Halloween Town is a fantasy world populated by various monsters and beings associated with the holiday (“This is Halloween”). Jack Skellington, the well-respected “Pumpkin King,” leads the town in organizing the annual Halloween celebrations. Unknown to the citizens, however, he has grown tired of the same annual routine this year and wants something new (“Jack’s Lament”). Wandering in the woods the next morning, he discovers several trees containing doors, which lead to other holiday-themed worlds (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Valentine’s Day and Saint Patrick’s Day). Stumbling through the one leading to Christmas Town and awed by the unfamiliar holiday, Jack develops an obsession for it (“What’s This”).
Jack returns home to share his discovery with his friends and neighbors. They relate to Christmas Town’s ruler, Santa Claus (whom Jack mistakenly calls “Sandy Claws”), but are unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas and conflate its customs with the Halloween traditions that they are used to (“Town Meeting Song”). Frustrated, Jack isolates himself in his house and studies Christmas further, intent upon finding a way to rationally explain it (“Jack’s Obsession”). When days of study and experimentation accomplish nothing, however, Jack abandons his attempts to understand Christmas and decides to “improve” the holiday instead.
Jack announces that Halloween Town will take over Christmas this year and assigns Christmas-themed jobs, such as singing carols, making presents (“Making Christmas”) and building a sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer, to various residents. Sally, a feminine creation of local mad scientist Doctor Finkelstein, experiences a vision detailing that their efforts will end in disaster. Jack, whom she secretly loves, dismisses her warnings and instructs her to make a Santa Claus suit for him. He also tasks a mischievous trick-or-treating trio named Lock, Shock and Barrel with abducting Santa (“Kidnap the Sandy Claws”); however, he orders the youngsters not to involve his long-time rival Oogie Boogie, a bogeyman with a passion for gambling, in their plot.
When Lock, Shock and Barrel bring Santa to Halloween Town (after mistakenly kidnapping the Easter Bunny first), Jack tells Santa that he will take care of Christmas this year and orders the trio to keep Santa safe. However, they disobey Jack’s orders and bring Santa to Oogie, who plots to play a game with Santa’s life at stake (“Oogie Boogie’s Song”). Meanwhile, despite her best efforts, Sally is unable to stop Jack from proceeding with his plan (“Sally’s Song”). As Jack departs to deliver presents in the real world, she attempts to rescue Santa from Oogie, only to be captured herself.
Unknown to Jack at first, his presents terrify the real world’s populace, who contact the authorities and are instructed by them to lock down their homes and residences for protection. When word spreads about Jack’s actions, military forces are alerted and Jack is shot down by artillery, causing him to crash in a cemetery. While the residents of Halloween Town believe him to be dead, Jack actually survived the ordeal. Bemoaning the disaster that he has caused (“Poor Jack”), he realizes that he enjoyed the experience nonetheless, reigniting his love for Halloween, but must act fast to fix the mess he had caused.
Upon returning home, Jack rescues Santa and Sally, then confronts Oogie and defeats him by unraveling a thread holding his cloth form together, causing all of the bugs inside Oogie to spill out and reduce him to nothing. Jack then apologizes to Santa, who scolds him for the chaos that he caused and for ignoring Sally’s warnings. As Santa departs, however, both he and Sally assure Jack that Christmas can still be saved.
Santa resumes his yearly duties as he replaces Jack’s presents with genuine ones, while all of Halloween Town celebrates Jack’s survival and return (“Finale / Reprise”). To assure Jack that there are no hard feelings between them, Santa brings a snowfall to the town, thereby bringing the Christmas spirit upon it and, in a way, fulfilling Jack’s original dream. The citizens finally realize the true meaning of Christmas, while Jack and Sally declare their love for each other and share a kiss.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightmare_Before_Christmas
Saturn Awards:
Ranked #1 on Rotten Tomatoes‘ “Top 25 Best Christmas Movies” list.
Nominations:
- Academy Award for Best Visual Effects
- Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
- Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
