The Nightmare Before Christmas

Question: There is a mistake stating that the stick used to make Jack's dog levitate is sometimes visible, and gives when Jack is alone on the mountain as an example (ID: 84218). I watched the scene (when Jack sings "Jack's Lament"), as well as went through the film, but I was unable to see what was referred to. I still want to believe the mistake is correct, so can someone please give a timestamp as to where the stick shows up (I was watching the Disney+ copy; perhaps that version is edited?)?

zenee

Question: Sally tries to prevent Jack from taking over Christmas using Fog Juice. How will fog stop him?

Answer: As seen in the movie, the Fog Juice made it difficult to see anything. Sally had hoped that with no way of seeing where he was going, she would be able to stop him from leaving Halloween Town and save his life.

Question: How did Jack save Sally and Santa Claus in Oogie Boogie's lair by transporting them from the lava pit to the Iron Maiden? Wouldn't they be killed by the Iron Maiden?

Answer: Except they're a reanimated corpse and a skeleton. They are either already dead (or undead), or, given how things seem to work, the normal natural laws don't apply to Halloweentown.

Greg Dwyer

But how did Santa survive the Iron Maiden? Especially with how big he is, he certainly would have been killed.

You're trying to apply the rules of the real world to fictional magical beings.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: He was hiding behind Sally.

sabrinafan17

Question: At the beginning of the film, when some of the monsters introduce themselves, what does the clown say after he takes his face off?

Answer: "I am the clown with the tear-away face, here in a flash and gone without a trace."

Sierra1

Question: How do these legendary figures like Jack Skellington and Santa Claus travel to the normal parts like "throughout England and France" while they live in their own holiday towns? Asking cause it seems that there's no door to Earth and the sun in Halloween Town is a carved pumpkin!

Answer: The main thing that Jack Skellington, Santa Claus, and the other legendary figures do is travel from their towns to the Earth for holiday activities. It stands to reason that they would be able to get in and out of their own towns at will; both Jack and Santa Claus can do so by simply flying into the sky. Obviously, though, heads of towns can get in and out of other towns as well, once they know about them. Jack returns from Christmastown on a snowmobile, Santa Claus leaves Oogie Boogie's lair by touching his nose and flying out, and guides his sleigh over Halloweentown shortly after.

Question: What's up with the Halloween Town and Christmas Town clocks? I understand the idea of the tension increasing as the clock hands approach the "12" position, but if Christmas in on the 25th of December, towards the end of the month, shouldn't the hands be closer to the "1 o'clock" position then the 12? And why is December at the top of the clock in Halloween Town when their holiday is in October? It doesn't make sense.

Answer: The clocks might not be literal. When the hands are at the 12 position, it could be when their holidays are. And the whole concept of the movie is the people from Halloween try to do Christmas, so they changed the clock month to December.

Question: Throughout the film, you see the water fountain in the middle of the town. How is that effect of the water done? Is it shot in real time?

Answer: No, it's stop-motion just like almost everything else. The water appears to change levels because they used different pieces that could pop in and out of the well part of the fountain to make it look like ripples and movement. The DVD commentary with the director explains much of how all the scenes were shot.

Question: Right after you find out Oogie Boogie is just a bag full of bugs he falls into the lava, or at least what looks like lava. It looks as if this is not an animated shot, is it a shot from a real camera?

Movieman123

Chosen answer: Yes, it was shot "real time" as opposed to stop-motion animation as the rest of the film was.

CCARNI

Question: Jack's title of 'The Pumpkin King' always left me a tad perplexed. Is it in fact a legitimate title of authority, signifying he's the ruler of Halloween Town or of a sub-community of those who dwell within, or is it more of a stage name, referring to his status as the planner and main star of the Halloween holiday?

Answer: Jack is certainly the leader of the realm, with even the mayor deferring to him on important matters. Whether the "Pumpkin King" is actually an official title or simply an affectionate nickname given to him by the rest of the community is unrevealed.

Tailkinker

Question: Why did Lock, Shock and Barrel disobey Jack and take Santa to Oogie, even after Jack specifically stated that Oogie was to be left out?

Answer: They work for Oogie (they state as much in their song, referring to themselves as his "little henchmen"), so they simply decided to disregard Jack's order to keep him out of the matter, and instead give him Santa.

TedStixon

Other mistake: When Jack first arrives in Christmas Land he doesn't know what is falling from the sky (snow) but he somehow knows that the children are throwing snowballs.

More mistakes in The Nightmare Before Christmas

Dr. Finkelstein: That's twice this month you've slipped deadly nightshade into my tea and run off.
Sally: Three times.

More quotes from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Trivia: In the song "This is Halloween," the two children sing "Tender Lumplings everywhere..." This is a reference to a poem from the film's songwriter/composer/Jack's singing voice, Danny Elfman's, former musical theatrical street troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (later to evolve as Oingo Boingo.) The original poem, Tender Lumplings, was "And so my tender lumplings, let my welcome hear you now/Into our flesh-pink home of hearts we greet you with a bow/So entertain we must we may, our pleasure from within/The Oingo Boingo treasure chest of lust and mortal sin."

More trivia for The Nightmare Before Christmas

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