20 details you probably missed in ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’

The Mayor of Halloween Town has an unusual appearance. 

Although most viewers probably picked up on his character’s head-swiveling design being a play on the phrase “two-faced politicians,” some may have missed that his tie is a spider.

Similarly, Jack’s tie is shaped like a bat. 

While singing “Jack’s Lament,” Jack removes his head and holds it in his hand, singing “And since I am dead, I can take off my head to recite Shakespearean quotations.”

This seems to be a not-so-subtle reference to the well-known scene in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” where the titular prince holds a skull while reciting his “To be, or not to be” soliloquy. 

When the Mayor goes to Jack’s house to discuss plans for next Halloween, he becomes increasingly agitated when Jack doesn’t answer the door. At one point, he exclaims, “I’m only an elected official here. I can’t make decisions by myself.”

This, combined with the Mayor literally being “two-faced,” adds to the satirical nature of the character. 

When Jack returns from Christmas Town, he asks the Mayor to call a town meeting so he can tell everyone what he’s discovered.

During the meeting, Jack speaks at a podium in the shape of a coffin. The curtain hanging behind him seems to be decorated with broken hearts that have been stitched back together.

As Jack attempts to figure out what Christmas is all about, he writes out a “formula” that’s full of typical holiday traditions.

Viewers can clearly see the phrases “sugar plum visions” and “egg nog” at the top of the board, and underneath, he divides “chestnuts” over “open fire.”

The date “12.25.93” is also a reference to the year the movie came out.

Oogie Boogie’s henchmen, also known as Boogie’s Boys, are named Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

This is likely a pun on the phrase “lock, stock, and barrel,” which informally refers to a complete set of something. The phrase itself is also a reference to various parts of a gun.

As the three characters are never seen without each other, and work together to cause chaos, their names suit them well.

When Oogie Boogie rolls a pair of “ones,” snakes come out of the holes — a clever visual representation of the common phrase “snake eyes.”

When Lock, Shock, and Barrel attempt to shove Santa down the tube that leads to Boogie’s lair, viewers can see that he’s wearing underpants with a mistletoe pattern — a fitting clothing choice for the leader of Christmas Town.

When he first appears, Jack’s dog, Zero, has a glowing orange nose. At the beginning of the movie, this appears to just be a part of his appearance. However, when fog makes it impossible for Jack to take off on his sleigh on Christmas Eve, Zero guides it like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 

This was actually foreshadowed earlier in the movie when Jack was reading the “Rudolph” book. 

When Jack delivers presents in Christmas Town, some adults’ faces are blocked in creative ways. For example, one mother’s head is cut off by window shades, and a radio announcer’s face is completely out of frame.

However, when Jack first arrives, a grandmother can be seen reading to children in front of a fire, so there appears to only be a certain generation of adults who get blocked. 

This story was originally published on October 12, 2020, and most recently updated on October 22, 2024.

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