136 Fun Facts About Nightmare Before Christmas

When Burton first showed him the concept art and storyboards, what was Henry Selick's job?

A Disney animator like Burton, Selick saw the sketches in the early 1980s; Disney shelved the idea, and only Burton's later live-action hits won the pair the chance to make it.

How long was Tim Burton's original poem that became The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Three pages was all Burton's 1982 poem ran to; Disney weighed it as a short or a half-hour TV special, then shelved it as too weird.

The 76-minute Nightmare Before Christmas needed roughly how many separately posed frames?

About 110,000: at 24 frames a second the count came to 109,440, each one a fresh pose of the puppets, which is why the shoot took years rather than months.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, what creature does the Mayor of Halloween Town wear as a tie?

A black widow spider serves as the Mayor's tie; for all the menace, he admits he is 'only an elected official' who can't decide anything without Jack.

Back in Halloween Town, how does Jack Skellington try to work out what Christmas means?

By running scientific experiments: he borrows a lab's worth of equipment and tests the trinkets he brought home, but the results tell him nothing about what Christmas means.

Which part of Sally's puppet did animators swap between frames to change her expression?

Her face mask: Sally's long red hair would have been disturbed by anything bigger, so she got sets of removable faces, each with its own run of expressions.

Which actor voiced the villainous, gambling-addicted Oogie Boogie?

Ken Page based the gambling-addicted villain's voice on Bert Lahr's Cowardly Lion crossed with the demon from The Exorcist, and still reprises the role at Hollywood Bowl concerts.

Which part of Jack Skellington's puppet did the crew sculpt hundreds of times over?

His head was swapped for another whenever his mouth or expression changed, so hundreds were sculpted, each a slightly different face.

Under which Disney label was "The Nightmare Before Christmas" originally released?

Touchstone Pictures got the film because the studio thought its Gothic tone would be too dark and scary for kids under the main Walt Disney Pictures brand.

What does Santa Claus bring to Halloween Town for the first time at the end of The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Snow falls on Halloween Town as Santa flies over calling 'Happy Halloween!'; the baffled townsfolk are soon throwing snowballs at one another.

Sally's detachable limbs are stuffed with what?

Sally is a rag doll stuffed with fall leaves; she carries needle and thread to sew herself back together, as after she throws herself from Dr. Finkelstein's tower window to escape.

Zero's glowing nose is shaped like what?

A jack-o'-lantern glows at the tip of Zero's snout, so when Jack cannot see to take off on Christmas Eve he puts Zero at the head of the team to light the way.

What are the costumes worn by the trick-or-treating trio Lock, Shock, and Barrel?

Devil, Witch, Skeleton, in that order: Lock, Shock and Barrel wear the costumes when Jack sends them to kidnap Santa, whom they hand to Oogie Boogie instead.

What is the title of the song Jack Skellington sings when he first discovers Christmas Town?

'What's This?' has Jack tumble into Christmas Town and dash from sight to sight, astonished by a place where nothing is meant to frighten anyone.

Danny Elfman wrote most of the songs for The Nightmare Before Christmas before it had what?

A script came last: Selick has said production had to start without one, and Caroline Thompson was hired later to stitch a story around Elfman's finished songs.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, what do Jack Skellington and Halloween Town call Santa Claus?

Sandy Claws, as Jack describes him, is a fearsome ruler, and he is the one part of Christmas the townsfolk relate to; the rest of the holiday leaves them baffled.

In which city did production of The Nightmare Before Christmas begin in 1991?

San Francisco housed the shoot in an unmarked warehouse full of miniature sets, and Tim Burton, whose name sits above the title, dropped in only now and then.

Why did Tim Burton not direct The Nightmare Before Christmas himself?

He was tied up with Batman Returns, and he also had no wish to sit through the frame-by-frame grind of stop motion, so he produced while Henry Selick directed.

The 2004 game Oogie's Revenge first went on sale in which country, a year before North America?

Japan got the game in October 2004 and North America a year later; it picks up after the film, with Oogie Boogie sewn back together by his three henchmen.

