National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas was released by Touchstone Pictures in October 1993, directed by Henry Selick and produced through Burton's vision of a world where Halloween and Christmas collide. Shot entirely in stop-motion animation, the film represented a landmark achievement in the format and has endured as a defining work of dark fantasy cinema, influencing character design and visual storytelling for decades.

This cell captures the Sandworm looming in the foreground, its orange and black striped body dominating the composition while Halloween Town citizens populate the lower frame. Titled Corpse Dad by the operator, the three frames share an identical composition, offering a rare triple-frame study of one of Halloween Town's most distinctive and imposing creatures amid its gathered residents.