logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
14m 19s

The Nightmare Before Christmas Turns 30

NPR
About this episode
The Nightmare Before Christmas is back in theaters, celebrating its 30th anniversary. The film, directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton, was not a smash hit upon its release, but has become something of a holiday classic over the years. And while there is some debate as to whether it counts as a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie, its spooky themes draw many viewers back to the film every October.

NPR's Scott Detrow spoke with Todd Lookinland, the set builder for The Nightmare Before Christmas, and writer and film critic Jordan Crucchiola, about the enduring legacy of film.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Yesterday
What a day in immigration court is like now
The Trump administration is deploying a new strategy to speed up deportations. Government lawyers are asking immigration judges to dismiss on-going cases. Then, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrest people as soon as they step out of the courtroom. The process is oft ... Show More
11m 58s
Aug 24
Bubbling questions about the limits of the AI revolution
OpenAI founder Sam Altman floated the idea of an AI bubble, an MIT report found that 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing and tech stocks took a dip.With the AI sector is expected to become a trillion dollar industry within the next decade, what impact might slowi ... Show More
10m 46s
Aug 23
High stakes diplomacy and canceled Halibut Olympia, insights from the Alaska Summit
Normally, foreign policy summits between world leaders involve painstaking planning and organization days and weeks in advance. The hectic and last minute nature of the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska provided a window into how so mu ... Show More
12m 31s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
‘Halloween’ and what makes a good horror film
We’re entering Halloween weekend, so today we’re bringing you a special episode about why we like to be scared, and what scares us! We are dissecting the 1978 horror classic Halloween, by John Carpenter. This week marks its 45th anniversary. The film follows a masked serial kille ... Show More
22m 33s
Nov 2023
Dis-Order #2.31 - The Nightmare Before Christmas
In honor of its 30th anniversary, we spend some time with Jack Skellington in Halloween Town and Christmas Town to look back Disney's stop-motion holiday classic, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Find more Dis-Order: Every Disney Film through the official RF4RM social ... Show More
3h 13m
Oct 2021
Halloween Special Compilation , Ouija , Ghost watch , The Candyman , Top 10 Horror Movies
On today episode Ive compiled a compilation of past Halloween episodes for you to enjoy , and to get you in the Halloween spirit , enjoy The Ouija board origin Ghost watch , BBC paranormal mockumentary The Candy Man , Ronald Clarke O Brian My Top 10 Horror Movies Facebook group h ... Show More
1h 19m
Oct 2022
‘Halloween Ends’ and the 'Halloween' Movie Rankings
‘Halloween Ends,’ the third and allegedly final installment of David Gordon Green’s legacy sequel 'Halloween' trilogy, debuted this weekend in theaters and streaming on Peacock. Chris Ryan joins Sean to talk about the new film, the year in horror, and to rank all 13 'Halloween' f ... Show More
1h 18m
Nov 2020
How to make the perfect Christmas film, from the man behind Home Alone & Christmas Chronicles 2
We guarantee there's not a single person reading this that won't have had their lives improved by today's guest. Chris Columbus' filmography reads like a list of childhood memories - From writing 'The Goonies' and 'Gremlins', discovering and directing Macaulay Culkin in the Home ... Show More
44m 5s
Sep 2022
Stephen King Movies and Memories with The Grindhouse Institute
It's a crossover episode! As part of Stephen King September, Lucé sits down with Jeremy and Brian of The Grindhouse Institute podcast to discuss two Stephen King adaptations: Firestarter (1984) and Cat's Eye (1985) both starring adorable moppet, Drew Barrymore. Then they dive int ... Show More
2 h
Jan 2023
S13 Ep655: Halloween Ends
On this episode, the guys go back to Haddonfield one more time to chat about the conclusion of David Gordon Green’s (overly?) ambitious horror trilogy, Halloween Ends! Should they have front-loaded the film with Michael and Laurie and gotten them out of the way first, instead of ... Show More
2h 13m