What kind of creature is Zero, Jack Skellington's loyal pet?

A ghost dog, Zero floats ahead of the coffin sleigh on Christmas Eve, leading the team when Jack cannot see where he is going.

How does Sally learn that the Christmas takeover will end in disaster?

She has a vision: the flower she is plucking turns into a tiny Christmas tree and bursts into flames, but Jack brushes off her warning and asks her to sew his Santa suit.

What is unusual about the head of Halloween Town's Mayor?

It has two faces, happy and sad, and swivels between them with his mood: a literal take on the two-faced politician.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack's coffin-shaped sleigh is pulled on Christmas Eve by what creatures?

Skeletal reindeer, brought to life by the mad scientist, haul the coffin sleigh after Jack assigns Halloween Town Christmas jobs like carolling and making presents.

What fills the burlap sack that forms Oogie Boogie's body?

Bugs and insects spill out when Jack unravels his thread into the lava, and Santa squashes the lead bug that acts as his brain.

What happens to Jack Skellington's sleigh after the military attacks him?

It crashes in a cemetery, where Jack lands in the arms of a stone angel; Halloween Town mourns him as dead, but he gets up with his love of Halloween restored.

Which detachable part of herself does Sally use to distract Oogie Boogie while she tries to free Santa?

Her leg, detached, is sent to charm Oogie Boogie while Sally works to get Santa out, but the villain sees through the trick and catches them both.

Which US film rating did The Nightmare Before Christmas receive, despite Disney's fear that it was too dark for children?

PG was as far as the worry went: the studio that feared the film was too dark for children later sent it back into cinemas year after year.

On which landmark do Jack and Sally share their kiss at the end of The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Spiral Hill bookends the story: Sally hides nearby to hear Jack sing his troubles at the start, and climbs it herself at the end, where he joins her.

What does Dr. Finkelstein use to build himself a new companion in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Part of his own brain goes into the new creation, so that she will think as he does; having made a like-minded mate, he finally lets Sally go free.

What troubles Jack Skellington at the start of The Nightmare Before Christmas?

He is bored with Halloween: after years of the same scares he slips away from the town's celebration and wanders until he finds the doors to other holidays.

How did the Oogie Boogie puppet compare in height with the others?

He was two feet high. Burton loosely based him on Cab Calloway's turns in Betty Boop cartoons, which is why his song swings.

Which holiday specials shaped Tim Burton's first concept for The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Rudolph and the Grinch: Burton drew on the two TV specials for his poem and hoped to make a special of his own, but Disney shelved the idea for nearly a decade.

What does Jack Skellington wear as his signature attire in Halloween Town?

Pin-striped suit and bat bow tie make up his everyday look; for Christmas Eve he trades them for a red Santa outfit that Sally sews for him.

The trick-or-treating trio's names are a play on which phrase?

Lock, Shock and Barrel's names pun on 'lock, stock and barrel'; the three work for Oogie Boogie and get about in a walking bathtub.

Tim Burton first pictured The Nightmare Before Christmas as a TV special narrated by which favourite actor of his?

Vincent Price had narrated Burton's short Vincent, a tribute to the actor, that same year; a decade on, the film's opening lines went instead to Ed Ivory, the voice of Santa.

Which Star Trek captain recorded the prologue and epilogue narration heard only on the soundtrack album?

Patrick Stewart's readings were dropped from the finished film but survive on the album; on screen the brief prologue is spoken by Ed Ivory, who voices Santa.

In which melancholy number does Halloween Town's king wish he could give up his crown?

'Jack's Lament' has Jack confess, once the crowd is gone, that he would give up the crown if he could, while Sally listens from hiding.

Which style did director Henry Selick name as the look of Halloween Town?

German Expressionism, the crooked, shadowy look of silent horror films, rules Halloween Town, so Jack's fall into bright, rounded Christmas Town feels like a change of worlds.

How does Dr. Finkelstein get around in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

In a motorised wheelchair, and in the finale the companion he has built for himself is the one pushing it.

