History Characters / TheNightmareBeforeChristmas

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Jack is the Pumpkin King because he's the scariest and the toughest.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Jack is the de-facto leader of Halloween Town and is therefore the most badass.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: A more implied and downplayed example, but the Mayor implies that they don't have that good a reputation, calling them "Boogies Boys" and theyre mentioned to receive constant scolding for their pranks. It's implied that's why they live outside of town, and why they bring Oogie back in the sequel game. Jack, on his part, sees a lot of value and good in them and their skills (which is not entirely misplaced, considering they make good on their word to return the Easter Bunny home and deliver Santa directly to Jack after catching him), acting as a psuedo-parental figure and only scaring them to get their attention when they start bickering.

* OverprotectiveDad: His resentment for Sally's attraction to Jack could be because he's an overprotective father figure or maybe CrazyJealousGuy. It really depends on whether you interpret that he created Sally to be his daughter or his lover.

** his scientific curiosity drives him to visit Dream Town, kidnap a young Sally for his own ends and then give her LaserGuidedAmnesia via a potion, a lot of his previous behavior comes across less like an OverprotectiveDad trying to protect his daughter and more like an ''actual kidnapper trying not to potentially rejog his victims memory, take advantage of their amnesia, keep them confined and avoid the consequences of what he did.''
** it makes things like [[{{Irony}} Sally drugging his food then indirectly showing her priding herself in outsmarting him]], and having her disembodied arm pound his head as much more [[LaserGuidedKarma deserved.]]

* KarmaHoudini: They decide to deliver Santa to the murderous, cannibalistic Oogie-Boogie against Jack's ''explicit'' orders, and receive no comeuppance for it. Becomes an averted trope in a deleted scene where Jack scares them away after they watch Oogie torture Santa and Sally. Also averted in ''Oogie's Revenge'', in which Jack himself [[WouldHurtAChild proceeds to whip them to a pulp]] after they, yet again, help the eponymous villain with his schemes.

** Kingdom Hearts games have them as mini bosses sure, but they become non-hostile npcs and don't hold any grudges against Sora and co. themselves, with Lock even being the one to provide the skateboard mini game in II (after they bring back Oogie).
** ''Oogie's Revenge''shows they don't mistreat their minions like Oogie does, with [[VillainsOutShopping Barrel even casually enjoying eating pumpkins with some of his skeleton flunkies.]]

* PunchClockVillain: Averted. Yes, they're scared of Oogie Boogie and want to make sure he doesn't turn against them, but they enjoy causing mayhem for the sake of it and their treehouse looks like a torture chamber.

* BerserkButton: Scaring someone to put them in ''unnecessary'' distress genuinely ticks Jack off. As shown when the Easter Bunny arrives, and feels threatened enough to immediately hide away - prompting him to apologize and make Lock Shock and Barrel apologize to him again when they return him to his home. ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' displays perhaps the best in Chain of Memories; when Oogie proclaims his intent to harm people, Jack outright calls him [[YouMonster a monster out of digust.]]

* NiceGirl: After all she's a CuteMonsterGirl and she's compassionate, kind, brave, sweet and loving. This tends to carry over into Spinoff and sequel appearances, such as giving [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts Sora]] kind advice and praise, or apologizing to Jack in ''Oogie's Revenge'' for falling for Oogie's manipulations - while she's ''currently being held captive by a giant spider.''

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' entries have him often experiment with things he'd - more often than not - be better off leaving alone that drive the conflicts. In the first game, The Heartless are surprisingly tame, up until he begins trying to control them better with an artificial heart and drives them into a frenzy. In ''Chain of Memories'' his experimenting with Memories cause a similar frenzy, and prompt ''Oogie to come out of hiding and become a more direct antagonist out of a lust for power.'' Him wanting to curb Lock Shock and Barrels antics drive him to create the antagonist of ''II's'' return trip to Halloween Town, The Experiment. Notably, he states his designs are flawless despite the issues they've caused, and in The Experiment's case blames Lock Shock and Barrel for bringing him insufficient parts, only to proudly announce it was a success after all when its revealed to be doing something it ''wasn't intended to do at all.''

* ObliviouslyEvil: Downplayed with the "evil", but Jack means no harm at all and doesn't have a malicious bone in his body, but it's his actions that are creating nearly every problem in the film. Thankfully, he does eventually come to his senses.

