Is Tim Burton getting too much credit for ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’?

Who actually wrote “Nightmare Before Christmas”? The question could also puzzle film fans: The stop-motion cult film was released in cinemas as “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas”, but it was actually directed by Henry Selick. Apparently he wasn’t as enthusiastic about the title as he is now about the website “AV Club” told.

“It was a bit unfair because the movie wasn’t called ‘Tim Burton’s Nightmare’ until three weeks before it came out,” Selick said in the interview. “And I would have been fine with that if I had originally agreed to that.” Tim Burton merely wrote the story on which the film is based. The screenplay is by Caroline Thomson.

Too much honor for Tim Burton?

“Tim was in LA doing two movies while I was directing this one,” Selick said. “Tim is a genius – or at least he was in his most creative years. I always thought his story was perfect and he designed the main characters. But it really was me and my team that brought it all to life.”

But a third party is also apparently claiming the film, namely composer Danny Elfman, who wrote the songs for “Nightmare Before Christmas”. “If you ask Danny Elfman, it’s his movie,” Selick said. When the film was finished, Elfman said to him, “‘Henry, you did a wonderful job illustrating my songs!’ And he meant it.”

Selick is best known for stop-motion animation films such as “James and the Giant Peach” (1996) or “Coraline” (2009). In October 2022, his new horror comedy Wendell & Wild was released on Netflix. Director Tim Burton became famous with dark fantasy films such as “Beetlejuice” (1988) or “Edward Scissorhands” (1990). Most recently, he appeared in Disney remakes such as Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dumbo (2019).

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