Deep Dive Disney: Wes Looks at The Nightmare Before Christmas

Boys and Girls of Every Age, Wouldn’t You Like to See Something Strange? Come With Us and You Will See, What We Call Deep Dive Disney. Welcome back to Deep Dive Disney and welcome to one of the most highly anticipated deep dives of the entire retrospective. I was late to the party when it came to The Nightmare Before Christmas. Despite being aware of the film when it came out in 1993, I didn’t actually get the opportunity to sit down and watch it until I was a senior in high school, nearly 15 years later. With every subsequent viewing I have gained a deeper love and appreciation for the film and it has since become one of those holiday movies I watch every year. If you’re wondering, I personally watch this movie every Thanksgiving. Just my way of getting around all that “Is it a Halloween Movie/Is it a Christmas Movie” nonsense. So, what’s the story here? In a world where holidays are represented by magical towns, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King or spirit of Halloween, has found himself in a bit of a rut. He loves Halloween and being scary but after a while, the whole thing starts to become repetitive and Jack longs to experience something new. In his search for new experiences, Jack stumbles across Christmas Town and finds all the good cheer and wonderful feelings that come with the holiday to be intoxicating, so much so that he wants a piece of it for himself. To this end, Jack plans to make Christmas his own, even going so far as to arrange the kidnapping of Santa Clause so he may deliver presents in his absence. What Jack doesn’t know is that Santa Clause has found himself the captive of the evil Oogie Boogie and if Jack doesn’t save him, Christmas may be lost forever. So, what are we waiting for, let’s dive right into, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Main Character:

It may surprise you to know that Jack Skellington is voiced by none other than Prince Humperdink himself, Chris Sarandon. That’s pretty cool. When we first see Jack, we can see that he’s something of a rock star in Halloween Town. He’s even got groupies and everything. Everyone in Halloween town constantly heaps praise upon him even though Jack himself feels that his work has gone stale. It’s easy to understand how that life can get a bit overwhelming. Jack simply believes that he can be more than just the king of Halloween. I think the best way to describe Jack Skellington would be to say he’s very single minded. Once Jack gets the idea of Christmas into his mind it becomes an obsession and since everyone worships the ground he walks upon, there’s no one who’s willing to tell him it’s a bad idea and the only one who does, his close friend and confidant, Sally, he is too far gone to listen to her. Jack doesn't even bother to ask Santa Clause if he offers some kind of internship or work-study program, something where Jack can learn the ins and outs of what Christmas is and how it works. Nope, Jack just decides that Christmas is his now and kidnaps the real Santa Clause, genuinely believing he's doing him a favor. One could almost argue that Jack is the real villain of the movie. After all, Christmas is almost destroyed as a direct result of Jack’s actions. There’s, of course, no malice in Jack's Yule Tide hostile takeover, he just doesn’t realize what he’s doing is wrong. Interestingly enough, one might say that Jack has a lot in common with Ariel. Both live in a position of comfort, both seem incapable of ever being satisfied and both go to great and questionable lengths to get what they want. So why am I not going on a rant about why I hate Jack? Simple, unlike Ariel, Jack learns his lesson and understands that he did wrong. By the end, he’s glad that he was able to experience Christmas but has gained a new appreciation for the life he had. One of my favorite scenes in the film is during the song “Poor Jack” where he finally realizes what he’s done. There’s this great moment where Jack rips off his Santa suit and yells “I AM The Pumpkin King!” I love the renewed sense of confidence Jack gains. He may have done wrong, but he has learned from the experience and has been made better for it. Something I have noticed in later viewings of the film is that Jack, however intentionally or unintentionally, may have been coded autistic. As someone who has dealt with autism his entire life, I recognize many of the behaviors present in myself, both good and bad, in Jack such as hyper fixation and the inability to recognize good advice when I hear it. I don't know if any other autistics see themselves in Jack, but I do, and it's nice to be seen.

