The great Halloween vs. Christmas debate was alive and well long before the animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas came into our lives. There are some people who live with Christmas in their hearts 365 days a year, and then there are Halloweenies who prefer pumpkins, witches, and the occasional goblin.
Regardless of the holiday debate, for about as long as The Nightmare Before Christmas has been around, so has one burning question: is it a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? Now, truth be told, any excuse to enjoy ghoulish imagery and Danny Elfman music for three months out of the year is fine by me, but the controversy is real, gosh darn it! And for a rabid fanbase, there can only be one definitive answer.
Consider that score settled after Birth. Movies. Death‘s Q&A with the director of the beloved film, Henry Selick, at The Telluride Horror Show. Towards the end of the session, a little girl in the audience raised her hand and put the director on the spot: Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? According to the moderator, Selick remarked, “It’s a Halloween movie.” Are we really surprised?
BMD went on to note that Selick acknowledges that there are many people who enjoy the Christmas parts of the movie more, but when you get right down to it, Nightmare is about the folks in Halloween Town and how they would respond to something like Christmas, not the other way around.
How do you feel about this, people? Can you sleep at night now knowing the truth behind the Skellington or can you not take “Halloween” for an answer? Let us know in the comments–and don’t worry, we’ll still be watching this one for BOTH holidays.
Featured Image: Disney
Clarke Wolfe writes Horror Happenings for Nerdist every Sunday. You can follow her on Twitter @clarkewolfe.
Want more Nightmare Before Christmas?
- Make Nightmare Before Christmas wreath cookies.
- Watch Danny Elfman perform songs from the movie.
- Seven stop-motion movies to enjoy this Halloween.
