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 in 1993 through Touchstone Pictures under the Disney banner, The Nightmare Before Christmas arrived as a stop motion feature directed by Henry Selick, built from characters and story conceived by Tim Burton. It stood apart from anything Disney had put its name to at the time, blending holiday mythologies into a single gothic musical fable. The film underperformed on initial release but grew steadily into a perennial favorite, screened every autumn and winter, and became a cornerstone of Disney's animation legacy for its craftsmanship and its willingness to sit outside genre conventions.
This cell carries the name Timmy, a child of Halloween Town's neighboring world, one of the human residents whose brief presence ties Jack Skellington's misadventures to real consequence. Frames naming background or supporting figures like Timmy are less common finds than cells built around Jack or Sally, making them appealing to collectors assembling a fuller cast record. A 35mm cell such as this preserves a single frame of the finished film print, offering a tangible link to the physical release rather than to preproduction art or publicity material.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track waveform.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at the resolution and angle shown.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm-amber tint; dye image shows rich warm-orange and deep blue tones consistent with a colour release print.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the animated character design is consistent with The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).
Era check
The single variable-area optical soundtrack, clear safety base, and colour dye structure are all consistent with a 1990s theatrical release print of a 1993 feature.
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 000064600
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
