Tim Burton was inspired to write The Nightmare Before Christmas when he saw Halloween decorations being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display in a store!
Tim Burton was inspired to write The Nightmare Before Christmas when he saw Halloween decorations being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display in a store!
The drastic contrast between the set of ghosts and goblins and Santa and his reindeer sparked Burton’s creativity and prompted him to write a three-page poem juxtaposing the two holidays. Working as a Disney animator at the time, Burton also looked to the poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” and the beloved holiday TV specials Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! for inspiration. His unconventional verse later evolved into the feature-length film and largely served as a blueprint for its plot. However, many other characters were added for the movie, since the only people written in the original poetry were Jack Skellington, his dog Zero, and Santa Claus.
Tim Burton’s poem was included as part of the DVD extras in the 2008 Special Edition of the film! Check it out below, as narrated by the incomparable Christopher Lee:
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