One of Tim Burton’s most popular film is the one he didn’t even direct, The nightmare before Christmas. But the film was born in Burton’s mind and it is his visual imagination that we see on screen when we watch that classic holiday movie.
Years ago, Burton revealed how that film’s main character, Jack Skellington, aka The Pumpkin King, was created. This is one of his most iconic characters and his initial design came from a doodle he made while talking on the phone.
While speaking with Total Film, Burton was asked which of his films most closely resembled his drawings, and he replied: “Probably Nightmare. It was the first film that I really conceived and followed through to the end, even though it took almost 10 years to make it!”
Burton was then asked if he was constantly scribbling new drawings and he replied: “Yes, for example, Jack was just a simple case of me being on the phone and doodling.
“Sometimes you just keep drawing without any real conscious decision like, ‘Oh, I’m going to make a main character that doesn’t have eyes.’
“I find that when it happens just like that — and it doesn’t happen in every movie — when it comes from your subconscious, it’s more meaningful than your intellectual mind just saying, ‘Let’s make a movie about this or that.’”
I love that this iconic character was simply born from a senseless doodle. Burton was also asked in the interview if he could imagine any of his films being remade.
Burton said: “Oh my God! I do not know. I mean, I’ve often resisted a repeat visit. As in the case of Nightmare AND Beetle juicethey asked me to do sequels and I just said “No.” I wanted to maintain the integrity of those particular things. Those films were special to me.
The funny thing about that comment is that after all these years Burton has made a Beetle juice followed! So, I guess he threw the integrity of that out the window, but it still looks cool!
There has been talk of a sequel The nightmare before Christmasbut it’s a film that doesn’t need a sequel.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
