Jack Skellington | |
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First appearance | The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) |
Created by | Tim Burton |
Voiced by |
Chris Sarandon Danny Elfman (singing in film) |
Jack Skellington is a character and the main protagonist of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack is the "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town, a fantasy world based solely on the Halloween holiday. Jack is voiced by Chris Sarandon.Danny Elfman provided Jack's singing voice in the film, although Sarandon has sung as Jack in subsequent productions.
His overall appearance is a skeleton dressed in a black pin-striped suit and a bow tie that strongly resembles a black bat. At the beginning of the film, Jack makes his grand entrance by emerging out of a fire-breathing dragon-themed fountain. His last name is based on the word "skeleton". He has a ghost dog named Zero for a pet, who has a small glowing nose that looks like a jack-o'-lantern. He is adored by Sally, a rag doll created by Dr. Finklestein. The character is a popular design on bags, hats, clothing, umbrellas, belt buckles, pet collars and other items.
Jack Skellington is the patron spirit of Halloween, portrayed as being on par with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny within his own holiday. As a living skeleton, he is immortal and can remove parts of his body without harm, as is often demonstrated for comic relief. He is the most important of many Halloween spirits, with the implication that their job is to scare people in the real world on Halloween night.
Jack, as the Pumpkin King, is in charge of Halloween Town's Halloween celebration. He is respected and even idolized by the other residents for his role, but he has grown weary of celebrating the same holiday endlessly and is depressed about it. The only one who understands Jack's feelings is a lonely and attractive ragdoll named Sally. She overhears his singing monologue and feels she can relate to his situation.
Jack 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. Halloween Town plans to give the holidays a macabre make-over. Sally reveals to Jack a bad premonition, but Jack's basic nature is impulsiveness. He does not seem to register contradictory information. By the end of the film, he notices Sally and her determination to help him. He proves that love can be a part of his nature by calling Sally his "Dearest Friend", telling Sally that they were meant to be together, embracing his future with her and embracing her.