The perfect window to watch ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’
Halloween season seems too early. Christmas season seems too late. The time to watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas” rarely feels right, despite it being a movie good enough to watch anytime.
The now-classic 1993 stop-motion animated musical follows Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloweentown, as he seeks new excitement in the form of Christmas celebrations. Directed by Henry Selick (“Coraline”) and based on a story and characters conceived by Tim Burton, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has evolved from modest hit to cultural phenomenon. Just look at all the Funko Pops and Hot Topic apparel!
I remember seeing “The Nightmare Before Christmas” in theaters on or near its opening day of Oct. 29, 1993. My mom was a bit weary, as I wasn’t a kid that handled “spooky things” very well, and the TV advertisements kept showing a little kid opening a Christmas present and discovering a shrunken head. At least it didn’t look like Gweneth Paltrow.
Anyway, I liked the movie back then and came to love it more on subsequent viewings. At age 9, I was at a point where I still really liked Disney musicals but had to be discreet about it with my buddies. The songs in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” were ghoulish and morbid (written by frequent Burton collaborator Danny Elfman, who also provided the singing voice for Jack), so it was still considered cool enough for my inner circle. It would be a few years before I stopped worrying about what other people thought and just liked musicals in all forms, including the ones overflowing with jazz hands.
Even as a kid, I struggled with when to watch this movie. Though it’s populated almost entirely with monsters and Halloween-specific motifs, the movie’s plot focuses on a ramp-up to Christmas and climaxes with Jack taking over for “Sandy Claws” on Christmas Eve to deliver unintentionally grotesque gifts to the children of the world.
But I finally figured it out this year. My wife and I started the movie for our four kids on Halloween night, and we stopped it just before Jack discovers Christmastown and sings, “What’s This?” We then finished the movie the next morning on November 1.
Turns out, Disney offered some guidance with that original release date of Oct. 29. Opening weekend moviegoers could catch it just before Halloween, but they obviously wanted the movie to play through the early stretch of November.
This timing worked great for our family, as the kids weren’t quite ready to say goodbye to spooky fun. If anything, the majority of Halloween candy gets eaten in November anyway.
Despite the marketing strategies of most retail establishments in this country, I’ve always felt November is simply too early to be Full-Throttle Christmas. A few hints of it work fine until Thanksgiving, then we let Sandy Claws have his fun.
So now I consider early November to be the optimal time to sing along to “This is Halloween,” “Making Christmas” and “Kidnap the Sandy Claws.” Enjoy the still-spectacular animation and production design, and examine the frames to decide which favorite ghoulish side characters tickle your fancy most. I’ve always loved the one-eyed Mummy Boy, though this year I gained a new appreciation for the street musicians who play outside Jack’s house throughout the movie.
And all you “Schitt’s Creek” superfans will be reminded that Catherine O’Hara (voice of Sally in “Nightmare Before Christmas”) has been awesome for many, many years now.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is available to stream on Disney+.
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Tyler Wilson has been writing professionally about movies for Inland Northwest publications since 2000. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.