The Nightmare Before Christmas introduced the world to the love story between Jack Skellington and Sally, but one small detail makes their inevitable romance even more perfect. Released in 1993, Tim Burton is often mistakenly attributed as The Nightmare Before Christmas director, but he only provided the story and rough character designs. It was director Henry Selick, the master of stop-motion, who brought the film to life, and writers Caroline Thompson and Michael McDowell, responsible for The Nightmare Before Christmas‘ memorable quotes.
Still, Burton’s fingerprints are all over the film. Its whimsical gothic aesthetic is distinctive and instantly recognizable, and The Nightmare Before Christmas is no exception to this. He originally conceived the idea when he saw Christmas and Halloween decorations together in a store window and I thought about combining the two holidays. The result is one of the most visually distinct and unique films, from top to bottom. This uniqueness extends to its characters, especially protagonist Jack Skellington and deuteragonist Sally, The Nightmare Before Christmas‘rag doll.
Together, Jack and Sally are a whole person – literally
They have parts that others need
Jack and Sally have some of the most iconic and visually stunning designs in the films. His recognition is on a level that film characters rarely achieve; even those who have never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas immediately recognize the characters and know who they are. Jack, of course, is the best known, the razor-thin skeleton with ultra-long legs that moves like a spider through the world. Meanwhile, sweet, stitched-up Sally is the rag doll version of Frankenstein’s monster, with patched body parts and stuffing. The character designs are perfect for the film’s visual storytelling, but they’re also secretly perfect for the romantic narrative.
Jack and Sally are half of a whole before they come together – literally and figuratively. Jack is a skeleton, all bones, but no flesh or blood. Like a rag doll, however, Sally is all “flesh” but no bones. Combining the cloth and stuffing from Sally’s rag doll with Jack’s bones literally creates a body. It’s perfect symbolism: each one is made up of parts that are part of a person, but only when they come together as a couple do they become truly whole. Physically, spiritually and emotionally, Jack and Sally complete each other.
Jack and Sally later married in the romance of The Nightmare Before Christmas sequel
This time it’s Sally saving her now-husband, Jack
Although Tim Burton and director Henry Selick rightfully pushed back, The Nightmare Before Christmas 2 already being done, that doesn’t mean the story hasn’t continued in other media. One such story was the 2022 YA novel by Shea Earnshaw Long live the Pumpkin Queenwhich saw Sally as the main character instead of Jack. The story sequence followed Sally’s adventures as she and Zero accidentally stumbled upon an ancient kingdom known as Dream Town.
The novel also reveals what happened to Jack and Sally after The Nightmare Before Christmasand the answer is adorable: Jack and Sally are now happily married and she is officially the Pumpkin Queen of Halloween Town. With Sally accidentally unleashing the dangers of Dream Town, it’s up to her to save Jack this time, not the other way around. However, that’s not the end of Sally and Jack’s love story: it was announced that Two more sequel novels written by Megan Shepherd will be released in 2025 and 2026.