Henry Selick, the visionary stop-motion director behind films like Coraline and the new film Wendell & Wild, spoke about being overlooked as the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas in favor of Tim Burton, who conceived of the film and designed the lead characters but didn’t direct it.
Selick was speaking at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, and when Burton was first discussed he joked “I’ve won many a bar bet,” by ensuring people that he indeed directed the spooky Christmas film.
The director wasn’t super bitter but admitted it feels “a little unfair” to still have to remind people that he directed the flick, but given that Burton’s name is in the title, it’s sort of an uphill battle for Selick here.
He also gave some insight into the naming of the film, which apparently was a last-minute marketing decision. “It wasn’t called Tim Burton’s Nightmare until three weeks before the film,” Selick claimed. He added that even though Burton’s concept formed the baseline of the film, “Tim was in L.A. making two features while I directed the film.”
In a comment later in the interview, Selick added that Burton’s main contribution after the initial concept creation was in the editing phase.
“He showed up at the end with an editor and trimmed out some stuff to tighten up the film,” said the director.
He certainly deserves recognition for his incredible visual style, and animation would be a worse place without incredible stop-motion films like Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls and the upcoming Pinocchio by Guillermo Del Toro.
Selick’s new film is also the product of a collaboration with Jordan Peele, who shares a co-writer credit on the film and also stars as one of the titular demon brothers.
He said Peele’s involvement was “90 percent me and 10 percent him at the most. But he was instrumental at the beginning on helping shape the world and the characters, and then with his success, helping us set up the movie at Netflix.”
Wendell & Wild is available to stream on Netflix.
