Halloween is just around the corner and I’m sure most of us have already started thinking about how to decorate our homes! The most important piece of the holidays is the ambiance (books, movies, and festive drinks!). Everyone has their own idea of how they envision spooky time to be, whether it be full of Michael Myers and the series of Saw or cute costumes and Hocus Pocus. To start, I wanted to share a classic favorite: The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Tim Burton spent about 3 years creating this fantastic stop motion film. Jack Skellington, the “King of Halloween” accidentally stumbles upon “Christmas Town” and obsesses over the idea, creating his own fantasy, but his selfish decisions almost cause complete destruction of Christmas and himself. The strength of this character is the simplicity of an apology, his ability to correct his mistakes, and the innocence of curiosity. The infamous story began from a poem that Burton had wrote in 1982. At first, Burton’s plan was to create a simple, 30 minute short, but that turned into a development deal with Walt Disney ultimately producing the hour and 15 minute movie!
You will notice Jack Skellington making appearances in other films such as Beetlejuice, James the Giant Peach and other Tim Burton films. This correlation is a signature tie in most Disney movies where you see other characters making appearances in neighboring films called a crossover. Ultimately, this ties the majority of Disney movies together.
I think this is a perfect combo of some of the most popular holidays celebrated. Jack Skellington was not only portrayed as being on par with Santa Claus, but also the Easter Bunny within his own holiday. The talent of creating a character who is not malicious, but rather, is curious about holidays that he is not familiar with, and attempting to re-create these ideas and follows this ideology of a tragic hero is truly genius.