The Nightmare Before Christmas Director and Star Discuss Prequel Ideas and More as Movie Turns 30 (Exclusive)

The Nightmare Before Christmas continues to enchant fans as the animated classic turns 30.

The hit movie musical celebrates three decades since its theatrical release, when it first wowed audiences with its unique stop-motion animation, Danny Elfman-driven soundtrack, and poignant story set against a chilling backdrop—one that the Walt Disney Company was initially hesitant to fully embrace. , according to director Henry Selick (Coraline).

“At first there were very few sales, but then Disney realized that the movie was growing in popularity and they took advantage of that,” Selick, 70, tells PEOPLE in honor of his film’s birthday. “And finally, Disney called it a Disney movie because originally they were afraid it was too weird, that it would hurt their brand, so it was released as a Touchstone movie.” (Touchstone was the former publishing house of Walt Disney Studios, founded by and owned by The Walt Disney Company.)

But later, he says, “They accepted it and occupied the Haunted Palace [at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland] and, for Halloween, turned ua The Nightmare Before Christmas thing. So it didn’t seem like it happened suddenly. It was just steady growth, and then it went up.”

The film, based on a story by Tim Burton, follows Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon, with the singing voice of Elfman, 70), the pumpkin king of Halloween town who dreams of something bigger and gets in over his head when he becomes obsessed with Christmas Town and recreates it in his native the world. But with a little help from ragdoll Sally (Catherine O’Hara), he learns the importance of being true to himself and the true meaning of Christmas spirit, friendship and love.

Selick, who made his directorial debut with Nightmare, he says he “always” knew that Nightmare was a “yes— yes project” for him and that it originally started as an idea for a TV special that turned into something bigger.

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The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’: All the Actors Behind Your Favorite Voices in the Movie

Speaking about her experience making the film, Sarandon, 81, recalls the challenge of expressing a character with “so many layers”. “I almost always worked alone,” he says about the long process of making the film.

“The only time I ever worked with somebody,” Sarandon says, was with O’Hara, 69. “She and I spent, I think, a day doing scenes with Jack and Sally.”

Despite being somewhat blind to how the final film would turn out, Sarandon trusted the process because he had faith in Selick, who “knew what he was doing.”

To this day, he is enthusiastic about the “multigenerational” influence Nightmare to the extent that people still approach him to tell him how much it means to them.

“A lot of young people come up to me and say, ‘This was the movie that made me feel like I belonged,’ because it was so weird and at the same time so beautiful, and its message was so positive,” says Sarandon. “And as it turns out, they’re now watching it with their kids.”

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Buena Vista Images/Courtesy of the Everett Collection

Cast for the lead roles of Jack and Sally, Selick tells PEOPLE that Elfman, who composed the score for the film, “was always meant to be Jack.” But while he “was phenomenal at singing,” Selick says Elfman “just didn’t have the ability for dialogue.”

So when it came to finding someone to voice the Pumpkin King, Selick recalls feeling that Sarandon was a “phenomenal actor” whose “voice was close enough to Danny’s that he could pass” as the same character.

As for O’Hara, Selick says she was Burton’s first choice for Sally. Burton (65) previously worked with the actress in 1988 bug juice. (The two are also reuniting for the upcoming sequel, Beetle juice 2.)

The director recalls that O’Hara “struggled a little more because of the strangeness” of Sally, adding, “I would say that was her biggest challenge ever, as a performer.”

“She’s an amazing comedian, and there was nothing outwardly funny about the character,” says Selick. “She’s smart and cunning and everything, but I’ve had to work with her and she didn’t like it so many times [it took] — I had to make many shots to bring her into the zone. But she did it beautifully, and then she sang the song, ‘Sally’s Song,’ very well. She sang it beautifully.”

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Everett 31 Best Halloween Movies To Stream

The film lasts a tight 76 minutes, but as Sarandon points out: “Every time you watch it, you see something new, because there are so many beautiful, first of all visual components. And then there are so many little visual jokes and so many visually interesting oddities, unusual characters that not necessarily characters who speak, but who exist in this world.”

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).

Kinoteka/REX/Shutterstock

Selick has spoken out in the past about how Burton is often incorrectly credited as the director of the film, which is technically titled The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton.

And while “Irk [him] a little bit in the past,” as he tells PEOPLE now, “it’s not really a problem,” because it’s Burton’s story and “mostly, at least everybody in the industry, everybody in animation, knows that I’m the one who directed it.”

“I think it made sense to put his name on it to make sure people don’t confuse him, maybe with Nightmare on Elm Street or some extraordinary horror film. Well yes, it bothered me years ago. Now it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Asked if he would ever work with Burton again in the future, who also produced the Selick-directed film James and the Giant Peach (1996), Selick says, “I would say it’s all about the project, and yes, absolutely.”

“If it’s a real project that we both had a passion for, no problem. I’d love to work with him again,” adds the director.

Tim Burton; Henry Selick. Daniele Venturelli/WireImage; Jemal Countess/Getty ‘The Princess Bride’ just hit Disney+ along with hundreds of curated movies to return

As for a potential sequel, Selick says the laborious nature of the first film isn’t what would make him hesitate to make a sequel — on the contrary, he thinks Nightmare is “the perfect movie [that] came out of a perfect time, only to grow into something far greater over the years.”

“I think especially Tim feels, why mess with it?” he adds. “He certainly doesn’t need to make more money from a sequel. He’s had so many other successes, and so far no one has come up with a great idea for a sequel. I still think Tim decides. I don’t think there’s an idea that would convince him.”

That said, “it might be more interesting to do a prequel,” Selick says. “Maybe there’s a more interesting story about how Jack became the king of Halloweentown.”

Sarandon would “absolutely” be willing to reprise his voice role as Jack if another film is made, as he continues to voice the character for other mediums such as video games, live-action shows, and more.

“To quote Henry, ‘Y— yes,'” he tells PEOPLE. – If there was a sequel, I would come in a minute.

The Nightmare Before Christmas is available to stream on Disney+.

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Source: HIS Education