Jack Skellington Actor Weighs in on Whether The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween or Christmas Movie

One of the most-argued elements of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t related to its quality, but about whether the film falls more in line with being a Halloween or a Christmas movie, with Chris Sarandon, voice of Jack Skellington, claiming the film is whatever a viewer wants it to be. While this lack of an official ruling might frustrate some fans, it should empower audiences to realize that the film’s accomplishments shouldn’t be limited to one season and that the narrative can be celebrated all year. Even members of the actor’s family can’t seem to limit themselves to when they watch the film.

“Why can’t it be both?” Sarandon shared with ComicBook.com when asked about the debate. “I know that there are a lot of fans who come up to me saying, ‘We watch it every Halloween,’ and I have fans that come up and say, ‘We watch it every Christmas,’ I have fans who come up and say, ‘We watch it at both Christmas and Halloween.’ What’s the debate? It’s what pleases the people who watch it most, the audience, that’s what’s important. It’s the fans. It’s the people who it had a profound effect on over these years.”

With the film exploring a mascot for Halloween who becomes enamored with the traditions of Christmas and encourages his fellow residents of Halloween Town to embrace those customs, both holidays are fully represented. The actor also noted that his granddaughter embraced the film as a year-round experience.

“It’s interesting because I have grandchildren now,” the actor recalled. “I have a three-year-old granddaughter who decided she wanted to watch it, she had a friend who was watching it, too, and her mom, my daughter, asked me what I thought, and I said, ‘I talk to people all the time who said they started watching when they were two or three years old, I can’t see that it will do any lasting damage.’ Well, she’s besotted with this movie now. I’m sending her coloring books, the Jack coloring books, she just can’t get enough of it. She loves Jack and Sally. It’s partially, for that reason, why it maintains the, not cult status anymore, I don’t think, I don’t think it’s a narrow audience of moviegoers, I think it’s become a general cultural phenomenon.”

The film’s director, Henry Selick, previously offered his own solution to the debate. During a Q&A for the film back in 2015, when posed the question by a young girl in the audience, Selick claimed that it was a Halloween movie.

Sarandon is currently working on his memoir, which fans can keep their eyes out for in the future.

Do you think the film is a Halloween or Christmas movie? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!