The Nightmare Before Christmas Director Reveals Jack Skellington Is Hidden in All His Movies

In a new interview, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline director Henry Selick confirmed fans’ suspicion that there’s a hidden Jack Skellington in each film he directs. The character, owned by Disney, has nevertheless been snuck into movies from Laika and others as a background detail, in a nod to the movie that made Selick one of the best-known animators of his generation. Funny enough, there are also some Jack Skellington cameos in movies made by Tim Burton, who produced the film and who, for years, got most of the credit for the movie’s success, so it seems Burton and Selick had the same thought.

With Coraline turning 15 this year and a limited theatrical re-release happening today, Selick has been making the press rounds, also talking about his plans for a follow-up based on Neil Gaiman’s novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. During one of those interviews, he suggested where fans could look for one of the Jacks:

“If you look very, very carefully, you might find that there’s some image of Jack in every other film I’ve made. But I can’t legally say that’s true, but it might be true,” Selick told GamesRadar+. The stop motion animator then set me my own personal challenge, “Yeah, I’d say, look at breakfast in Coraline, you might find something in the breakfast.”

GamesRadar+ noted that the Easter eggs in James and the Giant Peach — where there are skeletal pirates designed to look like Jack — and in Wendell & Wild — he’s in the credits — are already pretty well-known.

In Coraline, while exploring her new home, a girl named Coraline (Dakota Fanning) discovers a secret door, behind which lies an alternate world that closely mirrors her own but, in many ways, is better. She rejoices in her discovery, until Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) and the rest of her parallel family try to keep her there forever. Coraline must use all her resources and bravery to make it back to her own family and life.

You can get yourself a ticket to one of tonight’s screenings of Coraline by checking out Fandango’s website for the official screening event. The movie is also available on disc and Digital.