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 animated feature stood apart from contemporary animation for its gothic visual language and musical ambition, earning lasting cultural recognition and a devoted following that has only grown in the decades since its release.

This cell, titled Lock, Shock and Barrel, captures three consecutive frames from a single shot featuring the mischievous trick-or-treat trio mid-scene, almost certainly during one of their chaotic kidnapping sequences. Notably, the frames are oriented upside-down on the strip, a detail of genuine interest to collectors. Lock, Shock, and Barrel appear surrounded by the film's richly dark Halloween palette across all three images.