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Tim Burton (1993)

Happy Halloween!

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life — he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Director: Henry Selick
Story by: Tim Burton
Music: Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters.

The Nightmare Before Christmas originated in a poem written by Tim Burton in 1982 while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. With the success of Vincent in the same year, Burton began to consider developing The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short film or 30-minute television special to no avail. Over the years, Burton’s thoughts regularly returned to the project and in 1990, he made a development deal with Walt Disney Studios. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco.

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Tim Burton (1984 & 2012)

Happy Halloween!

When a car hits young Victor’s pet dog Sparky, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked “monster” wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor’s neighbors, he has to convince them that Sparky’s still the good, loyal friend.

Frankenweenie is a 1984 featurette directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein.

Burton was fired by Disney after the film was completed, as the studio claimed that he had been wasting company resources and felt the film was not suitable for the targeted young audiences.

Tim Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake of Frankenweenie with production help from Disney, which was released on October 5, 2012.

The 2012 feature-length remake of Burton’s 1984 short film of the same name is also both a parody of and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. In the film, a boy named Victor Frankenstein uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead Bull Terrier, Sparky, but his peers discover what he has done and reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures, resulting in mayhem. The tongue-in-cheek film contains numerous references to and parodies of elements of Frankenstein and past film versions of it, other literary classics, various horror and science-fiction films, and other films which Burton has directed or produced.

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Tim Burton (1982)

Happy Halloween!

Vincent is a 1982 stop motion short horror film written, designed, and directed by Tim Burton. It’s produced by Rick Heinrichs. It is the second Disney horror film, the first being The Watcher in the Woods. At approximately six minutes in length, there is currently no individual release of the film except for a few bootleg releases. It can be found on the 2008 Special Edition and Collector’s Edition DVDs of The Nightmare Before Christmas as a bonus feature and on the Cinema16 DVD American Short Films.

While working as a conceptual artist at Walt Disney Productions, Tim Burton found himself two allies in Disney executive Julie Hickson, and Head of Creative Development Tom Wilhite. The two were impressed with Burton’s unique talents and, while not “Disney material”, they felt he deserved respect. As such, in 1982, Wilhite gave Burton $60,000 to produce an adaptation of a poem Burton had written titled Vincent. Burton had originally planned the poem to be a children’s short story book but thought otherwise.

Together with fellow Disney animator Rick Heinrichs, stop motion animator Stephen Chiodo and cameraman Victor Abdalov, Burton worked on the project for two months and came up with the six-minute short film. Shot in stark black-and-white in the style of the German Expressionist films of the 1920s, Vincent imagines himself in a series of situations inspired by the Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe films that had such an effect on Burton as a child, including experimenting on his dog — a theme that would subsequently appear in Frankenweenie — and welcoming his aunt home while simultaneously conjuring up the image of her dipped in hot wax. Vincent Malloy, the main character in the film, bears a striking resemblance to Tim Burton himself.

The film was narrated by Burton’s childhood idol, Vincent Price, and marked the beginning of a friendship between them that lasted until Price’s death in 1993. Burton credits the experience as one of the most formative experiences of his life.

The film was theatrically released for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema with the teen drama Tex. Before it was consigned to the Disney vaults, it garnered several critical accolades when it played at film festivals in London, Chicago and Seattle, winning two awards at Chicago and the Critics’ Prize at the Annecy Film Festival in France.

The film is narrated by actor Vincent Price, a lifelong idol and inspiration for Burton. From this relationship, Price would go on to appear in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Price later made the following statement:

“Vincent was the most gratifying thing that ever happened. It was immortality — better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard.”

-Vincent Price

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Tim Burton (1993)

Happy Halloween!

The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life — he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry.

Director: Henry Selick
Story by: Tim Burton
Music: Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman wrote the film score and provided the singing voice of Jack, as well as other minor characters.

The Nightmare Before Christmas originated in a poem written by Tim Burton in 1982 while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. With the success of Vincent in the same year, Burton began to consider developing The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short film or 30-minute television special to no avail. Over the years, Burton’s thoughts regularly returned to the project and in 1990, he made a development deal with Walt Disney Studios. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco.

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Tim Burton & Danny Elfman (2005)

Inspired by Walt Disney’s and Ub Iwerks’ Silly Symphonies animated short The Skeleton Dance,
Tim Burton pays homage to the frolicking skeletons of swing in this fun little diddy, Remains of the Day.

