Copyright Screen Rant
It's that time of year again — when the spooky holiday mash-up masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas becomes a must-watch. The musical dark comedy is commonly attributed to macabre filmmaker Tim Burton, but was actually directed by his collaborator Henry Selick; though Burton came up with the concept, scheduling conflicts prevented him from directing. Following The Nightmare Before Christmas achieving beloved cult classic status, Selick went on to prove himself as a filmmaker apart from Burton in the world of spine-tingling stop-motion with 2009's Coraline. An adaptation of Neil Gaiman's dark fairy tale novel of the same name, Coraline is also a masterpiece, visually stunning and downright terrifying. But the transition from Halloween season to Christmas season is the optimal time of year to rewatch The Nightmare Before Christmas. According to FlixPatrol, The Nightmare Before Christmas is not only seeing a resurgence right now — it is the No. 1 movie in the world on Disney+ today (October 29), ahead of newer releases Elio and Lilo & Stitch and enduring favorites The Incredibles and Ratatouille. The Nightmare Before Christmas continues to have a massive presence in pop culture, with concert events popping up and the characters seasonally taking over Disneyland's Haunted Mansion ride. The Nightmare Before Christmas' sequel comic, recently announced, also prompted widespread interest, as many fans have always been eager for a follow-up about Jack and Sally. Selick's Coraline was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards, losing to Best Picture nominee Up from Pixar. He also saw success in 2022 with Netflix's Wendell & Wild, starring iconic comedy duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as the titular characters of the horror comedy. Also notable in Selick's animation career is his sophomore directorial feature, 1996's James and the Giant Peach. Selick may be working on another Gaiman adaptation, a stop-motion feature of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Meanwhile, the studio behind Coraline just debuted the trailer for Wildwood, another animated feature following a girl who discovers a magical realm while attempting to rescue her kidnapped brother, based on the book series by Colin Meloy.