What is one of the "scary" toys Jack Skellington tries to deliver to children?

A shrunken head is what one boy lifts from his gift box as his parents scream; another house gets a toy snake that swallows the Christmas tree whole.

Which poison does Sally slip into Dr. Finkelstein's soup so she can escape his lab?

Deadly nightshade goes into Dr. Finkelstein's soup, its smell masked with other herbs, and once he nods off Sally slips out to hear Jack's news about Christmas.

Which song ends with Jack Skellington feeling like his 'old bony self again'?

'Poor Jack' starts in despair over the ruined Christmas and turns mid-song, as he decides the attempt was worth it and that Halloween is where he belongs.

What does Jack Skellington intend to do with Santa Claus after kidnapping him?

Jack wants to replace Santa and deliver Christmas himself, telling Lock, Shock and Barrel to make him comfortable; instead they hand him to Oogie Boogie, who gambles with his life.

In which Oscar category did The Nightmare Before Christmas become the first animated film ever nominated?

Best Visual Effects had never had an animated nominee before; it was the film's only Oscar nomination, and the puppets lost on the night.

How did The Nightmare Before Christmas actually perform in cinemas on its first release?

A modest sleeper, not a smash, the film found its devoted following on home video, which led Disney to bring it back to cinemas years later.

In 2023, The Nightmare Before Christmas was added to which American roll of honour?

The National Film Registry took it in beside Disney's own Lady and the Tramp that year, a turnaround for a film the studio once thought too dark and scary for kids.

What does Oogie Boogie use to decide the fate of his prisoners, Sally and Santa?

A pair of dice, though the game is rigged: when the roll comes up snake eyes, he cheats to turn it into a winner.

Which voice for Jack Skellington was in place first, with the other cast to match it?

Elfman's singing came first: he recorded Jack's songs while the film was still taking shape, and Chris Sarandon was hired afterwards because his speaking voice matched.

Besides singing for Jack, Danny Elfman voiced which two other residents of Halloween Town?

Barrel and the Clown with the Tear-Away Face were Elfman's speaking parts; for Jack his singing stayed, but the dialogue went to an actor with a more polished delivery.

Catherine O'Hara voiced Sally and which other Halloween Town resident?

Shock is O'Hara too: she voices the trio's sharpest schemer, plotting Santa's kidnap, while her other character, Sally, is the one resident trying to stop it.

How do the credits of The Nightmare Before Christmas identify Dr. Finkelstein?

Evil Scientist is his only billing, and he earns it at home: he keeps Sally, the rag doll he made, under lock and key, and she keeps finding ways to escape.

At which festival did The Nightmare Before Christmas hold its world premiere?

New York Film Festival crowds saw it first, and the film Disney feared was too dark and scary for kids came away with largely positive reviews.

Per the Special Edition DVD, an early Nightmare Before Christmas idea gave Oogie Boogie what secret identity?

An early idea discussed on the Special Edition DVD would have unmasked Oogie Boogie as Dr. Finkelstein in disguise; Tim Burton rejected the twist and it was dropped.

Which of these holidays has its own door alongside Halloween's and Christmas's in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Thanksgiving's door bears a turkey; Jack passes it over and tumbles through another door into Christmas Town.

Which film did Henry Selick direct after The Nightmare Before Christmas, again with Tim Burton producing?

James and the Giant Peach (1996) reunited Selick with producers Burton and Denise Di Novi, and he reused the Jack Skellington puppet in it as a pirate captain.

Which later Selick film brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature?

Coraline, Selick's 2009 stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novella, was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards, losing to Up.

How high did the original 1993 soundtrack album climb on the US Billboard 200?

The 1993 soundtrack peaked at No. 98 on the Billboard 200 on its original release; it found a far larger audience in later decades as the film's cult following grew.

Which label put out the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack album?

Walt Disney Records released the album in 1993 and reissued it in 2006 with a bonus disc of five cover versions and Danny Elfman's own demos.

Which two acts covered "This Is Halloween" for the 2006 soundtrack reissue?