Villain:

Well, well, well, what have we here. Mr. Oogie Boogie huh, ooh I’m really scared. No joke, this guy gives me the creeps. Yes, I know I made that joke in my Top 20 Disney Villains list, but it still applies. While technically not the main villain of the piece, again, one could argue that that honor belongs to Jack himself, Oogie has no problem taking advantage of the situation for his own cruel pleasure. Oogie is one scary customer, so much so that even the denizens of Halloween town, whose job it is to be terrifying, seem to give Oogie a wide birth. Frankly, I don’t blame them, Oogie Boogie is a straight up sadist, taking a perverse delight in torturing any poor bastard who’s unfortunate enough to find themselves in his lair which he’s decorated like a twisted combination of a casino and a rave. I mean, this guy spends the majority of his screen time literally torturing Santa Clause. The only people who seem to tolerate Oogie are his henchmen, three trick-or-treaters named Lock, Shock and Barrel, who are themselves pretty creepy and sadistic. Oogie may not get all that much screen time but he certainly makes the most of what he’s given, and if you think he’s just an overgrown potato sack, think again, because inside, we see that Oogie is made entirely of bugs, spiders and all other manor of creepy-crawlies, which kind of makes me wonder how Oogie even works. Is he some kind of hive-mind, or is there a single bug that acts as Oogie’s brain? I’d like to take this time to share a theory that a friend of mine has about Oogie that may indicate that he’s not actually evil at all. If Oogie is meant to be an archetypical bogeyman, then that would mean he feeds on fear. However, when you live in a world like Halloween Town where scary things are met with joy and excitement, there is no real fear to feed on and Oogie is slowly starving. However, once Jack starts on his Christmas obsession, fear and doubt begin to creep in and Oogie is finally able to eat. Are my friend and I reading way too much into this? Maybe, but it’s still an interesting theory. And hey, Tim Burton himself has said that Oogie isn't really a villain, just a really shitty neighbor so maybe there's something to this. In any case, Oogie makes for a wonderfully creepy antagonist and certainly knows his way around a swinging jazz number.

Side Characters:

There aren’t that many side characters to discuss this time around. The denizens of Halloween town for the most part are all devoted to Jack and despite some skepticism, they go along with his Christmas plan. The two-faced mayor of Halloween town at least has an interesting design and his “I’m only an elected official” bit gets a couple of good laughs. Did you know that’s the late Glenn Shadix, aka Otho from Beetlejuice doing the voice?

Dr. Finklestein is okay and it’s always nice to hear the late William Hickey but he’s also a horribly controlling parental figure and not a well-meaning one like the Sultan. Fun fact, in the original version of the script it was going to be revealed that the Professor and Oogie were actually one and the same. Allegedly, Tim Burton read that and kicked a hole through a wall out of anger. It’s an interesting idea but it really doesn’t make sense when you think about it.

That leaves us with the Hot Topic Disney Princess herself, Sally. I joke, but Sally actually does share quite a few traits with your typical Disney Princess. She’s kind, she’s the victim of a controlling parental figure and she is in love with someone who is completely oblivious to her feelings. Sally also seems to be the sole voice of reason in all of Halloween Town and the only one who is willing to tell Jack that this Christmas thing is a bad idea. Though everyone in Halloween Town idolizes Jack, it can be said that Sally is Jack’s only true friend because she’s the only one who is willing to tell him when he’s wrong. I honestly wish more time was given to their relationship, but what we got was nice. It’s clear that Sally cares for Jack, but Jack doesn’t realize it since he’s usually either swarmed by groupies or off on some hairbrained scheme. I do appreciate that the movie ends with the two starting their relationship, it’s really sweet.