Happy Halloween!

Hey!
Give me a listen, you corpses of cheer.
Least less of you who still got an ear,
I’ll tell ‘ya a story, make your skeleton cry,
of our own judiciously lovely corpse bride.
Die, die we all pass away, but don’t wear a frown ‘cuz it’s really okay.
You might try n’ hide, and you might try n’ pray,
but we all end up the remains of the day.

Die die die yeah yeah, die die die.

Well! Our girl is a beauty known for miles around.
A mysterious stranger came into town.
He was plenty good lookin’ but down on his cash,
and our poor little baby she fell hard and fast,
when her daddy said no, she just couldn’t cope,
so our lovers came up with a plan to elope.

Die, die we all pass away, but don’t wear a frown ‘cuz it’s really okay.
You might try n’ hide, and you might try n’ pray,
but we all end up the remains of the day.

Die die die yeah yeah,
die die die yeah yeah
die die die yeah yeah
die die die yeah yeah

Yeah, so they conjured up a plan to meet late at night,
they told not a soul kept the whole thing tight.
Now her mother’s wedding dress fit like a glove,
you don’t need much when you’re really in love.
Except for a few things or so I’m told,
like the family jewels and a satchel of gold.
Then next to the graveyard by the old oak tree,
on a dark foggy night at a quarter to three,
she was ready to go, but where was he?

(And then?) She waited
(And then?) There in the shadows, was it a man?
(And then?) Her little heart beat sooo loud!
(And THEN?) And then baby, everything went black.

Now when she opened her eyes, she was dead as dust, her jewels were missin’ and her heart was bust, so she made a vow lyin’ under that tree
that she’d wait for her true love to come set her free.
Always waitin’ for someone to ask for her hand, when outta the blue comes this groovy young man, who vows forever, to be by her side, and that’s the story of our own, corpse bride

Die, die we all pass away, but don’t wear a frown ‘cuz it’s really okay.
You might try n’ hide, and you might try n’ pray,
but we all end up the remains of the day.

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Tim Burton (1984)

Happy Halloween!

Frankenweenie is a 1984 featurette directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake of Frankenweenie, released in 2012.

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Tim Burton (1982)

Happy Halloween!

Vincent is a 1982 stop motion short horror film written, designed, and directed by Tim Burton. It’s produced by Rick Heinrichs. It is the second Disney horror film, the first being The Watcher in the Woods. At approximately six minutes in length, there is currently no individual release of the film except for a few bootleg releases. It can be found on the 2008 Special Edition and Collector’s Edition DVDs of The Nightmare Before Christmas as a bonus feature and on the Cinema16 DVD American Short Films.

The film is narrated by actor Vincent Price, a lifelong idol and inspiration for Burton. From this relationship, Price would go on to appear in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Price later made the following statement:

“Vincent was the most gratifying thing that ever happened. It was immortality — better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard.”

-Vincent Price

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Tim Burton (1984)

Vincent is a 1982 stop motion short horror film written, designed, and directed by Tim Burton, and produced by Rick Heinrichs. It is the second Disney horror film, the first being The Watcher in the Woods. At approximately six minutes in length, there is currently no individual release of the film except for a few bootleg releases. It can be found on the 2008 Special Edition and Collector’s Edition DVDs of The Nightmare Before Christmas as a bonus feature and on the Cinema16 DVD American Short Films.

The film is narrated by actor Vincent Price, a lifelong idol and inspiration for Burton. From this relationship, Price would go on to appear in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Vincent Price later said that Vincent was “the most gratifying thing that ever happened. It was immortality — better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard”.

Frankenweenie is a 1984 short film directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s novel of the same name. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake, released in 2012.

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Tim Burton featuring Shiny Toy Guns (2008)

The Finale is the final song of the movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is sung by Jack Skellington as he realizes that he is the Pumpkin King and that he must return to Halloween Town in order to help the citizens fix Christmas. Later, Santa thanks Jack for helping him save Christmas by bringing snow to Halloween Town. Jack and Sally sing together under the moonlight in the final scene as they lovingly embrace and kiss.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

Cyclops: Jack!
Corpse Father: Jack’s back!
Undersea Gal: Jack?
Winged Demon: Jack’s okay!
Offscreen Voice: He’s all right!