Marilyn Manson and Panic! at the Disco each recorded "This Is Halloween" for the 2006 two-disc special edition; only Manson's version was reused on the 2008 tribute album Nightmare Revisited.

Haunted Mansion Holiday, the seasonal Nightmare Before Christmas overlay, runs at which two parks?

Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland both dress the ride for the season, mixing the Mansion's ghosts with Halloween Town's residents, while the versions in Florida and Paris stay as they are.

Which Disneyland ride already had a yearly Christmas overlay when the Haunted Mansion got its own in 2001?

It's a Small World had worn its holiday overlay since 1997; the Mansion followed in that tradition in 2001, when Disneyland's bakers began building a giant new gingerbread house for its ballroom each year.

Danny Elfman was the frontman and main songwriter of which band?

Danny Elfman fronted the new wave band Oingo Boingo from 1979 until 1995; its guitarist Steve Bartek became his longtime film-score orchestrator.

Who chaired Walt Disney Studios when it agreed in 1990 to make The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Jeffrey Katzenberg ran the studio through its run of animated hits, then left in 1994, the year after the film's release, and co-founded the rival DreamWorks.

Which effects house made Nightmare's 2006 3-D conversion?

Industrial Light & Magic digitised the original frames and built a matching view for the second eye, turning a film shot on analogue 2-D into a fully digital 3-D release.

In the 2004 game Oogie's Revenge, Jack fights bosses to new recordings of what?

The film's songs were re-recorded for the boss fights, and rhythm mini-games tie the sequel back to its musical roots; much of the original voice cast returned too.

Which 1980s Pixar short played before Nightmare's 2006 3-D re-release?

Knick Knack was newly rendered in digital 3-D to share the bill, a return to its roots: Pixar had premiered the 1989 short in 3-D at a computer-graphics convention.

Which Hollywood cinema began showing The Nightmare Before Christmas in 4-D each October in 2010?

El Capitan Theatre added wind, fog and other effects in the auditorium to the 3-D picture, so the audience could feel the film's weather as well as watch it.

Which two awards did The Nightmare Before Christmas win at the Saturn Awards?

Best Fantasy and Best Music: the film took the fantasy prize ahead of Groundhog Day and Disney's own Hocus Pocus, and Danny Elfman won for his songs and score.

Which 1993 blockbuster won both the Oscar and the Hugo Award that The Nightmare Before Christmas was nominated for?

Jurassic Park took both prizes; its dinosaurs were meant to be stop-motion puppets too, until a test of digital ones made Steven Spielberg scrap the plan.

When Disney considered a sequel in 2001, how did it want to make it?

With computer graphics instead of stop motion, the 2001 sequel idea went nowhere: Burton, protective of what he called the film's purity, talked Disney out of it.

Which two voice actors had both previously appeared in Burton's Beetlejuice?

Catherine O'Hara and Glenn Shadix played Delia Deetz and her decorator Otho in Beetlejuice, and on that set O'Hara met production designer Bo Welch, whom she married in 1992.

How did Tim Burton's first job at Disney end in 1984, before Nightmare was made?

The studio fired him in 1984, yet it still owned his poem, so six years later he had to strike a deal with Disney to get the film made.

Lock, Shock and Barrel send the kidnapped Santa to Oogie Boogie down what?

A metal chute runs from their clubhouse to his lair below: Lock argues that nowhere is more comfortable, twisting Jack's order to see that Santa is comfortable.

What does Jack Skellington toss to his pet Zero to play with?

One of his own ribs: Jack first waves Zero away, saying he is not in the mood, then relents, pulls the bone from his chest and throws it for him.

How does Jack Skellington make his grand entrance at the start of The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Emerging from the town fountain ends the opening number: Jack arrives disguised as a scarecrow, then rises from the water to the townsfolk's applause.

Which Halloween Town resident wears blue overalls and has an axe lodged in his head?

Behemoth rarely speaks, but he gets one of the film's shortest lines: a single delighted word when the trio's first kidnap victim climbs out of the sack.

What can the Clown with the Tear-Away Face do after removing his face?

