THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Story
by
Tim Burton
Michael McDowell
Caroline Thompson
Lyrics
by
Danny Elfman
Screenplay
by
Caroline Thompson
First Draft
August 5, 1991
FADE IN:
PROLOGUE
CLOSE ON:
AN OLD-FASHIONED CALENDAR,
the kind that used to hang in offices in the forties. Each day
is a tear-off page. The dates are printed in bold black
lettering.
The pages of days of the year zip off -- at a rate faster than
the eye can really register. The impression should be of time
whizzing by...
Over this, SANTA CLAUS narrates....
SANTA (V.O.)
'Twas a long time ago, quite a bit to be fair
In a place that I'm sure you are quite unaware.
For our story that you are about to be told
Began in the holiday worlds of old.
Without holidays, goodness, how dull life would be
Without their distraction and pleasure and glee.
The calendar makes a SUDDEN STOP AT
CHRISTMAS.
The calendar page peels back to reveal the first hint of color
in
the black and white of the year. Smoke curls up from the chimney
of a snow-covered cottage in a clearing of a snow-covered pine
forest. THE STOP IS ONLY FOR A BEAT.
Then the calendar speeds on.
SANTA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
But our holidays are the result of much fuss
And hard work for the worlds that must make them for us
The calendar STOPS again. This time at
VALENTINE'S DAY.
This stop is short, but longer than the last -- as each
subsequent stop will be.
In Valentine-ville, FAT CUPIDS shoot arrows at distant chocolate-
dripping hearts: target practice.
SANTA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
See, each holiday town works all year to create
Twenty-four special hours, fantastically great.
Soon the calendar whirls on. Next STOP is
EASTER
where it is spring. CACKLING HENS sit side-by-side on their long
row of nests. In unison, choreographed like some ballet, they
lay their pre-decorated eggs.
The eggs then drop down a chute and land on a conveyor belt which
carries them out ot the henhouse and into waiting Easter baskets.
SANTA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Fleeting twenty-four hours take long to prepare,
A full year of planning and plenty of care.
But now getting back to the story at hand
I should mention THIS POINT about holiday lands --
The calendar flips to the
FOURTH OF JULY.
FIREWORKS.
-- ABE LINCOLN fires a cannon. The cannonball explodes mid-air,
showering down the word, "HAPPY."
-- BETSY ROSS uses a SPARKLER to write the word, "FOURTH."
-- PAUL REVERE sets off the first of six rockets. Rocket #1
erupts into an "O." #2 traces an "F" -- together
they read "OF."
Rocket #3 won't light. Neither will #4, #5, or #6. Paul Revere
panicks.
But PAUL REVERE'S HORSE saves the day. He kicks off his
horseshoes -- shooting them at the side of a wooden fence. As
they hit the boards each becomes a letter: "J," "U,"
"L," "Y."
SANTA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
For each one, way back when, was alas unaware
Of the others' existence, now I've said it -- so there!
The calendar pages tear on, slowing at October 29, slowing more
at, and stopping at the 31st.
SANTA (V.O.) (CONT'D)
But once there occurred a calamity SO GREAT!
When two of the worlds did collide by mistake...
The october 31st page peels back to... nothing. To BLACK. We
fall in, or perhaps it should feel more like we're swallowed up.
TITLE SEQUENCE.
Carved JACK O'LANTERNS come at us in the long tunnel of darkness.
Collision seems inevitable, but in the instant before we would
slam into them, the jack o'lanterns veer off, turning to display
the various credits on their uncarved backsides.
When the last jack o'lantern zooms toward us, it doesn't veer
off. It keeps coming and fast. Rather than collide with it
though -- we fall straight into one of the PUMPKINHEAD'S CARVED-
OUT, TRIANGULAR EYES into the further black there and out...
A CRYPT DOOR
which opens onto the
EXT. HALLOWEENLAND CEMETERY. NIGHT.
The bloated orange disk of the MOON illuminates Halloweenland's
delicately decrepit graveyard.
REVERSE ON PUMPKINHEAD,
giant jack o'lantern head now set on the squat vines of his many
leafy legs. He looks more like a spider than like anything else
as he scuttles across the cemetery toward the big pumpkin patch.
>>>>> THIS IS HALLOWEEN
PUMPKINHEAD
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!
Pumpkinhead has reached the
PUMPKIN PATCH
where he drops down among his fellow pumpkins -- who all wake
up
at once -- sudden jack o'lantern mouths and eyes glowing wide for
the chorus...
PUMPKIN PATCH CHORUS
This is Halloween, this is Halloween!