Chorus: Jack’s okay, and he’s back! Oh, yay!

(with Corpse Kid)
He’s all right!

(with the Mayor)
Let’s shout, make a fuss
Scream it out, wheee!

Jack is back now, everyone sing
In our town of Halloween…

(“What’s This?” verse)

Corpse Kid: What’s this?

Cyclops: What’s this?

Harlequin Demon: I haven’t got a clue…

Mr. Hyde: What’s this?

Clown with the Tear-Away Face: Why, it’s completely new!

Offscreen Voice: What’s this?

Wolfman: Must be a Christmas thing…

Offscreen Voice: What’s this?

Mayor: It’s really very strange…

Chorus: This is Halloween
Halloween, Halloween, Halloween

What’s this, what’s this? (verse repeated three more times)

(instrumental verse)

(“We’re Simply Meant to Be” verse)

Jack: My dearest friend, if you don’t mind
I’d like to join you by your side
Where we can gaze into the stars

(with Sally)

And sit together now and forever
For it is plain as anyone can see
We’re simply meant to be

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Tim Burton featuring Plain White Tees (2014)

Poor Jack is a song from the film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is sung by Jack after he survives an explosion in Christmas Town that was meant to kill him. The song is about Jack confronting his guilt surrounding the mess he made of Christmas Town. He then chooses to remain the Pumpkin King and rushes off to save Sandy Claws.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

What have I done? What have I done?
How could I be so blind?
All is lost, where was I?
Spoiled all, spoiled all, everything’s gone all wrong

What have I done? What have I done?
Find a deep cave to hide in
In a million years they’ll find me
Only dust and a plaque that reads here lies poor old Jack

But I never intended all this madness, never
And nobody really understood, well how could they?
That all I ever wanted was to bring them something great
Why does nothing ever turn out like it should?

Well, what the heck I went and did my best
And by God I really tasted something swell, that’s right
And for a moment, why I even touched the sky
And at least I left some stories they can tell, I did

And for the first time since I don’t remember when
I felt just like my old bony self again
And I Jack, the Pumpkin King
That’s right I am the Pumpkin King

And I just can’t wait until next Halloween
‘Cause I’ve got some new ideas that will really make them scream
And by God, I’m really gonna give it all my might
Oh, oh, I hope there’s still time to set things right Sandy Claws

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Tim Burton featuring Amy Lee (2008)

Sally’s Song is sung by Sally Finklestein in the film, The Nightmare Before Christmas after her plan to stop Jack fails. During her song, she sings about how she hopes that Jack is safe,
yet she feels that Jack will never accept her feelings for him.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

I sense there’s something in the wind
That feels like tragedy’s at hand
And though I’d like to stand by him
Can’t shake this feeling that I have
The worst is just around the bend
And does he notice my feelings for him?
And will he see how much he means to me?
I think it’s not to be

What will become of my dear friend?
Where will his actions lead us then?
Although I’d like to join the crowd
In their enthusiastic cloud
Try as I may, it doesn’t last
And will we ever end up together?
No, I think not, it’s never to become
For I am not the one

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Tim Burton featuring Tiger Army (2008)

Oogie Boogie’s Song is the main villain song from the film, The Nightmare Before Christmas sung by Oogie Boogie and his prisoner, Santa Claus. Due to time constraints, the instrumental break was cut from it in the film, while the second verse was omitted because its sequence which was to feature bugs dancing on Oogie Boogie’s arm was deemed impossible and too difficult to animate after being storyboarded. But both were present on the soundtrack of the film.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

Oogie Boogie:
Well, well, well, what have we here?
Sandy Claws, huh?
Ooh, I’m really scared!
So you’re the one everybody’s talkin’ about?
Ha, ha, ha, ha!

You’re jokin’, you’re jokin’!
I can’t believe my eyes!
You’re jokin’ me, you gotta be,
This can’t be the right guy!

He’s ancient, he’s ugly;
I don’t know which is worse!
I might just split a seam now
If I don’t die laughing first.

When Mr. Oogie Boogie says
There’s trouble close at hand,
You’d better pay attention now
‘Cause I’m the Boogie Man!

And if you aren’t shakin’,
There’s something very wrong!
‘Cause this may be the last time
You hear the Boogie Song!