The clown can vanish in a puff of smoke once his face is off, and the change shows in his voice too: squeaky with the face on, a deep boom without it.

What does Sally pour into the town fountain to try to ground Jack's sleigh?

Sally empties a bottle of fog juice into the fountain, blanketing Halloween Town in thick fog so Jack cannot take off, until Zero's glowing nose lights the way.

Which 2022 Netflix stop-motion film did Henry Selick write with Jordan Peele?

Wendell & Wild grew from Selick's own story of two scheming demon brothers, and Netflix bought it in 2018, just after Peele won his screenwriting Oscar for Get Out.

Tim Burton was born and raised in which California city?

Burbank left its mark on his films: Burton tied his lonely childhood there to his love of holidays, and its suburbia became the model for Edward Scissorhands.

Which 1985 comedy was Tim Burton's feature directorial debut?

Pee-wee's Big Adventure also gave Danny Elfman his first studio film score, starting the partnership with Burton that produced Nightmare's songs eight years later.

Which festival gave Tim Burton a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2007?

Venice gave Burton its career Golden Lion in 2007 and screened The Nightmare Before Christmas alongside the award; in 2024 the festival opened with his Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Jack's speaking voice, Chris Sarandon, played which villain in The Princess Bride?

Prince Humperdinck is no doting groom: he hires Vizzini to have his own bride killed, meaning to blame a rival kingdom and start a war.

Chris Sarandon earned an Oscar nomination for which 1975 film?

Dog Day Afternoon gave Sarandon his breakthrough as Leon Shermer opposite Al Pacino, an early screen role that also brought a Golden Globe nomination as best newcomer.

Sally's voice, Catherine O'Hara, first came to prominence on which sketch series?

SCTV, the Canadian sketch show born from the Second City stage troupe, made O'Hara's name, though her Emmy for it honoured her as one of its writers.

Catherine O'Hara, Sally's voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe as which Schitt's Creek character?

Moira Rose brought Toronto-born O'Hara a career resurgence, playing opposite Eugene Levy, her frequent castmate in Christopher Guest's films.

Oogie Boogie's voice, Ken Page, played which role in the original Broadway cast of Cats?

Old Deuteronomy, the Jellicle patriarch, was Page's part from 1982; decades later he was still stepping on stage to sing Oogie Boogie at the film's live concerts.

Ken Page made his Broadway debut as the Lion in which musical?

The Wiz took Page from the chorus of the Muny, the outdoor theatre in his native St. Louis, to Broadway as the Lion; a year later he was Nicely-Nicely in Guys and Dolls.

What does Jack Skellington take from the kidnapped Santa Claus to finish his own Santa costume?

His hat: Jack looks the captive over, declares that this is what he was missing, plucks it off with a thank-you and sends Santa away on a 'vacation'.

What does Sally use to fake tasting Dr. Finkelstein's drugged soup?

A spoon with holes: he refuses a mouthful until she tastes it, so she pretends to with a trick spoon that lets the soup drain away, and he eats up.

Dr. Finkelstein's voice, William Hickey, was Oscar-nominated as a mafia don in which John Huston film?

Prizzi's Honor cast Hickey as the frail Don Corrado; off screen he taught acting in Greenwich Village for some 40 years, with Barbra Streisand among his students.

Besides Nightmare, which two Tim Burton films did Caroline Thompson write?

Edward Scissorhands and Corpse Bride bookend her Burton scripts; he hired her for the first after being impressed by her novel First Born, about a monster foetus.

Jack Skellington's Halloween Town is a playable world in which video game series?

Kingdom Hearts lets players explore Halloween Town with Jack fighting at their side, and its second main game opens up Christmas Town as well.

Which Haunted Mansion residents did the 2001 Holiday overlay replace?

The Hitchhiking Ghosts gave way to Lock, Shock and Barrel, Oogie Boogie's three henchmen, when the overlay first opened in 2001.

Which poem inspires the storyline of the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay?

It retells Jack, as Sandy Claws, visiting the mansion on Christmas Eve.