Pumpkins scream in the dead of night --
This is Halloween, everybody make a scene
Trick or treat 'til the neighbors gonna die of fright!
EXT. HALLOWEEN TOWN. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME.
Beyond the graveyard lies the little city of odd expressionist
angles and the morbid extravaganza of Gothic manses.
PUMPKIN PATCH CHORUS (V.O.) (CONT'D)
It's our town. Everybody scream.
In this town of Halloween...
We swoop down the street, through the creaky iron gate of a...
EXT. DESERTED GOTHIC MANSE. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME.
We enter THROUGH A BROKEN, COBWEB-CLOGGED WINDOW into...
INT. DESERTED GOTHIC MANSE. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME.
Many CREATURES hide in the shadows of this creepy house. The
camera finds them...
CREATURE #1
I am the one hiding under your bed,
Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red.
CREATURE #2
I am the one hiding under your stairs
Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair.
IN THE MANSE'S DECAYED PARLOR,
every item of furniture that could conceivably serve as a coffin
springs open -- the grandfather clock, the window seat, the sofa,
the chaise longe, the hearth rug (covering a trap door), the
drawers of a sideboard and out pop
CORPSES.
The Corpses sit bolt upright and heartily sing:
CHORUS OF CORPSES
This is Halloween, this is Halloween,
Halloween...(etc)
THE MANSE'S FALLING DOWN FRONT HALL
is tenuously illuminated by a tarantula chandelier which clings
to the ceiling overhead and lowers and rises according to the
whims of its web.
FOUR BIG VAMPIRES
lumber in from the dark, slanty hallways that fan off the
entrance hall. They march in and, in formation, march OUT THE
FRONT DOOR onto the ruins of--
EXT. WORM-ROTTED FRONT PORCH. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME
The Vampires' bodies are huge, but their heads are small like
insect heads and the voices that come out of heads are little,
squeaky and high.
VAMPIRES
In this town, we call home,
Everyone hail to the pumpkin song!
As they sing they march down the rickety steps. Out on the--
EXT. STREET. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME.
A HEARSE passes the Manse. Riding on top is the corpulent MAYOR
of Halloweenland. Not surprisingly, he's a TWO-FACED SORT OF
GUY, revealed as each of his faces sings a line:
MAYOR
In this town, don't we love it now
Everybody's waiting for the next surprise.
While the hearse turns a
CORNER
and glides past an ALLEY we hear a GRAVELLY VOICE:
GRAVELLY VOICE
'Round that corner, man,
Hiding in a trashcan
Something's waiting now to pounce and how you'll--
The lid flies off of a trashcan and out pops the GRAVELLY-VOICED
TRASHCAN-DWELLING MONSTER. He's fat and slimy and grotesque.
GRAVELLY-VOICED
TRASHCAN-DWELLING MONSTER
-- Scream! This is Halloween,
Red 'n black, slimy green...
Aren't you scared? Well, that's just fine!
WITCHES speed toward us on their brooms -- zipping out of the
alley.
WITCHES
Say it once, say it twice,
Take the chance and roll the dice
Ride with the moon in the dead of night (oh)
At the street, the witches fan out and swoop past the
HANGING TREE,
a gigantic oak with SEVERAL HANGED MEN dangling from its broad,
outspread branches.
The hanging tree itself sings:
HANGING TREE
Everybody scream, everybody scream
In our town of Halloween.
The hanged men suddenly revive:
HANGED MEN
This is Halloween, This is Halloween...
EXT. ANOTHER STREET. NIGHT.
A LUMPEN-LOOKING LONG-HAIRED WOMAN IN HEELS hurries away down
a
tortuously windy street. This is SALLY. For now, we see only
her backside, her waist-length hair.
Behind her, and closer to us, a GHOUL tips into view to
demonstrate his particular talent:
GHOUL
I am the guy with the tearaway face...
Sally hesitates, listening.
GHOUL (CONT'D)
Here in a flash and gone without a trace.
Sally is about to turn around, but as the ghoul vanishes, she
continues on her way. We follow her.
In a moment, a SECOND GHOUL sets upon her -- this one more
gruesome than the last.
SECOND GHOUL
I am the who when you call --
This ghoul is closer, louder and Sally does turn around now --
revealing that she's a crudely stitched together Bride Of
Frankenstein Rag Doll. Her balance is precarious. Her arms
flop. Her mouth is a tragic slash. She has a quavering, little
voice:
SALLY
-- Who's there?
But the second ghoul has disappeared before she sees him. Only
his voice remains...
SECOND GHOUL'S VOICE
I am the wind blowing through your hair.
Invisible fingers lift Sally's long hair. It is with pathetic
eagerness that she looks around for whomever is responsible for
this.