Woah

Skeletons:
Woah

Oogie Boogie:
Woah

Skeletons:
Woah

Oogie Boogie:
Woah

Bats:
Woah

Oogie Boogie and Chorus:
I’m (he’s) the Oogie Boogie Man!

Santa:
Release me now or you must face
The dire consequences
The children are expecting me
So please, come to your senses

Oogie Boogie:
You’re jokin’, you’re jokin’!
I can’t believe my ears!
Would someone shut this fella up?
I’m drownin’ in my tears!

It’s funny, I’m laughing;
You really are too much.
And now, with your permission,
I’m going to do my stuff…

Santa:
What are you going to do?

Oogie Boogie:
I’m going to do the best I can.

Oh, the sound of rollin’ dice
To me is music in the air
‘Cause I’m a gamblin’ Boogie Man
Although I don’t play fair.

It’s much more fun, I must confess
When lives are on the line
Not mine, of course but yours, old boy,
Now that’d be just fine.

Santa:
Release me fast or you’ll have to answer for this heinous act!

Oogie Boogie:
Oh brother, you’re somethin’!
You put me in a spin! You aren’t comprehending
The position that you’re in.

It’s hopeless, you’re finished
You haven’t got a prayer
‘Cause I’m Mr. Oogie Boogie,
And you ain’t goin’ nowhere!

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Tim Burton featuring Rise Against (2008)

Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King prepares the citizens of Halloween Town for Christmas
in this fun diddy from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

This time, this time
Making Christmas
Making Christmas
Making Christmas, making Christmas is so fine

It’s our this time and won’t the children
Be surprised? It’s ours this time
Making Christmas
Making Christmas

Time to give them something fun
They’ll talk about fir yeas to come
Let’s have a cheer from everyone
It’s time to party

Making Christmas, making Christmas
Snakes and spiders get wrapped up
So nice with spider legs and pretty bows
It’s ours this time

All together, that and this
With all our tricks we’re
Making Christmas
Here comes Jack

I don’t believe what’s happening to me
My hopes, my dreams, my fantasies
Hee hee hee

Won’t they be impressed? I am a genius
See how I transformed this old rat
Into a most delightful hat?

Hmm, my compliments from me to you
On your most intriguing hat
Consider though this substitute
A bat in the place of this old rat

Huh, no, no, no, now that’s all wrong
This thing will never make a present
It’s been dead for much too long
Try something fresher, something pleasant
Try again, don’t give up

All together, this and that
With all our tricks
We’re making Christmastime

This time this time
Making Christmas, making Christmas
La la la
It’s almost here

And we can’t wait
‘Cause when the full moon starts to climb
We’ll all sing out, it’s Christmas time
Hee hee hee

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Tim Burton featuring Vitamin String Quartet (2008)

Vitamin String Quartet is an American musical group from Los Angeles, widely known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts.

VSQ is not a string quartet in the traditional sense. Rather, VSQ is a series of string quartet projects developed and produced by CMH Label Group, an independent record company based in Los Angeles. The CMH team works with an ever-evolving cast of arrangers, producers, string players and other creatives to bring each project to life. Their albums are released through Vitamin Records and primarily performed by a string quartet, though other instruments have been used. “Vitamin String Quartet is about applying rock n’ roll attitude to classical technique,” says Tom Tally, a violist and arranger who has performed on and produced over fifty Vitamin String Quartet albums.

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Tim Burton featuring KoRn (2008)

Kidnap the Sandy Claws is a song from the film, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
It is sung by Lock, Shock, and Barrel when they plan to capture Santa so that Jack could take over Christmas,
which only brings in a disastrous result.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

Lock, Shock, and Barrel: Kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws?

Lock: I wanna do it!
Barrel: Let’s draw straws!
Shock: Jack said we should work together

Barrel: Three of a kind
Lock: Birds of a feather
Lock, Shock, and Barrel: Now and forever!

La, la, la, la, la, la
La-la-la-la-la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La-la-la-la-la

Kidnap the Sandy Claws, lock him up real tight
Throw away the key and then turn off all the lights

Shock: First, we’re going to set some bait inside a nasty trap and wait
When he comes a-sniffing, we will snap the trap and close the gate

Lock: Wait! I’ve got a better plan to catch this big red lobster man
Let’s pop him in a boiling pot
And when he’s done, we’ll butter him up!

