Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

PG

1993

1h 15m

Kids & Family

Holiday

Fantasy

Comedy

Animation

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

107 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

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Critics Consensus

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stunningly original and visually delightful work of stop-motion animation.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

I'm blown away by just the construction of the scenes, and by all of the effects that have been incorporated to make everything move fluidly; and there's also this charming imperfection to the animation that just makes it so gorgeous.

Rated: A

Apr 13, 2018

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Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

Part avant-garde art film, part amusing but morbid fairy tale, it is a delightfully ghoulish holiday musical that displays more inventiveness in its brief 75 minutes than some studios can manage in an entire year.

Dec 3, 2013

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

This full-length animated movie was shot in stop motion, with all the febrile, twittery fascination that the medium exerts; it has a magic-toy shop feeling, with unexpected objects stuttering into life.

Dec 3, 2013

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Charlotte Simmons

The Treatment (Substack)

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a robustly metamodernist examination of the intersections between Christianity, paganism, scientific thought, and mythopoeic thought (and what that all means for the human condition)

Nov 24, 2025

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Kristy Strouse

Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying

The Nightmare Before Christmas is unique and timeless, a magical adventure that’ll delight the senses and steal your heart.

Nov 14, 2023

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Lauren Veneziani

DC Film Girl

One of the best films of all-time, the gorgeous stop-motion animation and story of Jack Skellington longing for something more leaves us breathless, happy and fulfilled.

Rated: 5/5

Oct 30, 2023

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Pennynow

A classic from my childhood that stands the test of time. Danny Elfman’s lyrics and music are outstanding, and you’re in and out in just over an hour. What’s not to love?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/25

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jesse v

lots of world building, but it's a musical with barely a story. if you love music and halloween, this is for you. amazing masterpiece for stop motion and spawned the creation of LAIKA neverthless

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/30/25

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Taro

Still the best movie to me!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/29/25

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Candi

They canceled the movie, so I didn't get to see it!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/25

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Robert

Remains a solid holiday classic with its memorable song, likeable main character, and aesthetically stop motion animation. It maybe could have used a slightly longer runtime to develop some of the character relationships a bit better.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/24/25

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chad

A timeless classic! So amazing in 3d. Blown Away!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/23/25

Full Review

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Henry Selick

Director

Danny Elfman

Jack Skellington

Chris Sarandon

Jack

Catherine O'Hara

Sally

William Hickey

Evil Scientist

Glenn Shadix

Mayor

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Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Director: Henry Selick
Producer: Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, Kathleen Gavin
Screenwriter: Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions
Rating: PG (Some Scary Images)
Genre: Kids & Family, Holiday, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 29, 1993, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 2025
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.1M
Runtime: 1h 15m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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