Artistic Significance: ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ could have a better message

It seems to have been a debate for years, is “The Nightmare Before Christmas” a Halloween or Christmas movie, so let me set things straight. It’s both.
This movie is acceptable any time between the beginning of October and the end of December.
It’s a cult classic.
I love this movie; the music is in my playlist all year long, but I have a problem.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” target audience is young people, mostly teens, even though my generation that loves it is now in their 20s, and it came out in 1993.
Does this movie have a message we want to encourage?
Taking away the gothic imagery, references to classic horror, catchy songs and impressive claymation, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is the story of an unhappy man.
Jack has been the star of Halloween for decades, and he’s tired of the routine. He goes for a walk and finds Christmas Town.
It’s something new and different, and he gets excited.
Sure, he goes over the top with trying to take over Christmas, kidnapping Santa Claus and stepping into his place. Jack tries, but the citizens of Halloween Town who help him are missing the point.
They make Christmas scary because that’s what they know.
After his existential crisis, Jack returns and frees Santa, so he can fix things.
Understandably, Santa is angry and tells Jack, “The next time you get the urge to take over somebody else’s holiday, I’d listen to her. She’s the only one who makes any sense around this insane asylum.”
Again, this is understandable. He’s been kidnapped, tortured and had his holiday taken over.
However, that’s how things are left.
Jack gets the message to stick with what he knows, and a girlfriend fixes his depression.
It sends the message that you shouldn’t take chances, try something new or challenge yourself.
While it’s a beautiful movie and a fun story, just a bit more run time could have introduced a conversation that still encouraged Jack to find something he both can do and enjoys.
Wouldn’t it be a better message to teach people to recognize when they aren’t good at something, but to keep trying things until they find something?
Michael Shine is a staff writer at the Daily American Republic. He can be reached at mshine.dar@gmail.com.