National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2023
“The king of dark whimsy, Tim Burton won over an even larger (and decidedly younger) crowd with this delightful stop-motion animated offering. Jack Skellington, whose giant pumpkin head rests precariously on top of his rail-thin body, is the king of Halloween Town; one year he dreams of bringing a little Christmas magic to his humble hamlet.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Henry Selick
Studio
Walt Disney Pictures · Touchstone Pictures · Skellington Productions · 73 min
Box office
$91.2M worldwide on a $24M budget
Honors
Academy Awards — 1 nominationAnnie Awards — 1 nomination
Scholarship
Named in the title of 13 peer-reviewed works
Examples
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Released by Touchstone Pictures in 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas arrived as a stop-motion oddity from Tim Burton's imagination, directed by Henry Selick and set to Danny Elfman's songs. It found only modest success in theaters but grew into a perennial favorite, screened every autumn and winter as audiences embraced its blend of two holidays and its handmade puppet artistry. The film's stature in animation history rests on its craft: thousands of painstakingly built armatures and sets, brought to life frame by frame, representing a high point of practical filmmaking at a moment when computer animation was beginning to dominate the industry.
This cell belongs to Mummy Boy, one of the trick-or-treating children of Halloween Town who populate the film's ensemble of ghouls and creatures. A minor but beloved figure among the citizenry, he represents the film's love of classic monster iconography reimagined through childlike mischief, part of the parade of misfits that gives Halloween Town its texture. Collectors seek out cells like this one for the way they preserve a single citizen of that world, a fragment of the film's dense population of oddities rendered in genuine celluloid from the production.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a two-track variable-area stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The clear base shows a warm to slightly red-shifted cast; the dye image retains visible colour density without obvious fading.
Projection history
A horizontal band of white debris or emulsion abrasion is visible across the lower portion of the strip, consistent with evidence of projection use.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the stylised stop-motion aesthetic is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, colour positive base, and perforation pitch are consistent with a 1990s theatrical release print of the film on record.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000064557
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