* AffablyEvil: They really are terrified of Oogie, but in their minds, helping him is the most fun thing they can think of and it overrides whatever better judgement they could've had.

* FreeRangeChildren: They live in a treehouse and do not appear to have any parents or guardians unless you count Oogie.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: "Bug Day". There actually are a few little known dates based around insects that barely anyone knows about, two of which are in October, notably/coincidentally which involve eating said bugs, which plays into Oogie's character as a VillainousGlutton:
** June Bug Day is recognized nationally on June 7th, though it's more about the time of year June Bugs are most active.
** National Chocolate Covered Insects day, which is on October 14th.
** World Edible Insect Day is October 23rd.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: "Bug Day". There actually are a few little known dates based around insects that barely anyone knows about, most of which are in October, notably/coicencidentally most involve eating said bugs, which plays into Oogies character as a VillainousGlutton:

* ColdBloodedTorture: It's implied that the skeletons that decorate his lair are not actually the remains of his victims, but are in fact prisoners that he is ''currently'' torturing. Considering how they vocalize and how one slightly reacts to him tossing dice into its sockets, it makes a lot of his actions during his VillainSong, such as crushing a couple of them in a giant vice, stand out as particularly cruel.

* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight: Implied. While we don't see him exhibit any traits of this trope onscreen, he is meant to be the bogeyman (although it could just be a case of AGodAmI, or maybe it was just for the "boogie" pun.) However, the Shadow on the Moon, who is implied to be somehow connected to Oogie, states that he specialises in bringing nightmares to mortals, which could land him in this category.

* VillainsLoveEntertainment: Oogie has a love of [[TheGambler gambling]]. His lair is decorated like a casino where everything glows bright colors under a blacklight. He also likes to make decisions by rolling dice. When preparing to drop Santa Claus and Sally into his stew, Oogie deliberately draws out the moment to relish in his sadistic game.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: it's implied that part of the reason Jack is board out of his mind and burning out is that he is constantly planning with the Mayor, who's so dependent on him that he comes to Jack's front door with plans for next Halloween ''first thing in the morning after the previous Halloween happened.''

* TwoFaced: He has two faces; one colorful and happy, one ashen and distressed. It's more of a facial mood ring than a split personality, though.
** When Jack is showing off the idea of Christmas, he's all for it, right up until he see's Jack shot out of the sky. He then states he had a gut feeling that Christmas was a bad idea.

A large zombie in overalls and gloves with an axe lodged in the back of his head.

* CowardlyLion: He serves as the save points in the video game ''Oogie's Revenge.'' Whenever enemy monster appear he'll immediately run, but will just as quickly return once the fighting is over.

* TheDandy: Seems very happy to make a "most delightful hat" made out of a dead rat as a Christmas present.

* JumpScare: Implied to be his ''modus operandi'' by his third and fourth lines in "This Is Halloween": "Here in a flash / And gone without a trace!"

* BigRedDevil: One of the residents.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: On paper, he's a MadScientist {{Expy}} of Dr. Frankenstein, and not a monster or undead like many other Halloweentown residents. But, he has a strange face with a stretched-out, beak-like mouth, and an overly large head that he can open up at will. He is even shown to take out half of his brain and put it into one of his creations, with no ill effects.

--> Mr.Hyde:"Don't forget-"
--> Smaller Hyde:"-save it now...-"
--> Smallest Hyde:"-Or risk doing it again!"

* AdiposeRex: He's conical, though he's a mayor rather than a king.

** Wrath: He gets pissed off at Sally for trying to distract him so she can rescue Santa, so much so that he kidnaps her and plans to drop her into the stew as well. His lair is full of deathtraps, and in the video games, he is a fighter himself. In fact in Kigngdom Hearts his rage over believing Jack tricked him with the amount of control the artificial heart actually gave him sparks the first boss fight, and is implied to have triggered him ''merging with the treehouse'' for round two. the reason he goes OneWingedAngel in ''Oogies Revenge'' is because his plans fall apart ''at the last possible second'' and he's that fed up with Jack undoing all his work. In ''The Pumpkin King'' he rouses his Motorcycle-like Bug from its daze by getting angry and smacking it repeatedly with a riding crop.

