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 Disney. The stop-motion feature stood apart from conventional animation of its era, blending gothic sensibility with musical storytelling in a way that earned it lasting cultural significance and a devoted following across generations.

This cell, titled Oogie Boogie, captures the villain in his subterranean lair during one of the film's most visually distinctive sequences. Across three frames, Oogie Boogie descends on a coiled spring above his signature roulette wheel floor, its blue and yellow spiral churning below him. The repeated composition emphasizes the hypnotic, theatrical quality of the character's domain.