Parents need to know that The Nightmare Before Christmas is an offbeat stop-motion-animated movie that's one of the greatest family films for all ages. That said, it does have scares: Characters take off their own heads and limbs, and there are skeletons, demons, zombies, worms, etc., as well as a very creepy…
Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas is filled with ghouls, monsters, and gruesome representations of Halloween. However, one of the scariest elements of this movie is its depiction of abuse. The character Sally was literally created in a lab by Dr. Finkelstein, a mad scientist and resident of Halloween Town.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is rated PG by the MPAA for some scary images. All things Halloween (including ghoulish creatures, grotesque monsters, and frightening figures) are used to create the setting in this stop-frame animation.
Is The Nightmare Before Christmas ok for Christians to watch?
Spiritual Elements
Witches, vampires, ghosts and other residents of Halloween Town have real-world occult associations that will rightly bother Christian families. Likewise, Christmas, Halloween and other holidays that have obvious spiritual connections in our world have no such associations in Jack's.
Does The Nightmare Before Christmas have anything to do with Christmas?
Many argue that the town characters' obsession with Christmas thematically makes it a Christmas movie—but these characters do not change and make no real effort towards embracing the Christmas spirit. They simply spread their classic horrors through lands beyond their own, emitting nothing but chaos.
Jack Skellington provides a great illustration of the search for purpose and meaning in one's vocation. His journey is one that many of us can resonate with. But the good news is, the restless feelings of dissatisfaction and exhaustion don't have to overtake you.
He discovers Christmas Town and decides that this new experience is what his life was missing. He makes preparations for his own Christmas celebration in Halloween Town and wants to impersonate Santa Claus in the real world. While his intentions are not malicious, Jack does not understand the true spirit of Christmas.
What does The Nightmare Before Christmas teach you?
There's nobody better to be than you.
Kids will learn that, although it's fine to want to change, if you try to change too much as Jack did, you lose what was great about you to begin with. This message may be overdone especially since the self-esteem movement of the 90's has never really gone away.
While there is no chapter and verse in Scripture saying horror movies are sinful for Christians to watch; it would be incredibly unwise and even dangerous for believers to partake in films that make light of the demonic and make it look entertaining.
Characters (painlessly) take off their own limbs and heads, and there is a villain named Oogie Boogie who could be frightening. Common Sense Media suggests the film is suitable for children aged 7 and older (parent and kid reviewers on the site unilaterally agree, which is somewhat rare on the site).
Jack Skellington is good within his own culture of the Halloween world. He is helpful to the people, creatures and monsters who live there. But his culture is skewed when observed by someone in, say, the Christmas world.
Is Nightmare Before Christmas too scary for a 3 year old?
In a nutshell
Nightmare Before Christmas 3D is a remake of Tim Burton's original, 1993 (1994 in Australia) stop-motion animation film, with 3D effects. While the movie targets children, it is too scary for younger children and parental guidance is recommended from 8 to 12 years.
Seemingly friendly characters appear with sewn buttons in place of their eyes, robbing them of humanity and instilling a chilling and uncanny appearance. Some very anxious and tense scenes. This movie is pretty dark for PG, should probably be pushed to PG-13.
In addition to the violent scenes and scary visual images mentioned above, Hocus Pocus has some scenes that could scare or disturb children aged 5-8 years. For example: The witches kill Thackery's little sister, Emily. They suck her life from her body and leave her sitting limply in a chair.
It's been 30 years since The Nightmare Before Christmas first hit theaters. The Nightmare Before Christmas is back in theaters now to commemorate its 30th anniversary.
What grade level is The Nightmare Before Christmas?
Grade Level: 3rd (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.) Meet Jack Skellington. He's in charge of making Halloweenland the coolest creepy place around. But when Jack suddenly grows bored with tricks and treats, he goes searching for new ways to celebrate and he finds them in Christmas Town!
What does the Bible say about watching horror movies?
Thus, breaking down horror to its genre standard – that it is a thriller with more blood – horror is no more sinfully restricted by its own genre characteristics than any other genre. … unless that Christian would be doing so against their own or their fellow Christian's conscience (1 Corinthians 8; Romans 14).
What does the Bible say about watching bad movies?
The Bible never comes right out and says what to do with movies. Moses didn't bring back a commandment that said, “Thou shalt not watch any R-rated film (unless thine film be titled Passion of the Christ).” Jesus never explicitly spoke about Hollywood.
There's no mention of Halloween in the Bible since the holiday came into existence centuries after the text was written. So, when looking to the Good Book for guidance on the holiday, it's helpful to understand the history of Halloween.
Jack Skellington's appearance in James and the Giant Peach as Captain Jack suggests that he was a pirate before he died, explaining his chaotic actions in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
What is the monster in Nightmare Before Christmas?
During the town meeting in The Nightmare Before Christmas, a Jack-o-lantern monster can be seen in the audience. Another appears in the opening of "This is Halloween," but it is assumed to be Jack Skellington in costume.
Why do they kidnap Santa in Nightmare Before Christmas?
In the movie, Jack orders Lock, Shock, and Barrel to kidnap Santa Claus so that Jack can take over Christmas and "improve" it his way. While Jack instructs the trio of trick or treaters to make Santa comfortable, they instead take him to Oogie Boogie, who intends to imprison and kill him.
After hearing stories about the supposed "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town, an envious Oogie Boogie became obsessed with outclassing Jack as the scariest ghoul there is.
Once Jack and the hunters return with a dead pig, Ralph blames Jack for the fire going out. Jack becomes defensive and takes out his anger by punching, slapping, and mocking Piggy.
Because of his envy, he wasn't too fond of Jack and really just caused trouble for the Town - which, in return, made Jack go on this wild and dangerous journey just to save Halloween. So he wasn't too happy with Boogie endangering his people and their holiday, and ended up banishing him in his Lair because of it.
