The Nightmare Before Christmas is a cult classic and its leading man, Jack Skellington, has become an icon over the years, but some fans might be surprised to learn that he made his debut in movies years before appearing in the stop-motion classic. Jack actually made a cameo in another classic and spooky Tim Burton project, Beetlejuice. After all, characters (and actors) often spend a long time in development before they finally make it in show business.
In fact, Jack Skellington has actually built up quite a resume over the years, making cameos in a variety of films, often ones that share the same cast and crew as The Nightmare Before Christmas. Much like his appearance in Beetlejuice, some of these projects also came out before Jack made his proper debut. Of course, the films that came later wanted to pay homage to Jack’s famous movie and its fan base. Either way, it goes to show it’s hard to keep a good ghoul down.
Jack Appears As Part of Beetlejuice’s Carnival Costume
In Beetlejuice, Jack Skellington briefly appears when Lydia summons the ghost with the most to rescue the Maitlands from an exorcism during a séance. Upon saying his name three times, Beetlejuice takes on the guests, dressed like a carnival attraction. On his head is a carousel-like mobile, while all sorts of strange creatures are hanging from it. On top of it all is Jack’s familiar skull, adorned with a pair of bat wings.
Beetlejuice then proceeds to use his arms for a makeshift “test your strength” game, in which he blasts two excited guests out of the house. Afterwards, he attempts to go through with his plan to marry Lydia, meaning the Maitlands now have to rescue her.
Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas Share Other Connections as Well
The obvious connection between the two films is Tim Burton, Beetlejuice‘s director. Burton also conceived the original idea for The Nightmare Before Christmas and served as the film’s producer (the film is known as Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas).
However, there are a few other connections between the two films. Catherine O’Hara, who voiced both Sally and Shock in Nightmare, played Lydia’s stepmother Delia in Beetlejuice. Glenn Shadix, who voiced the Mayor of Halloween Town in the stop-motion film, also played Delia’s friend Otho in the earlier Beetlejuice.
Jack Also Appears in an Earlier Stop-Motion Project
While it’s impressive that Jack appeared in such an iconic film before starring in his own, it wasn’t actually the first film the character appeared in. That honor goes to the 1982 short film, Vincent.
The stop-motion piece revolves around a little boy named Vincent Malloy who idolizes, and wishes to be, Vincent Price, with the real Price serving as the film’s narrator. He is also fond of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, causing him to become gradually detached from reality, even believing he is being haunted by his presumably non-existent dead wife.
Jack makes a brief appearance early on, when Vincent imagines a workshop where he’s created all sorts of horrific beings. After his mother catches him burying up her garden, Vincent is sent up to his room, which he views as a nightmarish tower. Towards the climax, Vincent is haunted by all sorts of ghastly images, from his wife’s ghost to a zombie he created from a dog. The Jack-like figure reappears in this scene to scare Vincent.
Interestingly enough, Vincent also has a connection to Beetlejuice, too. Allegedly, he was the inspiration for the dour Prince Vince in the Beetlejuice cartoon.
Jack Skellington Has Actually Had Quite a Colorful Film Career
Jack has made cameos in other films over the years. Notably, James and the Giant Peach, which was directed by Henry Selick, who also directed Nightmare, and produced by Tim Burton, combined a live-action story with stop-motion animation. During the story, an orphan named James escapes his abusive aunts with the help of the titular giant peach and his insect friends, transforming the story into animation.
In one sequence, the character Centipede encounters skeletal pirates underwater. Not only does their captain resemble Jack, he’s even called “a Skellington.” This isn’t the only cameo in the sequence, as a skeleton resembling Donald Duck is also part of the crew.
Much like Nightmare, Coraline is also a famously spooky stop-motion feature. The film also saw Henry Selik as a director and writer. In one scene, the villainous Other Mother is seen preparing breakfast. At one point, while cracking an egg, Jack’s skull appears within the yolk.
In Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, a pumpkin-headed scarecrow that shows up in the film has often been compared to Jack. It also ties in nicely with Jack’s title of the Pumpkin King. It’s also noteworthy that Jack Skellington has often been compared to Jack Pumpkinhead from the Land of Oz books, as well as Return to Oz, over the years.
Jack has also made a few cameos in other Disney projects. Notably, in one scene of Finding Nemo, Gil is seen surrounded by bubbles, one of which appears to have Jack’s face on it. Likewise, in The Princess and the Frog, one of Dr. Facilier’s shadow minions, seen when summoned to search for Prince Naveen, bears a resemblance to Jack.
This has also extended to Disney’s live-action fare. In 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, which was directed by Tim Burton, Jack’s face can be seen decorating the Mad Hatter’s bow tie.
Jack Skellington cameos would even continue well into the 2020s, as seen in Wendell & Wild, which was directed by Henry Selick. During the end credits, Jack’s bones can be seen buried among other skeletons.
