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The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
29 October 1993 (USA) moreTagline:
Tim Burton's classic returns in 3-D so real, it's scary. morePlot:
Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 6 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(53 articles)
Uncle Creepy's Blu Christmas Buyer's Guide (From Dread Central. 1 December 2008, 3:33 PM, PST)
tMF Featured Trailer: Henry Selick's Coraline!
(From The Movie Fanatic. 26 November 2008, 12:16 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Burton's "Nightmare" is a dream come true moreUS Showtimes:
(register to personalize)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Danny Elfman | ... | Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear away Face (voice) |
 | Chris Sarandon | ... | Jack Skellington (voice) |
 | Catherine O'Hara | ... | Sally / Shock (voice) |
 | William Hickey | ... | Dr. Finkelstein (voice) |
| Glenn Shadix | ... | Mayor (voice) |
 | Paul Reubens | ... | Lock (voice) |
| Ken Page | ... | Oogie Boogie (voice) |
| Edward Ivory | ... | Santa (voice) |
| Susan McBride | ... | Big Witch, W.W.D. (voice) |
| Debi Durst | ... | Corpse Kid, Corpse Mom, Small Witch (voice) |
 | Greg Proops | ... | Harlequin Demon, Devil, Sax Player (voice) (as Gregory Proops) |
| Kerry Katz | ... | Man Under the Stairs, Vampire, Corpse Dad (voice) |
| Randy Crenshaw | ... | Mr. Hyde, Behemoth, Vampire (voice) |
| Sherwood Ball | ... | Mummy, Vampire (voice) |
 | Carmen Twillie | ... | Undersea Gal, Creature Under the Bed (voice) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (USA) (complete title)Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D (USA) (promotional title)
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MPAA:
Rated PG for some scary images.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
76 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Portugal:M/6 | Brazil:Livre | Netherlands:AL | Iceland:L | Spain:7 | Ireland:PG | South Korea:All (re-rating) (2006) | Hong Kong:IIA | South Korea:12 (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-10/7 | Germany:6 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PGFilming Locations:
San Francisco, California, USAMOVIEmeter: 
70% since last week
why?
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Two items were invented to facilitate the filming of the movie: One was a "light alarm" which would warn the animators if any of the stage lights failed to come on. The other was a system that enabled a puppeteer to seamlessly switch to a replacement puppet if a puppet broke during a shot. Prior to this, either situation, a light failing to come on or a puppet breaking would destroy a shot. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Jack opens the Christmas door, he places his right hand on the third from the bottom tree bough. In the reverse shot, his right hand is on the bottom tree bough. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Santa: 'Twas a long time ago, longer now than it seems in a place perhaps you've seen in your dreams. For the story you're about to be told began with the holiday worlds of auld. Now you've probably wondered where holidays come from. If you haven't I'd say it's time you begun.
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Soundtrack:
DECK THE HALLS moreFAQ
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By 1993, director Tim Burton was such a successful filmmaker in Hollywood that he was able to return to one of his most beloved early projects, "The Nightmare Before Christmas." It's certainly an inspired movie, as it is also very weird, and when I say "weird," I mean it's distinctly Burton.
Even though it was directed with enough competency by Henry Selick, this groundbreaking stop-motion animation film is Burton all the way, as it contains ample "esque" qualities that make this "Nightmare" uniquely his vision.
As the film opens in the twisted, "Burton"-esque village of "Halloweentown," Jack Skellington, who is dually voiced by Chris Sarandon and longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman, is celebrating another "horrible" Halloween. You'll be shocked and amazed at some of the town's inhabitants, who include jazz-playing zombies, Four Tenor-like vampires, a wolf man, and a wheelchair-bound scientist who occasionally opens up his cranium to (literally) scratch his brain; his creation, a Frankenstein-like scarecrow named Sally (Catherine O'Hara), yearns for contact with others and is quite fond of Jack Skellington.
But Jack's quickly growing tired of the same old routine year after year, and because he's so downtrodden with boredom, he ventures into the dark forest outside the town's borders, and accidentally stumbles onto the wondrous, jolly world of "Christmastown." Enticed by its splendor, he decides to bring back his discovery to the residents of Halloweentown, who of which are just as shocked by Christmas as he is. Jack gets the brilliant idea to pose as Santa Claus but hires three mischief-makers to kidnap the real Santa so he can share his own, misguided vision of Christmas with an unprepared world.
Painstakingly and meticulously crafted, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a beautiful and wonderful film from start to finish. The most famous image of this film is the cover art, which features Skellington eerily silhouetted against a full moon while he stands atop a coiled hill that overlooks a desolate graveyard.
Burton is such a wonderful director, who had already brought us one unique "esque" vision after the other, especially with the first two "Batman" films and "Edward Scissorhands" behind him as of '93 when "Nightmare" was made.
10/10