Greetings, and welcome back to October Horror Fest! Today, I’m watching a film that is intertwined with Halloween, but is also one to celebrate. Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, and it’s been a magical 100 years. Disney has brought joy, laughs, and magic into the hearts of billions of people around the world, including myself. I love Disney, and I am so happy to be with them for the centennial. Disney, however, has brought many other things besides just joy, laughs, and magic. Disney, believe it or not, brings some spooks as well. Today, to celebrate 100 years of wonder, we take a look at Disney’s most famous Halloween film. Having been a staple of childhoods across the world, this film truly made a difference, and showed the proper way of having Halloween. Without further ado, sit back, relax, turn off the lights, grab some Candy and Popcorn, and let’s review…
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tonight’s Spooky Tale is dedicated to Disney. Thank you for providing the world with joy, love, and stories, and thank you for showing us that Magic is real. To 100 years of Wonder, and to 100 more. Long live Wonder!
Our tale begins with doors in a forest, but these doors are special. They all hold the logo of a holiday. And as our film begins, we enter the pumpkin door. The extremely famous “This is Halloween” begins to play as we enter Halloween Town. In Halloween Town, we see the inhabitants of the town. We see a fountain in the middle of the town, as a lanky man with flaming clothes and a pumpkin on his head jumps off his headless horse and dives into the fountain. When he emerges, his clothes are burned off, leaving him with his iconic black and white stripes suit. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, is in the center of the town. Jack and the Mayor celebrate the successful Halloween, as some of the citizens shower the King with compliments. We see a girl behind a tree staring in awe at Jack, when she is pulled away by a Doctor. This is Sally, and the Doctor created her. He scolds her for poisoning him with a deadly nightshade, and Sally takes off her arm to get away. Jack gets the chance to slip away from the crowd, and takes it. Jack gets to a graveyard in the forest, where Sally watches once again. He wakes up his ghost dog, Zero, and the pair walk together.
Jack begins to sing the famous “Jack’s Lament”, where our Pumpkin King says how he truly is the best at what he does, but he tires of his crown. It’s the same old thing every year, and he grows tired of the sound of screams. He steps onto a hill, with the moon behind him, in an amazing shot. Jack walks down the hill, and walks with Zero into the forest. Sally says that she knows how Jack feels, and our scene concludes with Sally grabbing more Deadly Nightshade.
Shortly after, Sally returns to the Doctor’s lab, and he sews her arm back on. She talks about her restlessness, and the Doc says he created her with his own hands, a clever reference to Frankenstien. The doc says it’s just a phase, and it will pass. After Jack walks further into the forest, we return to Halloween Town the next day. The Mayor can’t find Jack in his house, and gets increasingly worried. We learn that Jack never came home, as we reunite with the Pumpkin King. We see that he wandered through the forest all the way to the Holiday doors, and Jack is fascinated. However, when Jack sees the Christmas Tree on the Christmas door, he becomes entranced. He opens the door, and is sucked in by snowflakes as Zero, confused, barks.
Jack falls through the wormhole, and lands on a hill of Snow. What follows next is the musical number, “What’s This?”, where Jack discovers the joys of Christmas as he repeatedly asks “What is this?”. He sees the magic, and wants it all. At the end, Jack sees the Christmas Town sign, and sees the silhouette of Old Saint Nick. The town is bright and colorful as we transition back to the dull, melancholy Halloween Town. The citizens search for the Pumpkin King. Sally hears the alarm from her tower, and poisons the Doc once again to get out. They hear Zero bark shortly after the search is initiated. Jack arrives, carrying all the Christmas objects he can. He calls a town meeting, and wants to tell everyone about where he was.
Jack is enthusiastic, and Sally comes to the town meeting as well. Jack begins his presentation talking about Christmas, and how much he loved it, and how curious he was about it. He shows them objects like Christmas trees and presents, and how real the town really is. A musical number ensues once again, as the citizens don’t understand Christmas, and keep thinking that it involves Halloween. They think that everything is scary, as Jack desperately tries to get them to understand. Sally, however, understands perfectly, and sees the wonders of Christmas Town. Jack, having no option, tells them about Santa, but describes him as a terrifying king. This gets the crowd to clap, and Jack leaves, defeated.
Jack gets back to his tower, and we see his room decorated with memorabilia. He reads through classic Christmas novels, as he thinks of a way to get his people to understand. He then pulls out a book on the Scientific Method, and gets an idea. We cut back to Sally and the Doctor, as he locks her in her room as a punishment, Rapunzel style. Jack enters, and he and the doctor get along well. Sally perks up hearing the King outside. Jack says that he is conducting a series of experiments, and borrows tools from the Doc. We then transition to Jack experimenting with Christmas objects, trying to find a way to explain it. Sally sees the lights from Jack’s experiments in his room through her window, and makes him a goody basket. She sends it down the tower on a rope, and jumps. Sally is destroyed by the landing, but stitches herself up, and starts making her way to Jack. The Doc finds that Sally is gone, and is very frustrated.
We see the inside of Jack’s tower, as he tries to calculate the meaning of Christmas with a blackboard. Sally sends the goody basket up, and Jack drinks the beverage she made, enjoying it very much. Sally leaves as fast as she came, and Jack closes his window. Sally plucks a dead flower, when she sees a vision. The flower turns into a beautiful Christmas tree, but burns and goes down in flames soon after. Sally is shocked, as we transition into the next day. The town realizes that something is up with their king.
Jack sings “Jack’s obsession” as he tries to crack the Christmas code in his tower. He needs to find out what it all means. Zero then takes over a picture of Jack as the Pumpkin King, and Jack sees it as him with a present in a Santa Claus costume. Jack finally understands, and announces his idea to the town. Jack wants to have Christmas for himself, and he believes he can improve it as well. Jack says that this year, Christmas will be theirs, and the town cheers.
