Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

95% Tomatometer 108 Reviews 92% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a stunningly original and visually delightful work of stop-motion animation.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (108) Critics Reviews
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com I'm blown away by just the construction of the scenes, and by all of the effects that have been incorporated to make everything move fluidly; and there's also this charming imperfection to the animation that just makes it so gorgeous. Rated: A Apr 13, 2018 Full Review Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times Part avant-garde art film, part amusing but morbid fairy tale, it is a delightfully ghoulish holiday musical that displays more inventiveness in its brief 75 minutes than some studios can manage in an entire year. Dec 3, 2013 Full Review Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Anthony Lane New Yorker This full-length animated movie was shot in stop motion, with all the febrile, twittery fascination that the medium exerts; it has a magic-toy shop feeling, with unexpected objects stuttering into life. Dec 3, 2013 Full Review Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Kristy Strouse Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying The Nightmare Before Christmas is unique and timeless, a magical adventure that’ll delight the senses and steal your heart. Nov 14, 2023 Full Review Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Lauren Veneziani DC Film Girl One of the best films of all-time, the gorgeous stop-motion animation and story of Jack Skellington longing for something more leaves us breathless, happy and fulfilled. Rated: 5/5 Oct 30, 2023 Full Review Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review In the days of computer-animated films that occasionally appear no different than your average videogame, looking back, we must appreciate that Tim Burton and Henry Selick created something so wonderfully original. Rated: 4/4 Sep 5, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (302) audience reviews

Aladdin Such a great experience Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/14/24 Full Review Gene C A true Holiday classic, with wonderful songs and amazing stop-motion animation. Being remastered in 3D has made it even more fantastic!!! HIGHLY recommended!!!! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Dr. Jason I did not see this movie when it originally released in October 1993 when I was 23 years old, and I was reminded today on why. It's a very corny musical film, which actually has great animation and the 3D was good, however, the target audience should be clearly labeled for those 10 years old or younger. It's very "G-Rated" by today's 2024 cultural standards and boring through-out most of the film. I walked out early. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Blanca M Awesome!!! This is the best movie Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Anthony Awesome!! Bring it back every year! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review camil It was the best movie I have ever watched I loved the 3D ur was super cool and I really enjoyed it best experience Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/13/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Henry Selick Director Danny Elfman Jack Skellington Chris Sarandon Jack Catherine O'Hara Sally William Hickey Evil Scientist Glenn Shadix Mayor
Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

Ernest Saves Christmas 36% 43% Ernest Saves Christmas Hocus Pocus 40% 72% Hocus Pocus TRAILER for Hocus Pocus Ernest Scared Stupid 25% 51% Ernest Scared Stupid 3 Ninjas 35% 53% 3 Ninjas Christmas Carol: The Movie 13% 48% Christmas Carol: The Movie Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All Related Movie News
Weekend Box Office Results: Taylor Swift Continues Her Reign The 10 Scariest Animated Children’s Movies Halloween TV 2019: Scary Streaming and Television Series, Episodes, Specials, Movies, and Marathons

Videos

View All videos

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Trailer 1 Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Trailer 1 1:25 View more videos

Photos

View All Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas photos

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

View more photos

Synopsis The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life -- he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Director
Henry Selick

Producer
Tim Burton, Denise Di Novi, Kathleen Gavin

Screenwriter
Michael McDowell, Caroline Thompson

Distributor
Touchstone Pictures

Production Co
Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions

Rating
PG (Some Scary Images)

Genre
Kids & Family, Holiday, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 29, 1993, Wide

Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Oct 11, 2024

Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014

Box Office (Gross USA)
$86.1M

Runtime
1h 15m

Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby Stereo

Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Carmelo Roob

Last Updated:

Views: 5842

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (45 voted)

Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Carmelo Roob

Birthday: 1995-01-09

Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176

Phone: +6773780339780

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing

Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.