Jack Skellington

Jack Skellington is the famous skeleton protagonist and "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town from the 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas. Origins and Design • Creation: He was created by Tim Burton, originally appearing in a poem Burton wrote in the 1980s. • The Pinstripe Suit: Director Henry Selick added the white pinstripes to Jack's signature suit. An all-black suit made him blend into the dark background too easily. • No Eyes: Disney executives wanted Jack to have visible eyes, but the filmmakers fought to keep his hollow, empty eye sockets. • Over 400 Heads: Animators built more than 400 interchangeable carved heads for Jack to display his range of facial expressions.• Zero: Jack's loyal pet is a ghost dog named Zero who has a tiny, glowing jack-o'-lantern for a nose. • Aliases: He is known by several nicknames, including the Pumpkin King, Bone Daddy, Mr. Unlucky, and "Sandy Claws".Four Fingers: To give Jack a slightly unnatural and nightmarish silhouette, animators designed him with only four fingers on each hand instead of five.Blinking Technique: Because Jack has empty eye sockets, animators had to get creative to show him blinking. They achieved this by carefully sliding tiny wax wedges into his eye sockets across three successive film frames to mimic dropping eyelids.Surviving Dismemberment: Jack has supernatural skeletal durability. He is seen easily snapping himself back together after being blown out of the sky by military missiles. He even recites Shakespearean quotes while casually holding his own detached head.Gothic Inspiration: Jack’s slender frame, elongated elegance, and dramatic balletic movements were heavily inspired by the works of illustrator Edward Gorey and the fluid dancing style of Fred Astaire.Flawed Friendship: Though Jack ultimately falls for Sally, fans often note that he spent most of the movie being a pretty lousy friend.