Everyone loves The Nightmare Before Christmas, but there's always been some debate regarding what time of year it should be watched. Is it a Halloween movie, or is it a Christmas movie? Could it be both? Now, the director has officially put that debate to rest.
In a recent Q&A with Henry Selick hosted by Birth.Movies.Death, an audience member asked Selick if he considers Nightmare to be a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie. After taking a few moments and clearly realizing people might disagree with his answer, Selick gave a very straightforward response.
"It's a Halloween movie," he said.
The director went on to say that he understands people enjoy everything in the film related to Christmas Town the most, but to him, it's really a movie about Halloween. In particular, it's about how people obsessed with the 31st would react to something like Christmas, but he doesn't really consider it to be about that holiday as much.
This debate has been around for years now, as some fans claim it's really more of a Christmas film given that it's about the magic of the holiday, it all leads up to the 25th and it's even aired on ABC Family as part of their Christmas lineup. On the other hand, the film has lots of scary imagery, and it opens with a song called "This is Halloween," so others feel it's really more appropriate for an October viewing.
Fans will likely still argue about this going forward, but if you're thinking of rewatching the movie this year, according to the man himself, now's the time to do it.