Songs:

I’m going to be honest, not too many of the songs in this movie really stand out to me. Don’t get me wrong, This Is Halloween is an awesome opening song, Sally’s song is Hauntingly beautiful and Kidnap the Sandy Claws is a lot of fun, especially for the messed up imagery it creates in your head, but none of the songs in the movie really stick with me the way some from previous films have. That is except for one, Oogie Boogie’s song. What can I say, he may be a sadistic sack of insects, but he can put together one hell of a fun jazz number. Apparently Oogie was partially inspired by the legendary Cab Calloway and that influence is very prevalent in this number. Listening to this tune, you just can’t help but tap your feet. The song is so catchy, you almost don’t care that Oogie wants to do unspeakably horrible things to jolly old St. Nick.

Memorable Scenes:

I actually really liked the final showdown with Oogie Boogie. It all starts with Jack sneaking his way into Oogie’s lair to save Sally and Santa. Oogie is about to lower his victims into a pit of hot liquid but Jack saves them at the last minute. I love when a confused Oogie pulls the lever only to find a pissed off Jack waiting for him. Something about the way Jack says “Hello Oogie” and the fact that Oogie seems genuinely afraid of Jack makes me laugh. However, Oogie hits a button and activates all his very creative casino themed death traps including sword wielding playing cards, buzzsaws and gun toting slot machines that Jack must avoid in order to get to Oogie. It really does feel like a final boss level in a video game. Oogie makes his way up to the rafters but Jack pulls a loose thread on his sack, exposing all the horrible bugs within. The look on Sally’s face as Oogie screams in agony as one by one the bugs fall into the boiling pit really says it all. Even someone who lives in Halloween town thinks that this is messed up.

Story:

Interestingly enough, the moral of The Nightmare Before Christmas seems to be very similar to that of our last movie, Aladdin. Much like Aladdin, who failed to recognize his own worth, so too has Jack begun to take his own worth for granted. When we meet Jack, he believes he’s done all he can as the king of Halloween and longs for something new. What Jack doesn’t realize is just how good he is at Halloween stuff. Frankly, the Christmas he puts together would probably have made a pretty sweet Halloween even if it did make for a lousy Christmas. Jack wants to the best he can possibly be but he’s fooled himself into thinking that the only way to do that is to become something he’s not. I cannot emphasize enough how much the Poor Jack sequence perfectly illustrates Jack finally getting it. In that moment, Jack realizes that he is the Pumpkin King and he’s damn good at it. He’s glad that he gave Christmas a try, but it ultimately wasn’t him, and his focus should have been on making Halloween bigger and better than it was before.

The Dark Disney Factor:

Well, considering that the majority of this movie takes place in a world called “Halloween Town,” you can imagine that this film is full of dark and creepy imagery. I mean, you don’t hire Tim Burton for a movie about happy bunnies and singing princesses. Everywhere you look there are Vampires, hanging skeletons, axe murderers, horrible melting creatures, nightmare clowns with detachable faces and all other manner of terrible creatures, and that’s just in the opening number. Things get even weirder when Jack decides to make Christmas his own, he turns it into well… a nightmare. Skeletal Reindeer, Toys that come alive and try to kill people, children opening presents with Shrunken Heads, the list goes on. It would be a lot of fun if it all weren’t potentially lethal. Then there’s my favorite part. Once word gets around that there’s a horrible seven-foot-tall skeleton going around impersonating Santa Clause and giving away killer presents, the entire United States Military is mobilized to take Jack down. That’s… kind of messed up. Did the US Army really not have anything better to do during the Clinton years? And then of course, there’s all the stuff with Oogie Boogie that we’ve already covered. I just felt it necessary to remind you all that Oogie spends the majority of his screen time Torturing Santa Clause!!

Final Thoughts:

While not quite as strong as other movies we’ve covered, this movie is still a lot of fun and holds a very special place in my heart. The stop motion effects look beautiful even by today’s standards, the story is interesting, the characters are fun and overall, the film still holds up as two holiday classics in one. Next time though, we’re covering one of Disney's biggest and most beloved hits. I only hope that I can do justice to such a beloved classic. Next time, Deep Dive Disney takes its place in the Circle of Life as we look at The Lion King