The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick regrets cutting out a scene poking fun at Tim Burton. Here’s how the scene could have gone down in the classic Disney movie.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is such a staple of Halloween that 25 years after its release, it’s still played on repeat by old and new generations during the Halloween season. The animated movie that tells the story of how the pumpkin king, Jack Skellington, decides to take over Christmas is pretty much perfect in every way, except for one minor detail that director Henry Selick wishes he had never cut.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Selick admitted to wishing he had never removed a scene at the end of the film that had a lot potential. It takes place during the scene where vampires playing hockey during Christmas in Halloweentown hit a puck toward the camera. But the big reveal for this particular scene is that it was really Tim Burton’s head they were playing with. Although, upon speaking to Hollywood producers, Selick was told that Burton would probably not like it. Thus, it was cut from the film and the scene was reshot.
Selick says of his regret:
"And it was really funny. And Denise Di Novi or one of the Hollywood producers told me, ‘I don’t think Tim’s going to like that.’ And I feel so stupid for not just asking him. But that’s one of the shots that we reshot and we put in a pumpkin instead. I don’t know if that shot still exists, but I’d love to replace the one in there and I’m sure Tim would love it."
The funny part is that he never thought to run it by Burton to begin with, which would have at least given him the chance to find out what Burton thought about the idea. Had Burton been filled in on the joke, it’s possible he could have thought it was funny. And if not, then Selick could have blamed Burton for missing out on a fun opportunity. The finished product shows a pumpkin hurled at the camera instead of the more comical Burton head.
Luckily, there isn’t a lot to be left to the imagination. A short clip on YouTube, seen here, shows just how that scene would have played out. Someone should show this to Tim Burton if he hasn’t seen it already… just to get his thoughts.
After all this time, Selick wishes to find the shot and replace it, which probably means that Burton is a better sport then they gave him credit for during the making of the movie. As noted, Selick said he didn’t know if the shot still exists, but maybe a quick trip to YouTube would have saved him a lot of trouble.