As dusk turns into night at the New York Botanical Garden, blue, green and magenta lights illuminate the pitch-black forest and smoke machines ominously fill the air while the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” carries through the dark.
Through Nov. 30, NYBG is hosting an after-hours, limited-engagement exhibit of Disney, Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” light trail. The trail features more than 8,000 feet of lights and life-sized, 3D-printed characters from the titular stop-motion movie.
As the sun sets and the lights come on, the path becomes a journey into a world full of imagination. Created by LETSGO and Adventurelive— a Madrid-based creative team and the production team behind Broadway’s “Hamilton,” owned by renowned Tony-winner, Jeffrey Seller, respectively—the experience allows visitors to see a cult-classic film come to life right before their eyes.
“We saw that we had a lot of people who demanded this type of experience and besides, we all love Tim Burton and everything he creates,” Iñaki Fernandez, founder of LETSGO, told Bronx Times.
In 2022, LETSGO launched “Tim Burton’s Labyrinth” in Spain and the experience became so popular, it toured Europe.
“And then, we were having dinner in Paris and we had the idea of creating Disney’s Nightmare Before Christmas to bring it to Europe — I got together with Jeffrey Seller, who is one of the most important producers in this city and here we are, a year and a half later, opening in the New York Botanical Garden,” Fernandez added.
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Seller stood at the entrance to the exhibit and told the crowd that in 1992, he had the opportunity to watch the claymation of the movie being made because his journalist friend was covering this new Tim Burton film. The movie opened on his 29th birthday, Oct. 16, 1993.
“Now cut all those years later and here we are – I’m turning 60 on Oct. 16, but I feel like tonight is the beginning of my birthday party.”
The adventure begins with a brightly lit orange Jack-o’-lantern about 30 feet tall and four-sided, so that it can be seen from every angle. Headstones line the grass and light projections place spiders and webs on the trees, while the two-faced Mayor’s cackle travels through the woods. Just like the movie, the Oogie Boogie man is delightfully scary and Zero, the ghost dog, is expectedly adorable.
According to a 2013 article by Forbes, Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” directed by Henry Selick, was always a Disney movie, but the brand was afraid to associate its name with the film due to its scary and outrageous nature and instead, was released under Touchstone Pictures. Tim Burton worked for Disney as an animator during the 1980s and it is said that “The Nightmare Before Christmas” was created while he worked for the billion-dollar company.
The wondrous tale tells the story of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who grows weary of living in a perpetual state of Halloween, where everyone is always tricking and scaring each other and troublesome kids are the norm.
One day, while walking Zero, Skellington stumbles upon a forest of trees containing portals into alternate holiday dimensions. A giant, decorative egg door reveals Easter and a tree-shaped door with all the Christmas trimmings leads Skellington into a universe he could have never fathomed in his wildest dreams. He finds a land of candy and well-behaved children who receive baby dolls instead of screaming puppets as presents. With wide-eyed wonder, Skellington brings ideas of Christmas back to Halloween Town, but what ensues is a clash of worlds.
“The movie itself is really fun,” said Jet C., who was dressed as Jack Skellington in a pinstripe suit and accompanied by his parents and siblings. “I like that it’s a two-part holiday movie I can watch during Christmas and Halloween.”
The exhibit takes approximately 15-20 minutes to navigate and follows a one-way route. Along with the light show, that runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday through Sundays only, the garden is offering themed snacks and drinks, like pumpkin and sage hand pies and a Skull & Bones cocktail made with vodka, chocolate liqueur and nutmeg.
Timed-tickets range from $39 for children 12 years old and under to $49 for adults. Members receive a $7 discount on tickets with the code SPOOKYMEMBER.
Reach ET Rodriguez at etrodriguez317@gmail.com. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