Which company developed the 2004 game Oogie's Revenge for PlayStation 2 and Xbox?

Capcom, working with Burton's blessing, rebuilt its Devil May Cry combat in simpler form for younger players and brought back much of the film's voice cast.

What is the name of Jack's whip-like green weapon in Oogie's Revenge?

Dr. Finkelstein gives it to Jack before he learns of Oogie's revival.

Nightmare Revisited, the 2008 cover album, marked which anniversary of the film?

Amy Lee of Evanescence performed her 'Sally's Song' cover on The Tonight Show that October.

Which rock singer covered 'Sally's Song' for the 2008 album Nightmare Revisited?

Amy Lee, the voice of Evanescence, recorded the ballad for the covers album and sang it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno two weeks after its release.

Rick Heinrichs, who sculpted Nightmare's first models, won an Oscar for which Burton film?

Sleepy Hollow won Heinrichs the art direction Oscar: after scouting real towns along the Hudson, he had the whole village built from the ground up in the English countryside.

The 2005 Game Boy Advance game The Pumpkin King is set how long before the film?

It tells of Jack's first encounter with Oogie Boogie and how he earned his title.

Which classic game series does The Pumpkin King's exploration gameplay resemble?

Castlevania was the clear model, reviewers said: Jack explores one large map, whips his enemies and opens up new areas as he earns abilities.

Where does Jack Skellington find the doors to the other holiday worlds?

In a grove of trees in the forest beyond the graveyard: Jack wanders there by chance after walking all night, and wakes somewhere he has never seen before.

Which pop-punk band name-checked Jack and Sally in a 2004 hit single?

Blink-182 put the couple into 'I Miss You' at drummer Travis Barker's request, as a nod to his own romance with Shanna Moakler.

Which pop star sang as Sally at the 2021 live-to-film concerts in Los Angeles?

Billie Eilish sang the part over Halloween weekend opposite Danny Elfman's Jack; announcing her, Elfman promised fans 'a real treat (not a trick)'.

Which singer-songwriter played Sally at the December 2022 concerts at London's OVO Arena Wembley?

Phoebe Bridgers, known for taking the stage in a skeleton suit of her own, sang Sally on both nights opposite Danny Elfman's Jack.

Whom do Oogie Boogie's trick-or-treaters kidnap by mistake before they capture Santa Claus?

The Easter Bunny is pulled from the sack first, and a shout from one of the townsfolk frightens him straight back into it.

What unusual vehicle carries Oogie Boogie's three young trick-or-treaters around Halloween Town?

A walking bathtub carries all three of them, and they ride it home with Santa Claus stuffed in a sack.

What can Halloween Town's wheelchair-using mad scientist flip open to expose his own brain?

The top of his skull is a hinged cap, and the duck-billed inventor who built Sally gets about in a motorized chair.

How does Sally, Jack Skellington's secret admirer, mend herself when a limb comes off?

She sews it back on, and keeps a set of sewing needles with her for the purpose because she falls apart so often.

What do the four Vampire Brothers of Halloween Town carry so they can move about in daylight?

Umbrellas keep the daylight off all four of the caped brothers whenever they are out before dark.

What creature forms the necktie worn by the Mayor of Halloween Town?

A spider hangs at his collar as a tie, worn with a tall hat and a ribbon of office that reads Mayor.

Henry Selick said the look of Christmas Town was influenced by the work of which author?

Dr. Seuss inspired the look of Christmas Town, while the film's designers also drew on Edward Gorey, Charles Addams and Ray Harryhausen.

The Mayor of Halloween Town makes his announcements from a car resembling what kind of vehicle?

A hearse fitted with a loudspeaker serves as the Mayor-mobile, the car he tours the town in.

What does Mr. Hyde, the Halloween Town resident in The Nightmare Before Christmas, keep inside his top hat?

Smaller copies of himself nest inside the hat, and in the sequel video game the set of Hydes travel with Jack and act as its save points.

Oogie Boogie's actor pitched the voice between Bert Lahr in The Wizard of Oz and the demon in which film?

The Exorcist supplied the menace and Lahr the bluster for a villain Tim Burton first sketched as a potato-sack man with horrible things inside.

Which improv comedian from Whose Line Is It Anyway voiced Halloween Town's Harlequin Demon?

Greg Proops also voiced the Devil and the zombie band's sax player, and later became the American voice of Bob the Builder.

In Kingdom Hearts II, which Disney villain brings Oogie Boogie back to life?

Maleficent revives him, and he then tries to turn Santa Claus into one of the game's Heartless monsters.

Which Los Angeles venue staged the first live Nightmare Before Christmas concerts in 2015?

Hollywood Bowl audiences heard Danny Elfman sing Jack live that October, joined by other members of the original voice cast.

Which theme park became home in 2019 to Oogie Boogie Bash, the Halloween party named after Jack Skellington's rival?

California Adventure took over the party when the resort's existing Halloween event was retitled and gained a villains-themed water show.

What kind of lighting makes Oogie Boogie glow bright green during his song in his underground lair?

Black lights turn the lair into a glowing casino, and when they dim it fades into a dank, cellar-like dungeon.

In This Is Halloween, where does the monster with sharp teeth and glowing red eyes say it is hiding?

Under the bed lurks a monster seen only in this one number, the song that opens the film.

In the opening number This Is Halloween, Jack Skellington first appears disguised as what?

A scarecrow is the guise, and Tim Burton slipped a lookalike into the opening scene of one of his later live-action films.

Danny Elfman wrote Jack Skellington's breathless song on first seeing Christmas Town in the style of which duo?

Gilbert and Sullivan's rapid-fire patter was the model, part of his plan to make the score sound fifty or a hundred years old.

Oogie Boogie was inspired by the Betty Boop cartoon appearances of which jazz bandleader?

Cab Calloway was traced into those 1930s shorts as a dancing villain, and Oogie Boogie's Song borrows an exchange from one of them.

During Making Christmas, Jack Skellington turns down a hat that one monster has made from which dead animal?

A rat is the Harlequin Demon's first idea for a hat, and Jack tells him to use a dead bat instead.

In the Town Meeting Song, where did the Undersea Gal find the head she thinks is inside Jack Skellington's present?

In the lake, fittingly for a creature who is part gill-man and part mermaid; a neighbour guesses at a disease instead.

Which vocal group released a cover of Making Christmas as the first single from its 2018 album Christmas Is Here?

Pentatonix led its third full-length holiday album with the monsters' toy-making anthem, sung entirely without instruments.

Which metal band covered the trick-or-treaters' kidnapping song for the 2008 tribute album Nightmare Revisited?

Korn took on the trio's scheming number, on an album where Danny Elfman himself re-recorded the opening and closing narration.

How does Jack Skellington finally defeat Oogie Boogie in the villain's underground lair?

Pulls a loose thread and the sack that holds the villain together unravels, leaving nothing of him to fight on.

Which of Jack Skellington's Christmas presents swallows a family's Christmas tree?

A giant snake, striped orange and black, gulps down the tree while a horrified child looks on.

Which job does Jack Skellington hand to Sally for his Christmas plan, despite her warnings?

Making his Santa suit falls to the only resident who doubts the whole plan, and he brushes her objections aside.

Which online game added Jack Skellington as an outfit alongside Michael Myers and Alan Wake one Halloween?

Fortnite gave him a scary-face emote, a sled glider and a peppermint parasol for a pickaxe in its Fortnitemares event.

In a later Henry Selick stop-motion film, Jack Skellington's face appears hidden in what?

An egg yolk takes his shape when a sinister mother figure cracks it open.

Jack Skellington makes a cameo in Henry Selick's next stop-motion film as what kind of character?

A pirate captain, long drowned with his ship, is his role, and the Centipede recognises him by his surname.

Three decades on, Henry Selick said he would like to make what kind of new film about Jack Skellington?

A prequel about how Jack became king of Halloween Town was his idea, but a month later Tim Burton said he wanted no more films in that world.