The Nightmare Before Christmas has become a beloved Halloween and sometimes debated Christmas movie since its release in 1993. The film is available on Disney+ and scheduled as part of Freeform’s annual 31 Nights Of Halloween. The Nightmare Before Christmas is almost inescapable during the holidays. Although the film’s main characters, Jack Skellington and Sally, have become prominent figures in Walt Disney theme parks, the film’s content may be too scary for children.
The Nightmare Before Christmas Story
Directed by Henry Sleick and written by Tim Burton, Michael McDowell, and Caroline Thompson, The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween town. He becomes bored with his life in the dark and dreary town. Despite the spooky but friendly zombies, werewolves, and other monsters worshipping Jack in Halloween town, he ventures out and discovers Christmas Town. Astonished by the more cheerful and colorful world, he decides to make his own spin on the jolly holiday.
Even though having good intentions, Jack’s plan goes wrong after he recruits Lock, Shock, and Barrel. They bring Santa to Halloween Town to have a nice day off from Christmas. He is oblivious to the rules of their worlds, kidnaps him, and bring him to Oogie Boogie’s lair. When in his grasp, Oogie Boogie decides to torture the jolly man with scares while Jack quickly learns that he might have ruined Christmas. He decides to save Santa from Oogie Boogie to make things right.
Why the Film is Considered Scary for Children?
When the film first came out, Disney was unsure if they wanted to put their name on it since its content and animation were different from their other films. Eventually, they found the movie’s place within their company, giving it a spot on their streaming platform. Oogie Boogie became the face of their annual Halloween party at Disneyland and changed the Haunted Mansion to a ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ attraction for the holiday season. Despite the family-friendly company finally embracing the stop-motion film, the movie’s animation and art direction may scare young children.
The clay models’ appearances may be too scary for young children. Jack is a giant skeleton who sings about how he can remove his head and shows a creepy smile or two. However, most of the main characters, such as Jack, his love interest Sally, and other residents of Halloween town, are depicted as kind and caring people. For a pretty woman, Sally is made of different body parts sewn together. Other residents have these disturbing traits, such as Dr. Finklestein, who can open his skull to scratch his brain.
While Jack has good intentions when taking over Santa’s job of spreading Christmas cheer, the toys he and the residents terrorize the children. They come to life, attempting to attack them and their parents. The scenes of Oogie Boogie torturing Santa can distress young children as he is often a beloved figure to them. It is also revealed that Oogie Boogie is made of creepy crawling bugs that might also be distressing for younger viewers.
Final Thoughts
Parents have commented in a Common Sense Media forum saying their children were left uncomfortable while watching the film. They found the visuals to be terrifying and sometimes violent for young children. While every family is different, and some children may find some things scarier than others, parents need to be aware of what their children are watching.
‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is rated PG for some scary images. Despite the spooks and scares, the movie’s overall message can be shared with children about accepting themselves and embracing somewhat flawed things about themselves. Even if the film’s content may be too unnerving, the film’s soundtrack, composed by Danny Elfman, who is also the singing voice of Jack, is fun, catchy, and sometimes beautiful and moving like other popular Disney soundtracks that the whole family can also enjoy during Halloween time.
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