The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
Directed by Henry Selick · Fantasy · Animation · Family · 76 min · 1993
Trailer
Director
Henry Selick
Studio
Touchstone Pictures / Skellington Productions
Release
1993-10-09
Runtime
76 min
Genres
Fantasy, Animation, Family
Cast & Characters
Jack Skellington (singing) / Barrel / Clown with the Tear away Face (voice)
Danny Elfman
Jack Skellington (voice)
Chris Sarandon
Sally / Shock (voice)
Catherine O'Hara
Dr. Finkelstein (voice)
William Hickey
Mayor (voice)
Glenn Shadix
Lock (voice)
Paul Reubens
Did You Know?
Critical Assessment
The Nightmare Before Christmas holds 7.8/10 on TMDb (10650 votes). IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic scores will populate automatically via the site's daily refresh once available.
Not enough independent critic/audience score breakdown available.
Ratings as of October 2, 2026
Where to Watch
United States
United Kingdom
India
Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDb. Availability changes often — confirm on the provider before watching.
AI Verdict
AI-generatedBased on TMDb's aggregated score (7.8/10 on TMDb (10650 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Nightmare Before Christmas good? What are critics saying?+
The Nightmare Before Christmas holds 7.8/10 on TMDb (10650 votes). IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic scores will populate automatically via the site's daily refresh once available.
How long is The Nightmare Before Christmas?+
The Nightmare Before Christmas has a runtime of 76 min.
Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas?+
The Nightmare Before Christmas was directed by Henry Selick.
Where can I watch The Nightmare Before Christmas?+
The Nightmare Before Christmas is available to stream, rent, or buy on Disney Plus, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Rakuten TV, Sky Store, JioHotstar, VI movies and tv.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The movie has received generally positive reviews for its original concept, stop-motion animation, and Danny Elfman's soundtrack. Some viewers have mentioned that they were disappointed by the film's runtime, but others appreciate it as an entertaining holiday classic. The trailers provide a glimpse into the story, with some praising Ken Page's legacy in the Boogie Song and others noting the similarities to Disney's own animated films.
Viewer Reviews (TMDb)
I suppose I missed watching it at the proper time so I will explain it as not surviving well after all these years. The idea is daring, the stop motion is OKish and Danny Elfman's OST is quite good but even being only 70 min they were still too many for me. Specially, the songs w…
Andres Gomez · 6/10This is a cracking animation fantasy centring around "Jack Skellington" - the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. When he feels all just a bit deflated after one celebration, he happens upon Christmas Town and encounters Santa Claus preparing to bring jolity and happiness. "Jack" sen…
CinemaSerf · 7/10
From the trailer's comments
Ken Page, you are a legend. This is not the last time we'll hear the Boogie Song.
@MrWyGuyNum2150 · 13 likesLove this movie, it helped me escape from reality at times.
@artsfreak98 · 8 likesJudging by the tag at the end, this trailer was issued for TNBC's German release, which according to iMDB was on December 8, 1994. Also, in case you're interested, the English translation for the German tag is "DISTRIBUTED BY BUENA VISTA INTERNATIONAL. COMING SOON TO YOUR CINEMA.…
@alexvaillancourt2620 · 2 likesSame as the walt disney pictures version except with different dialogue, final music, sound and special effects added.
@andrewscungio3200 · 6 likesThis is a really neat find.
@TDWaterLaw93 · 4 likes
