Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Full Film Script

by Editors of Canterbury Classics

The screenplay and lyrics from  Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas— along with hundreds of behind-the-scenes facts, illustrations, and historical details from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library—are all collected in these pages.

Experience your favorite stop-motion animated film in a new way with this special edition of  Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas . This handsome hardcover book includes both the full film script and the complete song lyrics, along with hundreds of behind-the-scenes facts about the production and development of the film, including details about how the puppets were constructed and animated. All this is brought to life with photographs, original sketches, final frames, and historical images from the Walt Disney Animation Research Library. Readers will enjoy an in-depth experience of this beloved classic and gain a deeper appreciation for the animators, musicians, and voice actors who brought the story of Halloween Town to the screen.

Genres: Fiction, Film

196 pages, Hardcover

Published August 15, 2023

Reviews

[Pages & Cup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! I read the script while watching the movie for the first time on Oct. 27, 2023. This edition, which includes sketches and full-color illustrations throughout, really added to the experience. Definitely a great book for a fan of the animated movie.

The book was sent to me by the publisher.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures and stories are incredible. I with the book was a little more high quality, but that's what you get with these kinds. Such a fun book to have around! It really is one of the best movies out there.

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s the beginning of Halloween season without a trip to Halloweentown? The mood just doesn’t feel right until we’re back inside the head of Tim Burton and the many dedicated artists who brought his alt-Christmas poem to life on screen, and this script book did just the trick. It contains the full script, including song lyrics, for the film - which you know I love having in the film section of my library - but what makes this book extra special is all the additional content. Interspersed (occasionally jarringly) amongst the lines spoken by Jack Skellington, Sally, and the many characters who live in Halloweentown are essays that explore Burton’s story origins, the negotiations with Disney, and details of all the hard work that it took to painstakingly bring the film to life through stop motion animation. Expectedly, it also has plenty of illustrative material, but focuses on production and design art and behind the scenes photographs of the crew doing their work - rather than the expected excerpts from the finished film. We get plenty of that in other books, so I’m happy to have the more casual and working style that is presented here alongside the script in a sort of scrapbook style narration. Is it neat and tidy? Absolutely not. But it still works for the book, and I definitely prefer this style of treatment for The Nightmare Before Christmas than a regular film script.

[Melissa Hedges- Rankin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the descriptions of actions found throughout the script. Clear and easy to visualize.

Though I had read a review that pointed out the details of the script and whether actions through the film had made sense in the storyline. For me, I felt the script instead had creative action. I took the storyline introduced an alternative choice/action for the film, which was a unique Halloween and Christmas situation.

I have not viewed the movie yet, looking forward to watching.

[Tamzin · Rating 5 out of 5]

maybe one of my favourite film books i've ever read?
the script and songs are obviously gorgeous (though some of it is printed weird lmao) but the real highlight is all the behind the scenes details on how they actually animated it and created this world
super interesting & wholesome, a one-of-a-kind film!!

[ThirstyGrunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon

[thecontinuitybibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any fan of the movie