National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

The Nightmare Before Christmas was released by Touchstone Pictures in October 1993, produced through Tim Burton's vision and directed by Henry Selick. The stop-motion animated feature arrived at a moment when the medium was rarely seen at feature length in American cinema, and its blend of gothic imagery with musical storytelling earned it a lasting place in animation history. It remains one of the most distinctive studio productions of the decade.

This cell, titled Santa Claus, captures Oogie Boogie looming over his captive in the dim confines of his lair, the spinning roulette wheel holding Santa Claus in place across all three frames. The repeated composition underscores the menace of the sequence, freezing a pivotal confrontation from the film's third act in 35mm.