The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of Disney’s most beloved films. When it was released in 1993, the idea of a skeleton who becomes obsessed with Christmas and seizes Santa to take him to the place where he lives called Halloween did not seem like a very appropriate synopsis, but against all odds, the film went down in history and continues to be one of the most watched ones on both holidays.
When we think of Jack, the first thing that comes to mind is Tim Burton, the acclaimed director who envisioned this story, what it seems that many do not remember is that this film was not directed by him, but by Henry Selick.
It is precisely this forgetfulness on the part of the fans of the emblematic story that continues to bother the director more than 20 years after the film’s release, which is why he recently exploded and spoke of how tiring it has been to live under Burton’s shadow concerning the recognition of this production.
It should be remembered that before the premiere, Disney decided to add Tim Burton’s name to the title of the film, something that Selick finds “unfair.”
“That was a little unfair because it wasn’t called “Tim Burton’s Nightmare” until three weeks before the movie came out. And I would have been fine with that if that’s what they would have put me on the contract,” Selick recently told AV Club.
He continued, “but Tim was in Los Angeles doing two features while I was directing that movie, and I mean, Tim is a genius, or certainly was in his most creative years. I always thought his story was perfect, and he designed the main characters. But it was really me and my team of people who brought it to life.”
Although he acknowledged that the story is Burton’s original and that he participated in the production of the film, the reality is that he would like to receive credit for directing the film, and not be relegated to oblivion.
He also spoke of the recognition he received from Danny Elfman, who scored The Nightmare Before Christmas:
“Now, of course, if you ask Danny Elfman, well, that’s his movie,” Selick continued. “When we finished it was so funny because he came up to me and shook my hand. ‘Henry, you’ve done a wonderful job illustrating my songs!’ And he was serious, and I loved it! But my thing was that I was going to hang in there long enough for people to say, ‘Oh, that guy Henry, he does stuff.’”
Films by Henry Selick
Henry Selick is a renowned director in Hollywood, he was in charge of Coraline, the popular film based on a story by Neil Gaiman, as well as Jimmy and the Giant Peach. He is currently part of the production team at Disney Pixar, where he works on stop-motion projects.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