A THIRD GHOUL
springs into view, then bounces skyward. With a very
disappointed Sally (she's sorry he's leaving), we watch him go up
into...
EXT. SKY. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME.
The Third Ghoul seems to reach the moon.
THIRD GHOUL
I am the shadow on the moon at night,
filling your dreams to the brim with fright.
As the Third Ghoul passes the orange disk of the moon,
BATS
flap out from behind it. They sing with the Third Ghoul...
THIRD GHOUL AND BATS
This is Halloween, This is Halloween
HALLOWEEN! HALLOWEEN!
The bats flutter off and the Third Ghoul falls back toward the
ground. He lands...
EXT. HALLOWEEN TOWN SQUARE. NIGHT/CONTINUOUS TIME.
As he hits the ground, the Third Ghoul shatters, breaking apart
into several pieces -- globular and doughy GELATINOUS LUMPS, each
a separate little creature. When they sing, they have very high
voices:
GELATINOUS LUMPS
Tender Lumplings everywhere
Life's no fun without a good scare.
Over the crest of the hill, behind the town square,
THE CORPSES
march into view, flanking the MAYOR'S HEARSE.
CORPSES
That's our job, but we're not mean
In our town of Halloween.
Behind the corpses come the VAMPIRES.
CORPSES AND VAMPIRES
In this town --
The MAYOR
blares out his message through a P.A. SYSTEM on the hearse.
MAYOR
-- don't we love it now?
Everyone's waiting for the next surprise.
The WITCHES come next...
MAYOR, CORPSES, VAMPIRES, WITCHES
Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back and
Scream --
The Gelatinous Lumps instantly reasemble to form the Third
Ghoul.
THIRD GHOUL
-- like a banshee make you jump --
The Third Ghoul immediately bounces out of sight again...
SALLY
stumbles into view, still hurrying. She sings with everyone
else...
MAYOR, CORPSES, VAMPIRES,
WITCHES, SALLY
-- out of your SKIN!
This is Halloween, --
SALLY
excitedly spots someone coming -- though he's still out of view
for us:
SALLY
-- Everyone scream, won't ya
Please make way for a special guy...
THE OTHERS
turn to look.
MAYOR, CORPSES, VAMPIRES,
WITCHES, SALLY
Our man Jack is --
SALLY
-- King of the Pumpkin Patch.
MAYOR, CORPSES, VAMPIRES,
WITCHES, SALLY
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now.
They part to make way for
JACK SKELLINGTON, THE PUMPKIN KING,
astride his SKELTON HORSE, boots set backwards in the stirrups
as
is done for the honored dead. Jack is tall, long-limbed and
bone-thin. He is formally attired, and wears an elegant bat bow-
tie.
Sally gapes tragically at Jack. But he rides right past without
noticing her.
Accompanying Jack are most of the CREATURES AND MONSTERS we've
met, the various inhabitants of Halloweenland. Everyone else
falls in behind Jack -- including a stumbling, almost-left-
behind-gawking Sally.
EVERYONE
This is Halloween, THIS IS HALLOWEEN (etc.)
THE HANGING TREE
hurries to join the parade. He brings up the rear. The HANGED
MEN bobble on their ever-tightening nooses, their tongues and
eyes popping out.
The tighter nooses make the Hanged Men's voices reed-thin and
high -- contrasting to the enormous Hanging Tree's lone basso
profundo:
HANGING TREE AND HANGED MEN
In this place we call home
Everyone hail to the Pumpkin Song
LATER:
Jack Skellington is demonstrative and very excitable with highs
that are extraordinarily high and lows that are unusually low.
Right now he is surrounded by his ADMIRERS -- the witches in
particular fawn over him. Jack seems eager to please everyone,
but, at the same time, a bit anxious to get on with it.
JACK
Thank you!
Sally watches htm longingly from the edge of the circle.
MAYOR
Oh, Jack, you are such a
scream!
(turns to the assembly)
Isn't he?
The assembly agrees.
ASSEMBLY
Yes, he is!
VAMPIRE
You make sparks fly, Jack.
WITCH #1
You make oil boil.
WITCH #2
You make rats shriek.
JACK
I love that.
WITCH #3
You make flesh crawl...
The three witches try to outdo one another.
WITCH #3
(quickly adds)
...And wounds suppurate.
JACK
Thank you, thank you, thank you
very much!
The last witch glares triumphantly at her cronies.
THIRD GHOUL
What an inspiration to
everybody!
SALLY
(echoes)
An inspiration...
CORPSE
It was our most horrific
Halloween ever!
Sally sighs and starts to drift irresistibly toward Jack.
