For the 30th anniversary of filmmaker Tim Burton’s stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the McNay Art Museum opened Dreamland | Tim Burton’s ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. Visitors can attend the exhibition until January 14th, 2024.
The show offers visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the enchanting world of the stop-motion film. The exhibition presents maquettes and small models used to make the movie in 1993. Moreover, visitors can see many visuals that complement the maquettes and give a better overview of the movie experience.
Visitors are guided through the world of Burton and given an open invitation to conjure fantasy narratives of their own using surreal imagery from McNay’s collection on display throughout the gallery. The exhibition also allows the visitors to connect with the quirky characters from The Nightmares Before Christmas such as Oogie Boogie, Jack Skellington, and Bone Crusher.
The exhibition spotlights Burton’s genius by presenting the original models of characters. Also included from the Academy Award-nominated film is a full set model of “Jack Skellington and his dog, Zero, in Jack’s Tower” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” made of painted wood, metal, plastic, fabric, found objects, and more.
Dreamland | Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is organized by the McNay Art Museum by R. Scott Blackshire, Ph.D., Curator of the Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts, and Kim Neptune, the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund Assistant Curator of the The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts.