Halloween: Ranking the Citizens of Halloweentown

Hey! Hallie here!

Happy Halloween! After a month of almost every post being Halloween themed, we’ve come to our last October post. And what better way to close off this Halloween season than to give some credit to the citizens of Halloweentown? So many of Halloweentown’s residents get ignored, which is a shame because so many of them have really awesome designs. Today I’m going to put some focus on these characters by ranking them based off of what we see of them in the movie. For this list, I’m keeping it strictly to the citizens that aren’t main characters. That means no Jack, Sally, or Oogie Boogie. I’m also limiting the list to twenty because of the amount of characters. Otherwise, there are quite a few of Halloweentown’s residents to go through. Let’s get started!

20. Melting Man. Let’s be honest, this guy is kind of gross. The only thing he really does is accidentally get stuck to things. But he’s kind of nice about it! He never seems offended when someone (Jack) accidentally pats his head and needs to spend a few minutes getting his hand unstuck. He doesn’t say much, but he always seems attentive and interested in what others have to say. If only he wasn’t constantly dripping all over the floor.

19. Igor. Igor literally eats dog treats. There is something very wrong with him. He doesn’t seem to be the brightest person in Halloweentown, but he’s most definitely helpful. He tries his best to please, especially Doctor Finkelstein who it seems he’s most loyal to. He’s also very eager. Almost too eager. But you have to appreciate his enthusiasm. Igor might not be the most welcoming looking member of Halloweentown, but you can’t deny the bright look in his singular eye.

18. Devil. The Devil is pretty straightforward. He’s the Devil. There’s nothing much more to him than that. But he does try to contribute to all the endeavors Halloweentown gets up to. He’s not usually at the front of the crowd, but he’s somewhere near the middle. He’s trying his best and he’s mostly recognizable for it. He also seems to be pretty intelligent, although that could just be the convincing tone in his voice. And one would think he’s somewhat of an inspiration to Lock considering the fact that Lock dresses up as him every single day.

17. Corpse Family. The Corpse Family consists of a mother, father, and small boy. You see Corpse Boy the most in the movie. He always seems to be clinging to someone leg or the mayor’s hat. This family is kind of adorable in a creepy way, but they’re also some of the more plain looking residents. Still, they seem to be a pretty welcoming family. They’re also all pretty enthusiastic about Halloween. You’ll see the Corpse Boy at the front of most of Halloweentown’s gatherings. This family strikes me as the type that would be first in line to greet you if you were to visit Halloweentown.

16. Hanging Tree. The Hanging Tree doesn’t contribute a whole lot to everything that goes on in Halloweentown, but can you blame him? He’s kind of big and he needs to stand in the back of most rooms to get space. Plus, he’s really cool. The Hanging Tree is a terrifying face carved into a tree, with several of his closest (I would hope) skeleton friends hanging on his arms. They all have their own comments to make, but in the end they come together to make what is possibly the most intimidating citizen of Halloweentown.

15. Wolfman. The Wolfman is pretty straightforward as well, but he’s also absolutely terrifying. His teeth are always bared and he could absolutely beat me up in a fight. Most people seem to want to stay on his good side, and you have to respect him for that. Especially since everyone in Halloweentown is already various degrees of frightening. He’s also one of the most vocal citizens in Halloweentown. Whether howling, or genuinely sharing his opinion, you’re sure to notice him in every scene he’s in.

14. Doctor Finkelstein. Doctor Finkelstein gets an entire arc in the movie, but he’s all the way down here for being a creepy jerk. He’s very possessive over Sally, but only because he wants an assistant. In fact, he creates another assistant halfway through the movie to replace her with someone prettier and more obedient. He only seems to want a good looking girl on his arm. But he does get points for helping Jack throughout the entire movie. He provides him with scientific supplies and creates his skeletal reindeer. And he absolutely did something right when he created Sally.

13. Cyclops. Cyclops is pretty small and, in some scenes, can easily be mistaken for one of the kids. He can also be pretty dramatic, which is kind of relatable. But he seems to be a pretty cool guy. He always seems in awe of everything that’s going on around him, which is probably because of how much his singular eye stands out. In a strange way he’s adorable and his excitement is contagious. I always appreciate looking over at him just to see his wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression.

12. Mummy Boy. Mummy Boy is one of the kids, but he doesn’t have any parents that appear to be around. That doesn’t stop him, though. He’s always involved in what the adults are doing. In fact, he seems to be in charge of some of the towns practices, like sounding the alarm. His responsibility instantly earns him my respect. But he also spends some time with Corpse Boy just being a kid. I like seeing both sides of him. He deserves more recognition.

11. Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde is three for the price of one. He wears a very large hat, which would be outrageous if it was seen anywhere other than Halloweentown. But he wears that hat for a reason. Underneath it is a smaller version of him with another hat. THAT hat holds yet another version of him with a large hat. Unfortunately, it stops there. Still, as the versions of him get smaller, their voices also get adorably lighter in pitch. Even without that aspect of him, his hair is the best in Halloweentown other than Sally’s. I wish I could have his curls.