Jack then holds interviews with the town, setting citizens on tasks. The Doc makes the reindeer, and Oogie Boogie’s child henchmen are sent on the top secret mission to kidnap Santa. Jack also tells them to not tell Oogie Boogie anything about it. The kids get back to Oogie Boogie’s, singing a song about how to kidnap Santa. The kids want to give Santa to Oogie Boogie, as he overhears their plans. The kids set out, as Oogie smiles his wide grin.
Jack goes ahead with the auditions, telling his band to play Jingle Bells, to which they play a minor key version, and Jack loves it. Jack then sees Sally, and assigns her with creating his Santa outfit. Sally desperately tries to tell him about her vision, but Jack deflects her concerns. It seems very wrong to Sally, as she leaves. The kids then enter, saying they caught Santa. The Easter Bunny then hops out, and is terrified by the citizens of the town. Jack scolds the kids, saying they went through the wrong door. He apologizes to the Easter Bunny, and scares the kids into submission. They take him home, and sent off once more to get Santa.
The Doc starts work on the reindeer, as he makes a new creation to replace Sally. As Halloween Town gets ready for “Christmas”, Christmas town prepares as well. We get two very different looks at the holiday as we transition between the two towns. Jack is extremely proud, and happy with the progress. The clock ticks down, as the Doc harnesses lightning to bring his reindeer to life, another nod to Frankenstein. When it is one day till Christmas, we see Santa get kidnapped by the kids. Jack puts on his outfit, and says he isn’t the Pumpkin King anymore. Sally tries to tell him what’s wrong, but he still won’t listen. Jack sees Santa, and steals his hat, saying it’s an honor to meet him. He tells the kids to make Santa comfortable, and they take him to the most evil monster in town, Oogie Boogie. Ooogie Boogie then begins to essentially toy with and torture Santa, as we see the Doc make a new creation using half of his brain as it’s brain.
On Christmas Day, Halloween Town begins the festivities. We hear a minor key version of Here Comes Santa Claus as Jack exits a coffin, and gets read a list of great titles by the mayor. Sally, in a desperate attempt to stop Jack, pours a concoction into the fountain, causing a thick fog to envelop the town. Jack is depressed, and can’t take off. This is until Zero appears, and fills in as Rudolph, by lighting the way. Sally is shocked, and begs for him to stay, as Jack, as happy as can be, flies through the sky.
We see Sally begin to sing, as she walks through the town, singing about the incoming tragedy. We learn if we couldn’t already tell that Sally loves Jack, and wants to be with him. However, she feels that it isn’t meant to be. We cut to Jack, still happy as can be, flying to Earth, or this film’s version of our planet. Jack, with a big smile, says “Ho Ho Ho!” and starts delivering presents. We see a montage of Jack delivering presents, and horrified families seeing what Halloween Town thought Christmas was like. Hundreds of terrified families call the police, as they notify the entire military. Halloween Town watches Jack’s progress in a magic cauldron. Sally is absolutely shocked, and heads out to save Santa. The Military begin to fire on Jack. Sally uses her leg to distract Oogie Boogie, as she begins to try and help Santa leave. Before she can achieve her goal, Oogie Boogie sees the plan, and captures both Santa and Sally. The military begin to hit their shots, as Jack flies past the moon in another amazing shot. The Military shoots and fires, and Jack falls, saying “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” as he plummets to the ground. Halloween Town sees the catastrophe unfold, and believes that the Pumpkin King is dead. The Mayor goes around delivering the news.
Back on Earth, we see saddened families and news broadcasters say that the imposter was shot down, but Santa still isn’t there. Zero wakes up Jack, and he asks what he has done. He says he was blind as he begins to sing, and laments on his tragedy. Jack finally begins to start to realize who he is, and says that he did his best. Jack sees the picture of him once again, and throws off the burned and battered costume. Jack is the Pumpkin King, and he can’t wait till next Halloween. However, he knows that he has to fix what he has done, and sets out to save Christmas.
Oogie Boogie is about to send Sally and Santa into a lava pit, as Sally hears the news that Jack is dead. Jack arrives in the nick of time, and saves his friends. He goes through Oogie Boogie’s traps, and is able to grab one of his strings, destroying him. His bugs come out and burn, and Oogie is defeated by the Pumpkin King. Santa steps on the last bug, as Jack asks for forgiveness. Santa is mad, but says that he can fix it. He says to listen to Sally, and sets out to Save Christmas.
Jack and Sally hold hands, Sally saying she needed to help Jack. Jack says he can’t believe he wasn’t able to realize something, as the Mayor spots him. The pair head out of the liar, as we see Santa fix Christmas. Back in Halloween Town, a happy version of This is Halloween plays, as everyone is excited to see their king. Santa Claus then flies by the moon, saying Happy Halloween. Snow falls on Halloween Town, and the town has their own “What is this?” moment. Sally heads to Jack’s mountain, now covered in snow, and begins to think. Jack comes to the mountain, and asks to be by her side. The pair begin a duet, as they hold each other close, and kiss, in another iconic and beautiful shot. Zero flies into the air, and our credits begin to roll.
I hope you all enjoyed The Nightmare before Christmas! It is one of my favorite Disney movies, and I am so happy I was able to share it with you all. I hope you enjoyed it! Also, I hope that through your life, the Walt Disney Company was able to share the magic with you, as they did for me. I decided to dedicate this article to them. Not just for the centennial, but for everything. I’m so glad to be able to be here today, and to try my best to carry on Walt’s legacy. Thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you had a magical time. Remember, just before I go, This is Halloween…