The Nightmare Before Christmas

Writer John Scalzi on why The Nightmare Before Christmas remains popular. [Link]

A decade and a half after its 1993 release, this strange little musical is more popular than it was when it was released, a fact evidenced by annual re-issues in theaters at Halloween and by yet another DVD edition of the movie released this last Tuesday (the fourth home edition of the film, which also has at least two versions of the soundtrack available on CD and MP3). Nightmare hasn't managed to eclipse the other Disney musical of 1993 (that would be The Lion King), but it has significantly more social currency among teens, twenty-somethings and even more than a few thirty-somethings, especially the ones who were, are, or want to be, just a little alienated from the mainstream.

Why this film? What's the secret to the long-running afterlife of this Disney animated musical? There are a number of reasons, but my theory is actually a simple one:

It's not really a Disney animated musical.

Nightmare is one of my favorite movies. The soundtrack gets put on heavy rotation during the holidays.