an OverANalysis OF
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Tim Burton stop motion film released in 1993. The movie is about a group of characters who live in Halloween land. The leader of them (Jack Skellington) wanders off and finds himself at the entrance to various different holidays, one of them being Christmas town. He goes in and suddenly wants to try it himself.
But this story isn’t about the plot; it’s about the characters. Each character in this movie is especially different from the next. From how they look to their names and jobs in Halloween Town, there’s a lot of theories about who they are and how they died. That’s what I’m here for.
But this story isn’t about the plot; it’s about the characters. Each character in this movie is especially different from the next. From how they look to their names and jobs in Halloween Town, there’s a lot of theories about who they are and how they died. That’s what I’m here for.
The main characters
There are two main characters, Jack and Sally. They are romantic interests (kinda) and help each other throughout the movie.
One of the main characters of this movie is a tall skeleton named Jack Skellington. He is over 6 feet tall and has a very creepy grin. He is the “king” of Halloween Town. He makes all the ideas and plans everything out for everyone. There are a lot of theories on how he died. Most talk about him burning alive. In his first appearance in the movie, he is getting burned before throwing himself into a lake and coming out as Jack Skellington.
There are two main characters, Jack and Sally. They are romantic interests (kinda) and help each other throughout the movie.
One of the main characters of this movie is a tall skeleton named Jack Skellington. He is over 6 feet tall and has a very creepy grin. He is the “king” of Halloween Town. He makes all the ideas and plans everything out for everyone. There are a lot of theories on how he died. Most talk about him burning alive. In his first appearance in the movie, he is getting burned before throwing himself into a lake and coming out as Jack Skellington.
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Due to this scene, many assume that he got burned alive. Another piece of evidence: his bones are still intact. He’s one of the only characters with intact and visible bones. Most of the other characters have skin and no visible bones. Jack is unique in this way. I personally agree with this burning alive theory. However, I do not know when he died.
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Sally
Sally is a discolored, patchwork of a woman; she is covered in stitches. She is full of different colors and stuffed with leaves. She has long red hair. Her limbs can be taken apart and sewn back together. Most of the time in the movie, she is busy poisoning her creator so she can go on adventures. Sally is one of the only characters that I believe didn’t die. Sally is a creation, almost like Frankenstein. That is, she never died because she never truly lived. |
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Lock, Shock, Barrel
Lock, Shock, and Barrel are three trick or treaters who all work for the same person (Oogie Boogie). They all wear masks that fit their faces perfectly. They’re Halloween town’s best trick or treaters and the only known kids that live there. They capture and kill things to give to The Boogie Man.
Lock, Shock, and Barrel are three trick or treaters who all work for the same person (Oogie Boogie). They all wear masks that fit their faces perfectly. They’re Halloween town’s best trick or treaters and the only known kids that live there. They capture and kill things to give to The Boogie Man.
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Lock (top left) is a pale blue boy with blue lips and red hair. The mask he wears is of a devil. Many, including me, think Lock got locked in a freezer and died. Evidence for this is the way he looks: people who freeze to death have blue skin and yellowish eyes. It would also make sense why his name is Lock.
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Shock (middle) is a very pale girl with stringy, thin hair. Her costume is a witch, and her mask looks exactly like her but with no mouth. Due to her name being Shock, many think she was electrocuted. This would make sense due to her hair looking staticky. How she got electrocuted to death is unknown.
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Barrel (top right) is a short, green boy with blue lips and blue around his eyes. His mask also looks like him, and he is dressed as a skeleton. Barrel has the most concrete theory in regards to how he died. Barrel was drowned. Put into a barrel and killed, more specifically. This makes sense with his blue covered eyes and pale green skin.
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All three of these poor children got killed and now work for the rest of their afterlives.
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Oogie Boogie Man
The last and final character I will be over analyzing is the main villain, the Oogie Boogie Man. Oogie is a brown sack with a cut out mouth and eyes. He is also made up of millions of bugs. He usually appears green due to the blue light that is constantly on him. He loves to gamble, even though he always cheats.
The last and final character I will be over analyzing is the main villain, the Oogie Boogie Man. Oogie is a brown sack with a cut out mouth and eyes. He is also made up of millions of bugs. He usually appears green due to the blue light that is constantly on him. He loves to gamble, even though he always cheats.
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Now, it’s pretty clear that in a past life Oogie was a gambling man. I believe he died from cheating while playing, which would make sense due to him cheating in gambling in his afterlife. How he died is a bit of a mystery, though. Some say he died from a gunshot. This is because his three henchmen make up the words for a gun (Lock, Shock, and Barrel). Another theory is that he was buried alive and got eaten by bugs. This is because of how many bugs make him up overall. He isn’t anything without his bugs, so they must be a part of him in more ways than one. Overall, Oogie died in the movie due to losing a gambling match. Maybe that’s how he really died. |
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The Nightmare Before Christmas has always been one of my favorite Halloween/ Christmas movies. All the characters have such intricate backstories that leave you wondering what happened to these poor people. There are a bunch more characters in the movie that don’t have theories as to how they died. All we know is that they’re dead now. Nonetheless, it’s still an amazing stop motion film, with or without the over-analysis.
Allyse Walker
