Overview

This edited collection considers The Nightmare Before Christmas as a milestone in animation and film history, considering the different layers of meaning and history of the film from pre-production to the present day. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick, 1993) has become a key point of reference in negotiations of genre and the boundaries between mainstream and cult cultures, both on screen and in the spaces of fandom, and in original and retrospective reception contexts where it often becomes tangled with nostalgia. Contributors to this edited collection consider the film as a cultural object with significant impact on animation, representations of family and horror, and fandom and subcultures. Covering topics including representations of fairy tales, Christmas media, cultural appropriation, family horror, merchandise, theme parks, and food, this work explores the film’s ongoing cultural impact.

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Reviews

What’s this? Antunes, Eldridge and Williams rightly recognise The Nightmare Before Christmas as a milestone not just in animation and cinema, but in all areas of popular culture, and they have gathered a delightfully ghoulish chorus of expert voices to examine its meanings, contradictions, and path from marginalised cult obsession to mainstream Disney darling. Through diverse critical lenses and theoretical acuity, the essays within show that what gives The Nightmare Before Christmas its staying power is that it is not only a stop-motion film to be watched, but a transmedia phenomenon that can be touched, played with, worn, subverted, performed, and even eaten. The insights of this new volume make it an essential companion for all Jack Skellington disciples, whether student, scholar, or Hot Topic-adorned fan. This collection is an essential resource for scholars and fans alike, providing a new and innovative look at this much-loved film. While the film's story and production are well-known to audiences, the collection's contributors reframe established perceptions of The Nightmare Before Christmas by embracing and exploring the complexity of the film’s creation, reception, and meaning. Looking beyond the film itself, the collection also highlights the transmedia nature of Nightmare and its legacy, by foregrounding the participatory and dynamic ways that viewers engage with it, from tourism to food and fashion. * Alissa Burger, Associate Professor English, Culver-Stockton College, USA *

What’s this? Antunes, Eldridge and Williams rightly recognise The Nightmare Before Christmas as a milestone not just in animation and cinema, but in all areas of popular culture, and they have gathered a delightfully ghoulish chorus of expert voices to examine its meanings, contradictions, and path from marginalised cult obsession to mainstream Disney darling. Through diverse critical lenses and theoretical acuity, the essays within show that what gives The Nightmare Before Christmas its staying power is that it is not only a stop-motion film to be watched, but a transmedia phenomenon that can be touched, played with, worn, subverted, performed, and even eaten. The insights of this new volume make it an essential companion for all Jack Skellington disciples, whether student, scholar, or Hot Topic-adorned fan. * Catherine Lester, Associate Professor in Film and Television, University of Birmingham, UK * This collection is an essential resource for scholars and fans alike, providing a new and innovative look at this much-loved film. While the film's story and production are well-known to audiences, the collection's contributors reframe established perceptions of The Nightmare Before Christmas by embracing and exploring the complexity of the film’s creation, reception, and meaning. Looking beyond the film itself, the collection also highlights the transmedia nature of Nightmare and its legacy, by foregrounding the participatory and dynamic ways that viewers engage with it, from tourism to food and fashion. * Alissa Burger, Associate Professor English, Culver-Stockton College, USA * The 1990s were a brilliant and incredibly exciting period for US animation as an art form: the glory days of The Simpsons, the return of Disney animated musicals, the rise of Pixar. But this period did not belong to cel animation alone: The Nightmare Before Christmas was a significant milestone in the rich tradition of stop-motion animation. This necessary new volume celebrates its aesthetic and narrative innovations alongside its robust, varied cultural afterlife both at Disney and among its many fans. The contributors’ foci and frameworks are as diverse as film studies itself, providing an eclectic appreciation for this masterpiece. Under the skilled editorship of Antunes, Eldridge, and Williams, this collection makes a powerful case for Nightmare not only as one of US animation’s most original and dazzling films, but also as one of its most enduring media franchises. * Peter C. Kunze, Assistant Professor of Communication, Tulane University, USA, and author of Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood and the Disney Renaissance (2023) *

What’s this? Antunes, Eldridge and Williams rightly recognise The Nightmare Before Christmas as a milestone not just in animation and cinema, but in all areas of popular culture, and they have gathered a delightfully ghoulish chorus of expert voices to examine its meanings, contradictions, and path from marginalised cult obsession to mainstream Disney darling. Through diverse critical lenses and theoretical acuity, the essays within show that what gives The Nightmare Before Christmas its staying power is that it is not only a stop-motion film to be watched, but a transmedia phenomenon that can be touched, played with, worn, subverted, performed, and even eaten. The insights of this new volume make it an essential companion for all Jack Skellington disciples, whether student, scholar, or Hot Topic-adorned fan. This collection is an essential resource for scholars and fans alike, providing a new and innovative look at this much-loved film. While the film's story and production are well-known to audiences, the collection's contributors reframe established perceptions of The Nightmare Before Christmas by embracing and exploring the complexity of the film’s creation, reception, and meaning. Looking beyond the film itself, the collection also highlights the transmedia nature of Nightmare and its legacy, by foregrounding the participatory and dynamic ways that viewers engage with it, from tourism to food and fashion. * Alissa Burger, Associate Professor English, Culver-Stockton College, USA * The 1990s were a brilliant and incredibly exciting period for US animation as an art form: the glory days of The Simpsons, the return of Disney animated musicals, the rise of Pixar. But this period did not belong to cel animation alone: The Nightmare Before Christmas was a significant milestone in the rich tradition of stop-motion animation. This necessary new volume celebrates its aesthetic and narrative innovations alongside its robust, varied cultural afterlife both at Disney and among its many fans. The contributors’ foci and frameworks are as diverse as film studies itself, providing an eclectic appreciation for this masterpiece. Under the skilled editorship of Antunes, Eldridge, and Williams, this collection makes a powerful case for Nightmare not only as one of US animation’s most original and dazzling films, but also as one of its most enduring media franchises. * Peter C. Kunze, Assistant Professor of Communication, Tulane University, USA, and author of Staging a Comeback: Broadway, Hollywood and the Disney Renaissance (2023) *

Author Information

Filipa Antunes is Lecturer in the Humanities at the University of East Anglia, UK. Her main research interests are childhood and popular culture, especially when the two intersect; ratings and other forms of media regulation; boundaries between childhood and adulthood (and the culture of children and adults); and representations of childhood, parenthood, and family. Brittany (Bee) Eldridge is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Pennsylvania State University, York, USA. They hold a PhD from University College London, UK. Bee is the Head of Communication for the Disney, Culture and Society Research Network (DisNet) and their Blog Editor. Rebecca Williams is Senior Lecturer in Communication, Cultural and Media Studies at the University of South Wales UK. She is the author of Post-Object Fandom (2015) and editor of Torchwood Declassified (2013), both published by Bloomsbury Academic.

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