10. Clown. This clown proves that clowns are scary enough to deserve a place in Halloweentown. But this clown isn’t just in Halloweentown for his general frightening appearance. He can also TEAR OFF HIS OWN FACE. This is especially interesting when you realize his screechy voice becomes deep and intimidating when he does so. He was scary enough before he showed off that interesting ability. The Clown gets up this high on the list for surprising me with an extra ability that he didn’t even need.

9. The Witches. Both Witches have major crushes on Jack. Honestly, me too. They are very loud and very opinionated, and they have every right to be considering they’re some of the only women in Halloweentown. There are only two of the Witches, which makes me think that Shock must be an honorary member. After all, you need three to create a coven. The Witches are some of the most important members of Halloweentown, and I can’t stop thinking about how cute it would be if that Shock thing was actually real.

8. The Vampires. The Vampires have very specific looks to them that make them stand out. Every single one is different and yet, they create a very unified and terrifying look when they’re together. They also seem to be very helpful. They’re some of the most helpful citizens when Jack goes missing. They can also remove their eyes from their sockets, which is an interesting little feature. They won the award for Most Blood Drained in a Single Evening. You can’t really argue with that.

7. Undersea Gal. Undersea Gal is easy to notice because of how deep her voice is. Her tone is very interesting and alluring. She also has a very unique design. She’s the only aquatic member of Halloweentown, so her green skin and gills make her stand out. She spends most of her time in the fountain, which seems to be the main, and only source of water in Halloweentown. She has a very commanding presence. Every time she’s on screen you can’t help but think that, if Jack wasn’t in charge, it’d probably be her.

6. Behemoth. Behemoth is adorable. He isn’t very smart, but you wouldn’t be either if you had a giant axe lodged in your head. He still tries his best to be helpful, but he’s hopelessly terrifying. All he wanted to do was pet the Easter Bunny but the Easter Bunny ran away in fright. Evidentially I have a lot of feelings about that one part of the movie. Still, Behemoth is the kind of person you see being used by members of Halloweentown because he doesn’t have much brains of his own. He really needs a good friend and a good hug.

5. Harlequin Demon. The Harlequin Demon has one of the most visually stunning designs of all the citizens of Halloweentown. His mouth is split into two parts that are only held together by what appears to be his tongue. He has three horns protruding from his head and what appears to be different types of feathers all over his body. He always struck me as the most interesting citizen to look at. Even better, he’s voiced by comedic legend, Greg Proops. What more could you want from a demon?

4. Halloweentown Band. This band seems to be the most rational members of Halloweentown other than Sally. They see everything and try their best to help out anyone who they see is in need. They put up with Jack’s crazy antics, but they always have some sort of words of comfort for when he spirals out of control. They also look like they need a break. I expect all of them to look wearyingly at the camera after every scene where Jack presses them to do something ridiculous. Hopefully they’ll get the appreciation they need from the Pumpkin King to take a well deserved vacation.

3. The Mayor. The Mayor is an excellent interpretation of every single politician ever. He’s two faced and constantly on edge. After something goes even slightly wrong, he needs the other citizens of Halloweentown to scrape him off the ground. He also doesn’t make much of the important decisions. He doesn’t even seem to know why he’s in charge of anything while Jack is calling all the shots. But he’s very encouraging. Also, the two sided face that he has is one of my favorite design elements of any character in this movie.

2. Zero. Zero’s loyal and adorable. You can’t help but be drawn in whenever he’s on screen. He’s appears to be a ghost dog, but he’s much more than that. For one, he has a glowing pumpkin on his nose that gives him his own unique look. He doesn’t really know what’s going on for most of the movie, but he does know that Jack is sad. He does his best to cheer him up, even when Jack’s obsessive behavior gets a bit out of control. And he’s there for Jack the entire time. He only leaves Jack’s side when Jack gets sucked into Christmastown, and he’s terrified for Jack the entire time. Zero is one of the unsung heroes in ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’.

1. Lock, Shock, and Barrel. This mischievous trio are, without a doubt, the most intriguing citizens of Halloweentown. They’re only children, but they’re mischievous nature lead them to turn on Jack and swear loyalty to Oogie Boogie even before the movie begins. They fight a lot, but they’re true loyalties lie to each other. They like the chaos Oogie Boogie sows, but they don’t care much when he dies. They help the Mayor find Jack in order to clear their names when Oogie Boogie is defeated. They backstab and trick almost every single character throughout the movie, which puts them in the position of being smarter than most of the other characters. And they get away with it. After everything they did to Santa, they avoid facing consequences. You don’t see the minions succeed while the villain fails very often.

So there’s my list. There are even more citizens of Halloweentown, so I’d recommend looking them up to appreciate some of them as well. After all, all of the Citizens of Halloweentown were very carefully designed and molded into figures that could be used for the stop motion animation style. The movie wouldn’t be the same if any of them were missing. Have a good Halloween, and make sure to stay home and stay safe! Starting tomorrow we’ll be back to our regular programming!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie