Nightmare Before Christmas director criticizes 'unfair' assumption that Tim Burton directed the film

A specific piece of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas' legacy has been anything but dreamy for director Henry Selick.

The filmmaker — who helmed Disney's 1993 animated musical about Halloween Town resident Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon) discovering the magic of Christmas — recently told The A.V. Club that he has a bit of resentment over the fact that Tim Burton, who produced the film and conceived its story, tends to get all the credit for making the beloved classic.

"No, that was a little unfair because it wasn't called Tim Burton's Nightmare until three weeks before the film came out," Selick said when asked if he's ever felt compelled to concede ownership of the film. "I would have been fine with that, if that's what I signed up for. But Tim was in L.A. making two features while I directed that film, and I mean, Tim is a genius — or he certainly was in his most creative years. I always thought his story was perfect, and he designed the main characters. But it was really me and my team of people who brought that to life."

EW has reached out to Burton and Disney for comment.

Selick went on to joke about the film's composer, Danny Elfman, also wanting credit for the film because of the iconic tunes he crafted for its soundtrack — including the film's signature song "This Is Halloween."

The 69-year-old, who recently worked with Jordan Peele on the Netflix animated feature Wendell & Wild, said that he's valued the art of collaboration throughout his career, which also includes other oddball animated titles such as James and the Giant Peach and Coraline.

"And so in the long run, especially with Coraline and this film, I mean, Coraline is based on a really good book by Neil Gaiman. That didn't hurt. On this, my collaborator is Jordan Peele — and that is the reason we were able to set this up. So I really, truly like to collaborate," he finished. "But I'm the one leading the team to make the movie."

The Nightmare Before Christmas has become a holiday staple over the last 29 years. In addition to grossing just under $92 million at the box office across various theatrical runs (including several re-releases), elements of its story were also adapted for the Kingdom Hearts video game series, while the Haunted Mansion ride at both Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland undergo annual Christmas makeovers to include characters, scenes, and songs from the movie from September through January.

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