Lately, conversation has been stirring among Lumen Christi students about which Halloween movie is the best. Fellow Titan Times staff writer Antwon Baker covered this debate in his latest article, but in the midst of this conversation, another question has emerged.

The other day, while I was sitting in Mrs. Learned’s seventh hour theology class, some other students were polling the class for their favorite Halloween movie. At first, it seemed to be a pretty run-of-the-mill discussion, but one movie caught my eye. One of the most popular contenders in the class was Tim Burton’s classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Is that really a Halloween movie? Its title bears the Christmas name. But it seems to be a fan favorite every October. So the question was begged: Is The Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie, or a Christmas movie? I was determined to get to the bottom of this.

This debate seems to be as old as the movie itself, and there are a few key points that each side tends to rely on. The case for it being a Halloween movie is certainly compelling. It is primarily set in the sinister and scary Halloweentown, and the movie’s titular character is the Pumpkin King himself, Jack Skellington. The entire movie focuses on Halloween-themed characters and their stories. Furthermore, the gothic claymation style certainly lends itself to the Halloween setting. In this regard, it definitely seems like it’s a Halloween movie.

However, there is still a case to be made that The Nightmare Before Christmas is in fact a Christmas classic. Perhaps most obviously, the movie features the word “Christmas” in its title. Additionally, the main conflict of the movie explores Jack Skellington’s curious relationship with the holiday, and the bulk of the character development happens in response to Christmas. The movie culminates on Christmas Eve, as Jack becomes a spookier version of Santa Claus after kidnapping the beloved old Saint Nick. If the central conflict of the film is Jack’s relationship with Christmas, it must be a Christmas movie, right? Not necessarily.

Ultimately, there can only be one answer, and it turns out, we don’t really have to dig much to find it. The Nightmare Before Christmas was released on October 29, 1993. That’s Halloween time, not Christmas time. And if that wasn’t enough, the man behind the movie himself, Tim Burton, spoke on the age-old question. His answer? It’s a Halloween movie.

So, this Halloween season, when you’re trying to figure out which movie to watch, you can rest easy knowing that your selection of The Nightmare Before Christmas is perfectly seasonally appropriate. Grab some popcorn, put on some skeleton-themed pajamas, and enjoy Tim Burton’s claymation classic for what it is: a Halloween movie.