<P> The Nightmare Before Christmas ( also known as Tim Burton 's The Nightmare Before Christmas ) is a 1993 American stop - motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick , and produced and conceived by Tim Burton . It tells the story of Jack Skellington , a resident from `` Halloween Town '' who stumbles through a portal to `` Christmas Town '' and decides to celebrate the holiday , with some dastardly and comical consequences . Danny Elfman wrote the songs and score , and provided the singing voice of Jack . The principal voice cast also includes Chris Sarandon , Catherine O'Hara , William Hickey , Ken Page , Paul Reubens , and Glenn Shadix . </P>
who is the director of nightmare before christmas
Henry Selick