Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie?
It’s one of Halloween’s hottest debates: is Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? In the film, the main character Jack Skellington discovers Christmas for the first time and becomes consumed by the traditions, decorations, and spirit of the holiday — but most of the movie takes place in his home of Halloween Town.
When Halloween starts to feel monotonous in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack facilitates a complex plan to get the entire population of Halloween Town to celebrate Christmas based on his experience of getting lost in Christmas Town. But while Jack may have good intentions, his vision of what the holiday is supposed to be like is in conflict with the core of Halloween Town.
Jack takes it upon himself to steal the role of Sandy Claws and deliver presents to the children of Christmas Town. But his actions lead to panic and chaos from its residents as they realize a skeleton is impersonating Santa Claus and leaving them with scary and haunting “presents.”
Is Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie?
So is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie? We say yes! A large majority of the film takes place in Halloween Town and is filled with many eclectic monsters and villains. Almost every named character in the movie is a part of Halloween, and even though Jack becomes obsessed with Christmas, his version of the holiday is filled with haunting creatures and tricks, never quite leaving the essence of Halloween behind.
We absolutely recommend adding this movie to your Halloween watchlist but don’t hesitate to give it a rewatch in December if you also love seeing the monsters learn to love the traditions of a new holiday.
Next. 31 Nights of Halloween movie marathon schedule. dark
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is currently available to stream on Disney+ and will also be included in Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween movie marathon schedule.