* CassandraTruth: Tries to warn Jack beforehand that his plan for Christmas will fail, but to no avail. This tends to be a trend in her appearances outside of of the first mo ie as well.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: "Bug Day". There actually are a few little known dates based around insects that barely anyone knows about, most of which are in October:

** Wrath: He gets pissed off at Sally for trying to distract him so she can rescue Santa, so much so that he kidnaps her and plans to drop her into the stew as well. His lair is full of deathtraps, and in the video games, he is a fighter himself.

* HeroicSeductress: Sally tries to be this when she uses her detached bare leg to distract Oogie so she can save Santa. She fails when he discovers it's not attached to a body, and in turn ''Livid'' that shes trying to fool him.

* PsychicPowers: She has the gift of premonition, as seen when a flower she plucks turns into a small Christmas tree...which bursts into flames, foretelling what will happen when Jack tries to take over the holiday. When she tells Jack about this "awful vision," he doesn't seem surprised, suggesting that her powers are well-known in Halloweetown.

* CassandraTruth: Tries to warn Jack beforehand that his plan for Christmas will fail, but to no avail.

* CuteMonsterGirl: As much of a monster as she is, she's adorable.

* FourPhilosophyEnsemble: The Realist. According to Santa Claus the only sane inhabitant of Halloween Town. She alone sees the disaster ahead.

* HeroicSeductress: Sally tries to be this when she uses her detached bare leg to distract Oogie so she can save Santa. She fails when he discovers it's not attached to a body.

* NiceGirl: After all she's a CuteMonsterGirl and she's compassionate, kind, brave, sweet and loving.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: With Jack, in regards to his boredom with Halloween and routine.

* OfficialCouple: With Jack. They kiss by the end of the movie.

* ShrinkingViolet: One of the reasons Sally didn't tell Jack her feelings is because she's shy around him.
* SilkHidingSteel: She is shy and calm, but isn't afraid to take matters into her own hands.

* BornAsAnAdult: Being a creation of Dr. Finklestein already implies that she was born as an adult, but it is explicitly confirmed in the prequel game ''VideoGame/TheNightmareBeforeChristmasThePumpkinKing'', where Finklestein has just recently created her and she looks no different from how she appears in the film.

* FantasyForbiddingFather: He takes Sally back home because he doesn't believe she's ready for the excitement.

* BerserkButton: Scaring someone to put them in ''unnecessary'' distress genuinely ticks Jack off. As shown when the Easter Bunny arrives, and feels threatened enough to immediately hide away - prompting him to apologize and make Lock Shock and Barrel apologize to him again when they return him to his home. ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'' displays perhaps the best in Chain of Memories; when Oogie proclaims his intent to harm people, Jack outright calls him [[YouMonster a monster in digust.]]

* TheCameo: Quite a few, mainly in other Tim Burton and Henry Selick movies. He appeared as a ghost pirate in ''James and the Giant Peach'', his head shows up in a yolk in ''Coraline'', his scarecrow costume is seen at the beginning of ''Sleepy Hollow'', and his head adorns the top of a merry-go-round in ''Beetlejuice''.

* IconicOutfit: Jack's pin-striped tuxedo and bat bow-tie.

* IHaveManyNames: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, the King of Halloween, [[InSeriesNickname Bone Daddy]], Skeleton Jack, [[NoodleIncident Mr. Unlucky]]...

* NeverMyFault: Zig-zagged. Jack laments that it was ''everyone else'' who failed to understand, and all ''he'' ever wanted was to bring them something great, but it's fine because at least he did his best and had a lot of fun while also owning up to the damage he caused, making efforts to set it right, and apologizing to Santa.

* MadScientist: As an expy of Dr. Frankenstein.

* BerserkButton: Scaring someone to put them in ''unnecessary'' distress genuinely ticks Jack off. As shown when the Easter Bunny arrives, and feels threatened enough to immediately hide away - prompting him to apologize and make Lock Shock and Barrel apologize to him again when they return him to his home. ''KingdomHearts'' displays it best in Chain of Memories; when Oogie proclaims his intent to harm people, Jack outright calls him [[YouMonster a monster in digust.]]

* BerserkButton: Scaring someone to put them in ''unnecessary'' distress genuinely ticks Jack off.