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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Play trailer 1:25 Poster for Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas PG Released Oct 29, 1993 1h 15m Kids & Family Holiday Fantasy Comedy Animation Play Trailer Watchlist
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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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Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review 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 Full Review Anthony Lane 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review In the days of computer-animated films that occasionally appear no different than your average videogame, looking back, we must appreciate that Tim Burton and Henry Selick created something so wonderfully original. Rated: 4/4 Sep 5, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (366) audience reviews
Hailey H An absolute holiday classic for everyone! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/19/24 Full Review Zero&Jack If you like Nightmare Before Christmas, you will love seeing it in 3D at the movie theater! Out of the 3D movies I've seen in my life (currently age 30 as of this review), this has been my favorite movie to see in 3D so far. The detail in both sound and visuals feels so much deeper and more textured than watching the movie at home. The stop motion animation is gorgeous in this format. Absolutely worth the money in my opinion! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/09/24 Full Review Jorge it's one of the best Christmas movies. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/08/24 Full Review Randy Date night classic had the theatre all to ourselves Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/02/24 Full Review John G Just watched this in the theater with my now 16 yr old daughter who's not seen this on the big screen. We loved it !!!!! And on Halloween Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/01/24 Full Review Ruby I love this movie always and forever Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/27/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

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Cast & Crew

Ernest Saves Christmas 36% 43% Ernest Saves Christmas Watchlist Hocus Pocus 41% 72% Hocus Pocus Watchlist TRAILER for Hocus Pocus Ernest Scared Stupid 22% 51% Ernest Scared Stupid Watchlist 3 Ninjas 35% 53% 3 Ninjas Watchlist Christmas Carol: The Movie 13% 48% Christmas Carol: The Movie Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

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 11, 2024
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.1M
Runtime
1h 15m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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