National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas was released by Touchstone Pictures in October 1993, produced through Burton's collaboration with director Henry Selick and composer Danny Elfman. The stop-motion feature stood apart from conventional animation of its era, blending gothic imagery with musical storytelling in a way that earned it enduring cultural presence and a dedicated following across generations.

This cell, titled Santa Jack, captures Jack Skellington standing within a dramatically purple-lit environment, cracked or stained-glass-like surfaces framing the background and red structural elements visible overhead. The three consecutive frames preserve a single sustained moment from the sequence, offering collectors a rare look at the film's meticulous frame-by-frame craft through an iconic image of Jack in his borrowed holiday role.