The Nightmare Before Christmas

Continuing the partnership that they first forged with Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman produced the film score for The Nightmare Before Christmas to critical and popular acclaim. This movie marked another chapter in the ongoing business relationship between the two and yet another that scored big with audiences. While Tim Burton did not handle the directorial duties for The Nightmare Before Christmas, he did serve as the producer and it is clear that the film is his movie. Prior to this film score, the two had worked on Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and a handful of others.

Unlike the previously mentioned films, a large part of the music on the film score for The Nightmare Before Christmas was in musical form rather than instrumental music. Danny Elfman put on several hats to complete the project, including writing the lyrics, composing the music, and singing as one of the main characters as well. Before the film score brought Elfman into the limelight, he was held in low regard by some audiences due to his singular style. However, The Nightmare Before Christmas solidified his reputation among those in the movie business that saw the composer as a true talent in the industry.

More so than other film scores or soundtracks, the music composed for The Nightmare Before Christmas is integral to the success of the movie. Technically, the film can be considered a musical as there are several songs that are sung by the characters in the fashion of a musical film. Several bands have actually used the songs included on the score as inspiration, with the Vitamin String Quartet and Marilyn Manson choosing some of the tunes to use as cover material. The timeless appeal of both the movie and film score have made it a perennial favorite when speaking about movie soundtracks.