This article is part of The Twelve Days of Doofmas, a daily series of articles on our favorite Christmas films that was released as Bonus Content leading up to Christmas Eve 2019.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is obviously about Tim Burton.
It’s about a visionary genius who feels creatively trapped, rehashing the same style and tone and gimmickry, year after year. He feels like he’s doing the same old thing on repeat. Nobody’s better than him at what he does, but he’s still tired of the sound of screams. Just like Tim Burton in 1993.
But Tim Burton did not, in fact, direct this film; he produced it. Tim Burton was not even around for the filming – he was off making Batman Returns and Ed Wood, and spent only ten days in the studio. It was director Henry Selick who guided the visual style and managed the day-to-day of the production. It was Selick’s job to make the film look like a Tim Burton film.
So perhaps the film is about Selick?
Nobody had more control over the visuals of this visually stunning, award-winning film than Henry Selick. After all, the story of Selick is the story of somebody who took over somebody else’s project. Somebody who looked at what the next guy was doing and decided he could do that, no, he could do that better than the original. Just like Jack Skellington! (Selick even acted out the movements of the skeletal protagonist to be copied by the animators.)
And, in my opinion, Selick’s version of Burton’s aesthetic works a lot better than Jack’s version of Santa Claus’ aesthetic. Nightmare has spawned more iconic imagery than any five of Burton’s other films.
Sure, you say, Burton created the story, Selick created what you see on the screen, but we’re still missing what makes Nightmare the masterpiece that it is: the music. And the truth is that Tim Burton didn’t actually create the story; he co-created the story with Danny Elfman, who also wrote the lyrics and music for the songs, and performed the singing voice (though not speaking voice) of Jack Skellington!
So, Nightmare is about Danny Elfman! Another creative genius who, let’s be honest, can be said to have a very particular style that he tends to stick to for most of his compositions, here jumping at the opportunity to do not just the composition but the lyrics for a film about a skinny guy struggling with creativity but, ultimately, rediscovering his passion and his connection to his muse. One of the most powerful songs in the film was one of the hardest for Elfman to write, but the most fun for him to perform: Poor Jack, a tune specifically about reclaiming his creative inspiration. The song overflows with emotion and is the emotional crescendo of the film.
The Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t really about any of these three figures, of course. It’s about the struggles of the creative soul. And it’s more of a Christmas film than it is a Halloween movie because in the course of losing and re-finding himself, Jack Skellington’s journey touches on themes of redemption, belonging, and generosity, all perfect fits for the Christmas genre.
– Matt
