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Movie · Music, Fantasy, Animated · 1993 · PG

The Nightmare Before Christmas: parents' guide

7+our pick

Best for ages 7 and up. Rated PG for some scary images.

A stop-motion musical that is macabre in look but sweet at heart, good for kids who like spooky things and can tell fantasy from reality. Jack Skellington, bored with Halloween, tries to take over Christmas with disastrous results. There is no real profanity, no romance beyond a kiss, and no realistic violence. The cautions are visual: skeletons and ghosts everywhere, a character with an ax in his head, a bug-filled villain who tries to boil Santa, monstrous toys that terrify children, and Jack being shot out of the sky. Sensitive kids under 6 or 7 may find the imagery too much.

What's in it

Violence

Mild

Bloodless and fantastical: Santa is kidnapped and roughed up, the villain tries to boil his captives, Sally leaps from a tower and sews her limbs back on, and military shells blast Jack's sleigh from the sky.

Language

None

No swearing. The strongest words are 'heck' and a couple of uses of 'by God' in Jack's dialogue and songs.

Sex and nudity

None

Nothing beyond a crush and a kiss at the end. The villain briefly strokes Sally's detached leg as a gag.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

None

No drinking, smoking or drug use. Sally does slip nightshade into her creator's soup to knock him out so she can sneak away.

Scary or intense scenes

Moderate

Constant creepy imagery: skeletons, ghosts, a man with an ax in his skull, a child unwrapping a shrunken head, killer toys, and Oogie Boogie, a sack of bugs who runs a torture casino.

Worth talking about

Jack chases something that isn't his, and others get hurt along the way. Talk about trying new things versus appreciating who you already are.

Where to stream →

On our lists

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, screenwiseapp.com, childrenandmedia.org.au, tv.apple.com, Parent Previews. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.