was born from the overlapping displays of holiday decorations in stores.

In the film’s DVD commentary, Burton shared that growing up in Burbank, California, where seasonal changes were minimal, holiday decorations played a crucial role in marking the passage of time. The blending of Halloween and Christmas themes in stores, eager to capitalize on both holidays, sparked the idea for his story about Halloween Town’s king meddling in Christmas.

A poem by Tim Burton preceded The Nightmare Before Christmas.

During his time as a Disney animator on projects like The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron, Burton began exploring personal creative endeavors. This led to animated shorts such as “Vincent” and the creation of a poem titled “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Inspired by “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” the poem delved into Jack Skellington’s existential boredom and introduced characters like his ghost dog Zero and Santa Claus.

The stop-motion technique was influenced by the works of Rankin/Bass.

The Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Visual Companion highlights how Ray Harryhausen’s work shaped the film’s animation style. “Jason and the Argonauts was one of my earliest and most memorable cinematic experiences as a child,” Burton remarked in the book. “Certain moments in time leave a lasting impression, like a perfect storm.” Burton also drew inspiration from Rankin/Bass holiday classics, such as the 1964 special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. “Those Christmas specials had a profound effect on me growing up,” he noted. “I belonged to a generation that eagerly awaited them every year.”

Initially, Burton conceived The Nightmare Before Christmas as a TV special.

Similar to Rankin/Bass productions like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, Burton believed his Christmas-themed story would resonate as an annual television event. While this prediction proved accurate, it unfolded differently than he anticipated. After pitching the idea to TV studios and book publishers without success, Burton eventually proposed it as a feature film. Reflecting on the commentary track, he estimated that nearly two decades passed from the project’s initial concept to its release on October 29, 1993.

The artistic styles of Ronald Searle and Edward Gorey also played a significant role in shaping the film.

A behind-the-scenes video on the making of The Nightmare Before Christmas revealed that the production design team drew inspiration from the pen-and-ink styles of two iconic artists. They aimed to replicate the intricate cross-hatching and textures of their works in the physical sets. Selick described how they coated sets in plaster or clay, then etched lines into the material to achieve an “etched texture” that resembled a living illustration.

Vincent Price was almost cast as Santa in Nightmare.

Burton, who had collaborated with the legendary horror actor on Edward Scissorhands and “Vincent,” initially secured Price to voice the jolly yet beleaguered Santa, who is abducted by the mischievous trio Lock, Shock, and Barrel. However, after the passing of Price’s wife, Coral Browne, in 1991, the actor’s grief made his voice unsuitable for the role. Selick noted in the commentary that Price sounded too sorrowful, prompting the team to cast Edward Ivory as his replacement.

Selick is credited with designing Jack’s iconic outfit.

In Burton’s initial drawings, Jack wore an all-black ensemble. However, as shared in the film’s commentary, Selick revamped Jack’s look by adding striking white stripes to his tailored suit. This wasn’t just a stylish decision—it was practical. Early camera tests revealed that Jack’s solid black attire disappeared against Halloween Town’s shadowy settings, prompting the need for the pinstripes to make him stand out.

Disney insisted that Jack should have visible eyes.

Due to the dark and unconventional tone of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Walt Disney Studios felt it didn’t align with their brand and opted to release it under their Touchstone Pictures label. Despite this, Disney still provided significant input, such as demanding that Jack Skellington’s hollow eye sockets be replaced with expressive eyes. While eyes are often considered essential for audience connection in animation, Selick and Burton stood firm, demonstrating that Jack could resonate with viewers even without traditional eyes.

Patrick Stewart was originally part of the film but was ultimately removed.

Initially, The Nightmare Before Christmas leaned heavily on its poetic roots, leading to the casting of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Patrick Stewart to recite poetry for the opening and closing narration. However, the lengthy verses were trimmed significantly, and the remaining lines were given to Santa, voiced by Edward Ivory. Stewart’s full narration can still be heard on the film’s soundtrack.

The film’s sets were designed with hidden access points for animators.

To facilitate the intricate stop-motion animation, the 19 sound stages housing 230 model sets were equipped with trapdoors. These allowed animators to access and manipulate the puppets more efficiently. From these hidden entry points, they could adjust the armatures inside the characters or switch out their faces, with Jack Skellington alone requiring over 400 interchangeable heads to convey a wide range of emotions.

Burton brought together a mix of past and present collaborators for the film.

Danny Elfman, former frontman of Oingo Boingo, began working with Burton in the early 1980s, scoring his debut feature, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. Their partnership continued with Beetlejuice, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands before Elfman was tasked with composing the music and lyrics for The Nightmare Before Christmas. Elfman also provided Jack Skellington’s singing voice, appeared as the redheaded corpse in the Halloween Town band, and voiced Barrel and the menacing clown with the tear-away face. The trio of trick ’r treaters was completed by Pee-Wee's Big Adventure star Paul Reubens as Lock and Beetlejuice’s Catherine O'Hara as Shock. O’Hara also voiced Sally, while her former co-star Glenn Shadix portrayed Halloween Town’s two-faced mayor.

Filming commenced before the script was fully finished.

Stop-motion animation is incredibly time-intensive, so once Danny Elfman completed most of the film’s songs, Selick and a team of 13 skilled animators, along with prop makers, set builders, and camera operators, began production without a finalized script. Animators started with Jack’s pivotal “What’s This?” scene. Filming at 24 frames per second required animators to create unique movements for 110,000 frames. Each minute of footage took roughly a week to shoot, and the entire film spanned three years to complete.

The most challenging scene involved opening a door.

The filmmakers aimed to replicate live-action techniques as closely as possible, making one particular shot in The Nightmare Before Christmas exceptionally difficult. In the scene where Jack finds the forest pathways to other holiday worlds, he gazes at the Christmas tree door. A close-up of its golden knob reflects both Jack’s skeletal face and the trees behind him as he approaches to open it. Perfecting this reflection required meticulous effort and precision.

Tim Burton was originally slated to make a cameo appearance.

Deleted footage reveals an alternate version of the vampires playing hockey. While the released version shows them hitting a jack-o’-lantern, the original scene featured a decapitated head resembling Burton, complete with pale skin, spiky black hair, and pronounced eye bags. This version was likely deemed too dark for a family-friendly film.

The film contains a few hidden Mickeys.

Although Disney initially distanced itself from The Nightmare Before Christmas, the commentary track reveals they permitted Selick and Burton to include a hidden Mickey in the form of a sinister toy. During the scene where Jack’s Christmas presents turn hostile, a flying stuffed animal with sharp teeth represents Burton’s twisted take on Mickey Mouse. Additionally, the girl being attacked wears a nightgown with a Mickey print, and her brother’s pajamas feature Donald Duck patterns.

A subtle reference to Ed Wood is hidden in the film.

While working on The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton was also preparing for Ed Wood, a biopic about the infamous filmmaker. A tribute to Wood’s work appears in Halloween Town: the character Behemoth, a gentle giant with a bald head and facial scars, closely resembles Tor Johnson from Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Cut scenes included a solo for Behemoth and a different introduction for Oogie Boogie.

The DVD includes storyboard presentations of deleted scenes that were never produced. One scene features Behemoth singing about “pretty” presents during “Making Christmas.” Another depicts an alternate version of Oogie Boogie dancing with the bugs inside him, while a third shows a different ending: instead of being torn apart, Oogie Boogie is revealed to be Dr. Finkelstein in disguise, seeking revenge because Sally, whom he created as his companion, fell for Jack.

Burton declined a CGI follow-up.

Despite Disney’s success with direct-to-DVD sequels, Burton has no plans for The Nightmare Before Christmas 2. He told MTV, “I’ve always been protective of [Nightmare Before Christmas], avoiding sequels or spin-offs like ‘Jack visits Thanksgiving world.’ The film has a unique purity, and its fans appreciate that. It’s not a mass-market product, so maintaining its integrity is crucial. I aim to respect the audience and preserve the project’s essence.”

Jack Skellington made a return in Selick’s subsequent films.

Selick’s 1996 film, a stop-motion and live-action adaptation of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, brought back The Nightmare Before Christmas’s skeletal hero as a ghostly pirate captain in a chilling scene. In Selick’s 2009 adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, Jack’s grinning skull is subtly hidden in the yolk of a cracked egg as the Other Mother prepares breakfast.