Associated with the name of Tim Burton since its release in 1994, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was however officially directed by Henry Selick. The latter recently took the floor to clarify things.
A true pinnacle of animated film, produced by Disney and entirely made in stop motion, The Nightmare Before Christmas marked an entire generation of spectators when it was released in 1994.
Even today, many are those who readily attribute the staging of this musical tale to Tim Burton. However, even if the director of Edward Scissorhands did indeed sign the original story of the film and designed the design of its main characters, it is not he who is the director.
As aficionados of the feature film probably know, it is indeed Henry Selick, legend of stop-motion animation, also known for having signed James and the Giant Peach or Coraline, who is the official director of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
While his new film Wendell and Wild is now available on Netflix, the filmmaker recently returned to his first film at the microphone of AV Club, evoking in particular the fact that the general public had long attributed the merit to Burton:
“It was a bit unfair, because even three weeks before the movie was released, it wasn’t called ‘Tim Burton’s Nightmare’. And I wouldn’t have had a problem with it if I had signed on for it. But Tim was in Los Angeles shooting two [autres] movies while I was directing this one”he said.
Touchstone Pictures
“And let’s face it, Tim is a genius, or he certainly was during his most creative years. I always thought his story was perfect, and he designed the main characters. But in reality, it was me and my team who brought it all to life.”
Still interviewed by AV Club, Henry Selick also clarified that Danny Elfman, composer of the film’s soundtrack and songs, who himself lent his voice to the main character, also claimed, in a way, paternity feature film:
“When we finished the film, it was very funny because he came up to me to shake my hand and said, ‘Henry, you have illustrated my songs wonderfully!'”
(Re)discover all the hidden details in “The Nightmare Before Christmas”…