Lock, Shock and Barrel: Kidnap the Sandy Claws, throw him in a box
Bury him for 90 years, then see if he talks

Shock: Then Mr. Oogie Boogie Man…
Lock and Shock: …can take the whole thing over then
Lock and Barrel: He’ll be so pleased, I do declare
Lock and Shock: That he will cook him rare
Wheeee!

Lock: I say that we take a cannon, aim it at his door and then
Knock three times and when he answers, Sandy Claws will be no more!

Shock: You’re so stupid! Think now
If we blow him up to smithereens, we may lose some pieces
And then Jack will beat us black and green

Lock, Shock, and Barrel: Kidnap the Sandy Claws, tie him in a bag
Throw him in the ocean, then see if he is sad

Lock and Shock: Because Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around
If I were on his boogie list, I’d get out of town

Barrel: He’ll be so pleased by our success
That he’ll reward us too, I bet

Lock and Barrel: Perhaps he’ll make his special brew
Lock and Shock: Of snake and spider stew (Shock: Mmmm!)

Lock, Shock, and Barrel: We’re his little henchmen and we take our job with pride
We do our best to please him and stay on his good side

Shock: I wish my cohorts weren’t so dumb
Barrel: I’m not the dumb one
Lock: You’re no fun
Shock: Shut up!
Lock: Make me!

Shock: I’ve got something, listen now! This one is real good, you’ll see
We’ll send a present to his door
Upon there’ll be a note to read
Now, in the box we’ll wait and hide until his curiosity

Lock, Shock, and Barrel: Entices him to look inside
And then we’ll have him! One, two, three!

Kidnap the Sandy Claws, beat him with a stick
Lock him up for 90 years, see what makes him tick
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, chop him into bits
Mr. Oogie Boogie is sure to get his kicks
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, see what we will see
Lock him in a cage and then throw away the key…!

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Tim Burton featuring All American Rejects (2008)

Jack’s Lament is a song from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. It is sung by Jack Skellington who is tired of celebrating Halloween and wants to experience something else. The All American Rejects covered this song for the album Nightmare Revisited, which was released in 2007.

Jack laments the mundane repetition of Halloween as he wishes for a new adventure and hopes to experience something new as he searches for meaning in his life.

Nightmare Revisited is a cover album of songs and score from the 1993 Disney animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas. It was released on September 30, 2008 by Walt Disney Records to commemorate the film’s 15th anniversary of its theatrical release. In addition to the album’s eighteen covers are two re-recordings by original composer Danny Elfman, of the “Opening” and “Closing” tracks. One song featured on the album, Marilyn Manson’s “This Is Halloween”, was previously released nearly two years earlier, on the 2006 reissue of the film’s original soundtrack which, featuring five covers of songs from the film, acted as a precursor to Nightmare Revisited. The album also features Korn covering “Kidnap the Sandy Claws” which is also their first recording to feature Ray Luzier on drums. Enhanced content on the disc features the trailer of The Nightmare Before Christmas, as well.

American psychobilly band Tiger Army also provided a cover of “Oogie Boogie’s Song”, which was not featured on physical CD editions of Nightmare Revisited, but was released as a digital bonus track. Scott Murphy’s cover of “Sally’s Song” is also featured on Japanese pressings of the album.

Danny Elfman (1993)

There are few who’d deny, at what I do I am the best
For my talents are renowned far and wide
When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night
I excel without ever even trying
With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms
I have seen grown men give out a shriek
With the wave of my hand, and a well-placed moan
I have swept the very bravest off their feet

Yet year after year, it’s the same routine
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King (SHOUT!)
Have grown so tired of the same old thing

Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones
An emptiness began to grow
There’s something out there, far from my home
A longing that I’ve never known

I’m a master of fright, and a demon of light
And I’ll scare you right out of your pants
To a guy in Kentucky, I’m Mister Unlucky
And I’m known throughout England and France
And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearean quotations
No animal nor man can scream like I can
With the fury of my recitations

But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown, if they only understood
He’d give it all up if he only could

Oh, there’s an empty place in my bones
That calls out for something unknown
The fame and praise come year after year
Does nothing for these empty tears

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Tim Burton featuring Marilyn Manson (2008)

Come, one and all, and bear witness to the fantastic freakishness of the creepy crypt creators Tim Burton
and Marilyn Manson as stop-motion animation meets shock rock.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town who stumbles through a portal to Christmas Town and becomes obsessed with celebrating the holiday. Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score, and provided the singing voice of Jack.