Throughout, rag doll Sally gains substance as she gains
conviction -- this is her first baby step toward that, not even
perceptible, but in any case RUDELY INTERRUPTED BY --
THE EVIL SCIENTIST
who created her. He takes ahold of her by one of her stitched-
together arms.
EVIL SCIENTIST
The deadly nightshade you
slipped me wore off, Sally...
I thought I'd find you here....
SALLY
No!
Sally pulls back, trying to wriggle free of the scientist's
grasp.
SALLY
Let go!
But he doesn't.
SALLY
Have it then if you must!
With her other hand, she quickly and deftly rips out the stitches
that attach her arm to the rest of her ... THEN RIPS THE ARM
CLEAR OUT OF ITS SOCKET.
SHE LEAVES THE DOCTOR HOLDING IT WHILE SHE RUNS OFF into the the
crowd, determined to elude the Evil Scientist. She disappears
into the gloom in the direction of the cemetery.
Shaking her torn-off arm, the Evil Scientist calls after her:
EVIL SCIENTIST
You'll be back. Sooner or
later you'll need this.
JACK
continues to congratulate and be congratulated by the various
citizens of Halloweenland. The Mayor interjects, looking for
attention--
MAYOR
Next year'll even be better,
you'll see.
HORRIFIC-LOOKING CREATURE
Do you really think so, Jack?
JACK
Of course I do. It always is,
isn't it?
VARIOUS MONSTERS
Always.
MAYOR
We'll have to get on it
immediately. No time for
sitting around smugly.
ASSORTED MONSTERS
That's so true... We've got a
lot of work ahead of us.
MORE MONSTERS
Goodnight, everybody!
Goodnight, Jack!
The assembly breaks up. Jack turns to leave but his path is
blocked by A COUPLE OF ADORABLY HIDEOUS KID MONSTERS.
COUPLE OF KID MONSTERS
(plead)
Just one more time, Jack!
Jack rattles his bones once more for the kids. They shriek a
gleeful shriek and scamper off.
AT THE CORNER OF THE TOWN SQUARE,
Jack passes a STREET BAND -- fellow skeletons down on their luck:
an ACCORDION PLAYER, A SAX PLAYER, AND A VIOLINIST. He tosses a
coin into their hat. Playing, they nod their thanks.
CUT TO:
EXT. CEMETERY. NIGHT/LATER.
Utterly dejected, Sally crouches behind a tombstone. She hugs
herself with her remaining arm.
THE SUDDEN SOUND OF SOMEONE APPROACHING (O.S.)
makes her freeze. She dares to peek over the top of the
tombstone to see who it is --
IT'S JACK.
The sight of him immediately comforts her.
SALLY
Oh... it's Jack... Look at him
-- he's so alive... So happy...
He's so filled with confidence
he could teach the wolves to
howl!
Sally lets out a little whimper of self-pity and collapses out
of
sight behind the tombstone to feel sorry for herself...
SALLY
He'll never notice me. Why
would he? Why should he?
Sally hugs herself again -- as best she can with her one arm.
JACK
makes his way past the markers and mausoleums. He looks around
and, since Sally is hidden behind the tombstone, he doesn't see
anyone. He starts the long climb up Cemetery Ridge as he sings:
>>>>> JACK'S LAMENT
JACK
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 moon-lit night,
I excel without ever even trying.
With the slightest little effort of my ghost-like 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.
Jack pauses a moment, as if letting these facts settle in, then
heaves a huge sigh and sags miserably.
Jack's ghost dog, ZERO, rises out of his grave, floats over to
Jack and circles around him. Trying to comfort his beloved
master, he drapes himself over Jack's shoulder and lays a
sympathetic head on him.
Hunched over with sorrow, Jack drags his bones on up the desolate
hill.
JACK
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!
Have grown so tired of the same old thing....
Zero drifts sadly to the ground, and flattens faithfully beside
his master -- only his shiny little jack o'lantern nose on the
end of his pointy snout sticks up.
Jack tragically reaches the crest of the long hill. Zero
follows, dragging along the ground after him.
JACK
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've never known.
Jack gazes hopelessly out over Halloweenland.
BEHIND HER TOMBSTONE,
Sally can't believe what she's hearing. She peeks, but hides
again. She listens breathlessly as
Jack continues his soul-searching.
JACK
I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light
And I'll scare you right out of your pants, boy
To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky
And I'm known throughout England and France, boy
And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearian quotations
No animal or 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 would give it all up if he only could
... if he only could
SALLY'S
heart goes out to Jack. She had no idea he felt this way, no
idea of his tragic side. She wants to show him that he's not as
alone as he thinks, that she understands him. But she's timid --
should she come out from behind the tombstone? Dare she dare?
