“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is an original movie that premiered in theaters on October 29, 1993, at the New York Film Festival. Earlier this year, Disney announced that the film would return to theaters on October 11, 2024. The release of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” was to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its original release in 1993. The movie was shown all across the United States and Canada in theaters including AMC, Regal, and Cinemark. In Hollywood, the El Capitan Theater displayed a special 4-D version of the movie as well as souvenirs and concessions.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” was directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton. The movie was inspired by a parody poem written by Burton in 1981, while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. The movie was originally a Disney movie, and when it was first released, it wasn’t much of a success. Over time, the movie gained popularity considering it was a stop-motion film that blends Halloween and Christmas together.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” tells the story of the main character, Jack Skellington, also known as the king of ‘Halloween Town.’ Halloween Town is a world full of fantasies that inhibit a variety of monsters and supernatural characters that are associated with the holiday. Jack Skellington stumbled upon another place called “Christmas Town” and planned to take over the holiday. Jack’s overall goal is to find a sense of fulfillment and spread the joy of Christmas with the people of Halloween Town. The overall theme of the movie is to display a message to those watching that even if one fails at something, the effort is still worth it.
As I interviewed current students of Birmingham Community Charter High School, Jenny Cortez (9) and Andreas Olmos (9), I asked a series of questions regarding the movie, and its recent re-release. I asked what they liked about the movie and Jenny replied, “I enjoyed watching it. I thought it was going to be scary at first because of the cover, but I liked it.” Andreas added,“ I liked it. I thought it was going to be more like a creepy horror movie, but I liked it because in a way, it was realistic and I like the animation.” Later, I asked what they thought about its recent release and Jenny said, “I like how they celebrated their 30th anniversary of its release because it shows how successful the movie became.”
Overall, the movie re-release was a success and it gives people all across the world access to a popular Disney film that has become a pop culture phenomenon and a Halloween and Christmas classic.
