Is 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' Actually A Halloween Movie, Or A Christmas One? Here's What The Film's Composer Says

Ever since The Nightmare Before Christmas debuted in 1993, fans have been debating whether the film is actually a Halloween movie, or a Christmas one.

The film, concieved and directed by Tim Burton, has elements of both holidays as Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with his holiday and discovers Christmastown.

Speaking with USA Today in a recent interview, composer Danny Elfman is ending the debate…sort of.

“It’s obviously about Christmas, but for me, it’s a Halloween movie,” Danny shared. “Growing up, Halloween was my favorite night of the year and Christmas was a troublesome time.”

He continues, “Into my adult years, it was a time where a bit of a dark cloud would follow me around – probably carrying over from my childhood until I had my own kids – and then I developed a new, brighter view of Christmas. I also felt very close to Jack Skellington’s plight because I knew what it was like to be the king of my own little world, and to want out of that world and want something else.”

“So I felt very close to the holiday of Halloween, but also very close to Jack and what he was going through.”

Tim Burton agrees, too: “It’s a Halloween movie,” he said during a Q&A at a film festival a few years ago.