The Nightmare Before Christmas: Tim Burton’s Self-Adaptation
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
21-4-2017 9:15 AM
End Date
21-4-2017 10:30 AM
Keywords
Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Self-Adaption Theory, Adaptation Theory, Disney, Poem, & Film.
Biography
My name is Jessica Roth. I am a senior and have been studying at Marshall for the last three years with a double major in creative writing and advertising.
Major
Creative Writing
Advisor for this project
Walter Squire
Abstract
One particular film can be seen as a cultivating landmark, creating a twist in genre and content in the Disney Animated Film franchise. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), produced by Tim Burton, had set a remarkable different tone with its Halloween setting and frightening characters and visuals throughout the film. But, not long before the film was created, Tim Burton himself worked as a Disney animator, though most of his work failed to make it in films. It was at his time at Disney where he created the idea and essence of The Nightmare Before Christmas through poem and drawings, and it wasn’t until a few years after he left Disney when he wanted to create the full-length feature film. Because Disney owned his work—the poem and drawings—they made a deal, but chose to release the film under the Touchstone Pictures label, as they felt the content was “too scary” for the Disney brand. From writer to producer, Burton has successfully self-adapted his own work, The Nightmare Before Christmas. In this panel, I will discuss Tim Burton’s early career as he begins to find inspiration for the poem and drawings alongside the making of the film itself. I will identify just how the film was adapted by none other than Tim Burton himself using Adaptation and Self-Adaptation Theories, with highlights on new material in the story, influencers, and physical adaptations in production.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Tim Burton’s Self-Adaptation
One particular film can be seen as a cultivating landmark, creating a twist in genre and content in the Disney Animated Film franchise. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), produced by Tim Burton, had set a remarkable different tone with its Halloween setting and frightening characters and visuals throughout the film. But, not long before the film was created, Tim Burton himself worked as a Disney animator, though most of his work failed to make it in films. It was at his time at Disney where he created the idea and essence of The Nightmare Before Christmas through poem and drawings, and it wasn’t until a few years after he left Disney when he wanted to create the full-length feature film. Because Disney owned his work—the poem and drawings—they made a deal, but chose to release the film under the Touchstone Pictures label, as they felt the content was “too scary” for the Disney brand. From writer to producer, Burton has successfully self-adapted his own work, The Nightmare Before Christmas. In this panel, I will discuss Tim Burton’s early career as he begins to find inspiration for the poem and drawings alongside the making of the film itself. I will identify just how the film was adapted by none other than Tim Burton himself using Adaptation and Self-Adaptation Theories, with highlights on new material in the story, influencers, and physical adaptations in production.