The Nightmare Before Christmas originated in a poem written by Burton in 1982 while he was working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. With the success of Vincent in the same year, Burton began to consider developing The Nightmare Before Christmas as either a short film or 30-minute television special to no avail. Over the years, Burton’s thoughts regularly returned to the project and in 1990, he made a development deal with Walt Disney Studios. Production started in July 1991 in San Francisco; Disney released the film through Touchstone Pictures because the studio believed the film would be “too dark and scary for kids”.

Written by Danny Elfman (1993)

Boys and girls of every age
Wouldn’t you like to see something strange?
Come with us and you will see
This, our town of Halloween

This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright
It’s our town, everybody scream
In this town of Halloween

I am the one hiding under your bed
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red
I am the one hiding under yours stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!

In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
In this town, don’t we love it now?
Everybody’s waiting for the next surprise

Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can Something’s waiting no to pounce, and how you’ll…
Scream! This is Halloween
Red ‘n’ black, slimy green
Aren’t you scared?

Well, that’s just fine
Say it once, say it twice
Take a chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night
Everybody scream, everybody scream

In our town of Halloween!
I am the clown with the tear-away face
Here in a flash and gone without a trace
I am the “who” when you call, “who’s there?”
I am the wind blowing through your hair
I am the shadow on the moon at night
Filling your dreams to the brim with fright
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
Tender lumplings everywhere
Life’s no fun without a good scare
That’s our job, but we’re not mean
In our town of Halloween
In this town
Don’t we love it now?
Everybody is waiting for the next surprise
Skeleton jack might catch you in the back
And scream like a banshee
Make you jump out of your skin
This is Halloween, everybody scream
Wont’ ya, please, make way for a very special guy
Our man, Jack, is king of the pumpkin patch
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now
This is Halloween, this is Halloween
Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!
In this town we call home
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song
La, lala la, lala la
La la la, lala la, lala la
La la la, lala la, lala la
La la la, lala la la la
Heir

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Tim Burton (2005)

Inspired by Walt Disney’s and Ub Iwerks’ Silly Symphonies animated short The Skeleton Dance,
Tim Burton pays homage to the frolicking skeletons of swing in this fun little diddy, Remains of the Day.

Remains of the Day

Danny Elfman (2005)

Hey!
Give me a listen, you corpses of cheer.
Least less of you who still got an ear,
I’ll tell ‘ya a story, make your skeleton cry,
of our own judiciously lovely corpse bride.
Die, die we all pass away, but don’t wear a frown ‘cuz it’s really okay.
You might try n’ hide, and you might try n’ pray,
but we all end up the remains of the day.

Die die die yeah yeah, die die die.

Well! Our girl is a beauty known for miles around.
A mysterious stranger came into town.
He was plenty good lookin’ but down on his cash,
and our poor little baby she fell hard and fast,
when her daddy said no, she just couldn’t cope,
so our lovers came up with a plan to elope.

Die, die we all pass away, but don’t wear a frown ‘cuz it’s really okay.
You might try n’ hide, and you might try n’ pray,
but we all end up the remains of the day.

Die die die yeah yeah,
die die die yeah yeah
die die die yeah yeah
die die die yeah yeah

Yeah, so they conjured up a plan to meet late at night,
they told not a soul kept the whole thing tight.
Now her mother’s wedding dress fit like a glove,
you don’t need much when you’re really in love.
Except for a few things or so I’m told,
like the family jewels and a satchel of gold.
Then next to the graveyard by the old oak tree,
on a dark foggy night at a quarter to three,
she was ready to go, but where was he?

(And then?) She waited
(And then?) There in the shadows, was it a man?
(And then?) Her little heart beat sooo loud!
(And THEN?) And then baby, everything went black.

Now when she opened her eyes, she was dead as dust, her jewels were missin’ and her heart was bust, so she made a vow lyin’ under that tree
that she’d wait for her true love to come set her free.
Always waitin’ for someone to ask for her hand, when outta the blue comes this groovy young man, who vows forever, to be by her side, and that’s the story of our own, corpse bride

Die, die we all pass away, but don’t wear a frown ‘cuz it’s really okay.
You might try n’ hide, and you might try n’ pray,
but we all end up the remains of the day.

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Ray Harryhausen was an American filmmaker best known for his pioneering use of stop-motion animation effects. Unfortunately, he died May 7, 2013 in London, England at the age of 93.

Harryhausen grew up in Los Angeles, acquiring a love of dinosaurs and fantasy at a young age. His parents encouraged his interests in films and in models, and he was inspired by the cinematic effects in such movies as The Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933). After seeing the latter, he began experimenting with marionettes and stop-motion animation, making short films in his parents’ garage. At about age 18 he met noted animator Willis O’Brien, with whom he would later work on several projects. On O’Brien’s advice to refine his abilities, Harryhausen enrolled in art and anatomy courses at Los Angeles City College and later in film courses at the University of Southern California. It was around this time that he began developing the technique that became known as “Dynamation,” used to make it appear that actors on film are interacting with animated models.

In 1940 Harryhausen landed his first animating job, working for producer George Pal on a number of “Puppetoons”—short films that animated puppets by using a type of stop-motion. He subsequently served in the U.S. Army, where he worked with director Frank Capra on propaganda films for the war effort. After being discharged in 1946, Harryhausen created a series of short nursery rhyme-based films that he distributed to schools. He was soon contacted by O’Brien to help on Mighty Joe Young (1949), an adventure drama featuring an enormous ape, in the style of King Kong. The film, for which Harryhausen did much of the animation, received an Academy Award for special effects. Harryhausen’s work on The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), which was based on a story by his friend Ray Bradbury, caught the attention of producer Charles Schneer, with whom he would work on the majority of his films advertisement

Near the Arctic Circle, an atomic bomb is detonated. This fearsome experiment disturbs the sleep of a giant rhedosaurus encased in ice for more than 100-million years and sends it southward on a destructive, deadly rampage. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a film of firsts. It spawned a new era of atomic-age creature features. It was the first screen adaptation of a work by fantasy fiction titan Ray Bradbury. And it marked the first time Ray Harryhausen had control over special effects. Harryhausen came up with a fantastic creature (constructed at full scale, all 50 tons of it) that swims down from the north to run amok through New York City before being conquered in a spectacular Coney Island roller coaster finale. Take a classic ride and unleash the Beast!

Harryhausen contributed effects to more than a dozen movies, including It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), Mysterious Island (1961), and Hammer Films’ One Million Years B.C.(1966). He was well known for the Sinbad films: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), his first colour feature; The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973); and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). He also created the special effects for the star-studded Clash of the Titans (1981), which was remade with animatronic and computer effects in 2010. Though he effectively retired from animation in the mid-1980s, Harryhausen continued to work on small projects into the 21st century. In 1992 he received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award for technical contributions from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His published works include Film Fantasy Scrapbook (1972) and the autobiography An Animated Life: Adventures in Fantasy (2003; cowritten with Tony Dalton).

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Walt Disney (1941)

In 1941, in order to compensate for the relative poor box office of Pinocchio and Fantasia, Disney produced a low-budget feature film, Dumbo. Dumbo was a major hit and today is one of the most critically acclaimed animated movies ever made. Just a few days after rough animation was complete on Dumbo, the Disney animators’ strike broke out. This was caused by the Screen Cartoonists’ Guild, who severed many ties between Walt Disney and his staff, while encouraging many members of the Disney studio to leave and seek greener pastures. Later that year, Dumbo became a big success, the first time since Snow White. The critically acclaimed film brought in much-needed revenue and kept the studio afloat.

Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl illustrated by Helen Durney for the prototype of a novelty toy. The main character is Jumbo Jr., a semi-anthropomorphic elephant who is cruelly nicknamed “Dumbo”, as in “dumb”. He is ridiculed for his big ears, but in fact he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is the mouse, Timothy – a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants.

Dumbo was released on October 23, 1941; made to recoup the financial losses of Fantasia, it was a deliberate pursuit of simplicity and economy for the Disney studio. At 64 minutes, it is one of Disney’s shortest animated features. Sound was recorded conventionally using the RCA System. One voice was synthesized using the Sonovox system, but it, too, was recorded using the RCA System.

In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

A live-action adaptation of the film directed by Tim Burton is scheduled to be released on March 29, 2019.

The Making of Dumbo

Tim Burton’s Dumbo – trailer