Should she? Shouldn't she?
JACK
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
... these empty tears....
JACK
heads off with Zero, staggering away blind in his misery,
while...
SALLY,
still crouched behind the tombstone, continues to debate with
herself...
Jack has left the cemetery and disappeared from sight when she
finally screws up her courage and pops up full of determination
and shouts:
SALLY
JACK! I KNOW YOU HARDLY KNOW
ME, BUT --
He isn't there to hear her... Shocked and disappointed, Sally's
rag doll body goes floppy again.
Her voice gets high and tiny... then trails off, almost
tearfully...
SALLY (CONT'D)
-- I feel the same way you
do...
Sally stares sadly into the empty spot Jack so recently occupied,
then turns and hobbles limply away. She stops at a
WEED-CHOKED AND DESICCATED LITTLE HERB GARDEN
set beside a cluster of tombstones at the edge of the graveyard.
The herbs growing there are labelled: "Henbane," "Witch
Hazel,"
"Deadly Night Shade."
As best she can with her single arm, Sally gathers fresh sprigs
of Deadly Night Shade.
CUT TO:
EXT. WILDERNESS. NIGHT/LATER.
Lost in his private tragedy, Jack lurches heedlessly forward.
Looking around confused -- they've never been here before -- Zero
floats quickly after, hurrying to catch up. Whimpering, he bites
Jack's coattails and pulls -- trying his best to get Jack to
stop, to turn around...
JACK
No, Zero.
Jack pulls free.
Trying again, Zero grabs Jack by the leg, wrapping his mouth
around Jack's skinny shin bone.
JACK
No. No playing today, Zero...
I'm just not in the mood.
Zero lets go and Jack marches wretchedly forward.
CUT TO:
INT. EVIL SCIENTIST'S HOUSE. KITCHEN. NIGHT/LATER.
CLOSE ON:
AN EMPTY JAR MARKED "DEADLY NIGHT SHADE."
SALLY
drops in the fresh sprigs of the herb.
EVIL SCIENTIST (O.S.)
Sally?
Alarmed, Sally screws the lid back on -- as quickly as she can
with only one arm -- and hides the jar at the back of a cabinet.
THE EVIL SCIENTIST
is a twisted silhouette in the doorway behind Sally.
EVIL SCIENTIST
You came back.
Gasping guiltily, Sally spins around.
SALLY
Yes.
EVIL SCIENTIST
For this.
He holds up Sally's torn-off arm -- as well as a large shiny
needle threaded with a long strand of thread.
SALLY
Yes.
EVIL SCIENTIST
Didn't I tell you? I'm always
right, you know, my dear...
Aren't I?
SALLY
Yes.
Smiling his mad grin, the scientist gestures into the room behind
him.
EVIL SCIENTIST
Shall we?
He makes way for Sally.
After a beat, Sally nods. Resigned, she trudges past him.
He jauntily follows her.
CUT TO:
INT. EVIL SCIENTIST'S LABORATORY. NIGHT/LATER.
The Evil Scientist carefully sews Sally's arm back on -- evenso
the stitches are crude and the fit awkward. The expression on
her face is more tragic than ever.
EVIL SCIENTIST
You're mine, you know. I made
you.
SALLY
I know.
EVIL SCIENTIST
If you went away, what would
become of me?
SALLY
I'm grown up now. I have to
leave some time.
EVIL SCIENTIST
Of course you do, and I want
you to... but there's no need
to hurry it along, is there?
SALLY
I can't help it.
EVIL SCIENTIST
That's twice this month you've
slipped Deadly Night Shade into
my tea and run off. People
might get the wrong idea and
think you're unhappy at home.
Sally whimpers sadly.
EVIL SCIENTIST
I do the best I can to make it
comfortable for us here.
SALLY
I know.
EVIL SCIENTIST
But I guess my best just isn't
good enough.
As anxious as she is to be away from here, Sally can't bear the
thought of hurting anybody and instinctively tries to make him
feel better.
SALLY
That's not true. It's a
beautiful home, wonderfully
comfortable... I'm indebted to
you for everything... It's
just...
EVIL SCIENTIST
Just what?
SALLY
Just me, I suppose... I'm
restless. I can't help it.
The scientist smiles, feeling Sally under his sway again. He
pats her consolingly, then finishes sewing on her arm and makes
an elaborate knot at the end of his stitches. He snips the
thread and puts away his sewing kit.
EVIL SCIENTIST
It's a phase, my dear. It'll
pass. We need to be patient,
that's all.
next>>
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