It’s sometimes hard to remember that upon its first theatrical release in 1993, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas was only a modest success, earning $50 million. However, thanks to multiple re-releases and home video sales, it turned into the cult hit that we all know and love today. Now, it’s considered a classic, with fans frequently viewing it during both Halloween and Christmas.
While there’s been a ton of The Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise available over the years, this is the first time that Halloween Town has been realized as a LEGO set.
What Is LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas?
LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, set #21351, is a 2,193-piece set that contains 6 minifigures (plus two other figures that don’t technically count as minifigures). When completed, the model is 13″ high, 21″ wide, and 11″ deep. It retails for $199.99, and can be purchased at the LEGO webstore or at your local LEGO store.
Unpacking the LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
The LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas has 16 bags of bricks. The assembly spans three books, one for each of the dioramas: Town Hall, Jack’s house, and the graveyard. The first book, for the Town Hall, includes just a couple of pages about The Nightmare Before Christmas film, and the design of the LEGO set.
There is a sticker sheet included as well, that will be used throughout all stages of the build:
LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas – The Build
Spread across all three instruction books are the minifigures. There are also figures for the Mayor and Zero, though they don’t technically count as minifigures.
Book One – Town Hall
The first book gives instructions for the creation of the Town Hall, as well as Lock, Shock, Barrel, the Mayor, and Sandy Claws aka Santa.
There’s a fun little detail in the foundation of the Town Hall building that you can just barely glimpse from the back:
And here is the completed Town Hall:
Jack Skellington’s House
The second book details the build for Jack’s house. During this build, you’ll also put together the Jack Skellington minifigure.
A notable feature of Jack’s house is his workshop, where he tries to figure out Christmas. In it, we can see his design for a Sandy Claws outfit for Jack:
As well as Jack’s research in action:
Here’s a look at the completed structure:
Jack’s house and the Town Hall easily snap together:
The Graveyard
The final book covers the assembly for the graveyard, Sally, and Zero’s doghouse. Zero is one piece, so doesn’t need any assembly. The graveyard also includes the moonlit hill where Jack sings “Jack’s Lament.” The graveyard is the shortest assembly time of the three setpieces.
Zero’s doghouse is a delightfully realized use of just 19 pieces and a sticker:
It fits in well with all the terrific detail crammed into a relatively small space in the graveyard:
Here’s the finished graveyard piece, with moon and hill in the background:
Putting It All Together
Once the three different set pieces are completed and connected with each other, you can go about recreating different scenes from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas – Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, then this LEGO set is a no-brainer. Admittedly, there are a few minifigures that I would have loved to have seen included with the set. Probably the most notable characters missing are Dr. Finkelstein and Oogie Boogie. But the ones that are included are delightful. It was a great move to make the legs of the Jack Skellington minifigure longer than normal, to match the character’s proportions. And while his head doesn’t spin like it does in the film, you’ll be happy that there are both happy and sad faces on either side of the Mayor’s head.
There are a lot of great details in the set, which accurately recreates the odd angles of the architecture of Halloween Town. The silhouettes of the buildings are unmistakable to fans of the film.
But the details aren’t limited to the front of the buildings, either. There’s a lot going on in the backs of the set, as you can see above. And removing the rooftops from the Town Hall and Jack’s house reveal even more surprises.
LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a joy to build, and an even greater joy to display. It captures the aesthetics of the Henry Selick-directed animated film perfectly, and is the ideal set to have out for your Halloween village display…or even your Christmas village.
For more information or to buy the The LEGO Ideas Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas set, head to the LEGO webstore.
Click That Brick!
Click That Brick! is a look at LEGO building sets that appeal to the geek in all of us. I’ll be bringing you previews and reviews of various LEGO sets, such as the LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr. So be sure to keep your eyeballs peeled for more great LEGO content here on GeekDad.
LEGO sent this set for evaluation but had no input into the review.
