The Nightmare Before Christmas Page #15

She looks stunned. Jack nods eagerly and pats her, mistaking her

silence for awe at the responsibility.

JACK:

I know you can do it.

He enthusiastically proceeds to describe the costume:

JACK:

It's bright red, the reddest

red you can imagine -- both the

jacket and the pair of pants...

The boots are black. There's a

big black belt that goes around

the middle... Oh, and there's

white trim on the cuffs and

collar.

Swallowing hard, Sally looks up at him, her wide eyes moist. Her

voice is tiny.

SALLY:

Are you sure, Jack?

Jack suddenly looks confused. He stops mid-gesture --

JACK:

Am I sure?

Brow furrowing, he stares at the ceiling and thinks.

Sally holds her breath, hoping...

Finally, Jack shrugs.

JACK:

Well... the trim is

traditionally white from

everything I've studied, but if

you think green would give it

more dash... I trust your

judgement. I know you'll do a

great job. Whatever you

decide!

AT THAT MOMENT,

Lock, Shock and Barrel race in dragging behind them a big sack

with something squirming inside!

LOCK, SHOCK & BARREL

Jack! Jack! We caught him!

We've got him!

JACK:

strides excitedly to meet them, leaving Sally.

SALLY:

flees, mortified, miserable. She had hoped to help Jack, to

spare him the pain of his enterprise, to save him from himself...

Floppy and weak (her legs lost some stuffing in her jump from the

Evil Scientist's window), she runs as best she can, arms and legs

pinwheeling...

LOCK, SHOCK & BARREL,

in a frenzy of giggling, open the big sack and who should jump

out but the

EASTER BUNNY.

Jack's face drops. He turns on the three Trick Or Treaters.

JACK:

(loud)

That's not Sandy Claws!

SHOCK:

It isn't?

BARREL:

Who is it then?

JACK:

(louder)

Not Sandy Claws!

The three shrink back.

LOCK:

We followed your instructions.

BARREL:

We went through the door...

SHOCK:

...In the tree.

JACK:

Which door!?

LOCK:

The door.

JACK:

WELL, TAKE HIM BACK!

Jack turns to the Easter Bunny and speaks loudly and slowly to

him, hoping to be understood.

JACK:

I'm very sorry for the

inconvenience, sir.

He scowls at the three Trick Or Treaters.

JACK:

Shall I send somebody else for

Sandy Claws?

LOCK, SHOCK & BARREL

No!

BARREL:

Not at all!

SHOCK:

We can handle it.

LOCK:

We'll get it right this time --

LOCK, SHOCK & BARREL

-- for sure!

JACK:

I told you -- there's more than

one door! Sandy Claws is

behind the door shaped like

this --

He holds up a cut-out of a Christmas tree.

LOCK:

Got it!

They stuff the Easter Bunny back into the sack and hurry off.

JACK:

(shouts after them)

Take him home first. And

apologize again. Be careful

with Sandy Claws when you catch

him! Treat him nicely!

They scurry out the double doors.

CUT TO:

INT. CHRISTMAS FACTORY. ANOTHER DAY.

Sally sits at a sewing machine, abjectly stitching Jack's Santa

Claus suit. Finished with a long seam, she holds up the suit to

see how it's coming along... and shudders in its cheerful, bright

red glare.

SALLY:

If only he would come back to

his senses...

Shaking her head, she sets the suit back in place to stitch up

another seam.

But Sally is alone in her distress. Beyond her -- the little

Halloween factory gladly hums along making Christmas.

>>>>> MAKING CHRISTMAS SONG --

Jack supervises and approves as the residents of Halloweenland

busily manufacture the Halloween version of Christmas toys,

dolls, decorations, doing their well-intentioned best to create

the warmest, most magical Christmas yet. The results of their

eager efforts, unbeknownst to them, often painfully miss the

mark:

-- Barbie's a voodoo doll.

-- The horrible-looking demon that springs from a Jack-In-The-Box

has a sweet decorative bow on it.

-- Strings of electric lights are composed of tiny skulls through

which the colored lights gleam.

MEANTIME,

the Evil Scientist assembles Skeleton Reindeer from piles of

bones.

He also takes the opportunity to assemble himself a new and

improved Sally. He animates her and she smiles at him. He is

pleased. She assists him in his work animating the reindeer.

WHILE CHRISTMAS IS BEING MANUFACTURED IN HALLOWEENLAND, IT IS

ALSO BEING MANUFACTURED IN...

CUT TO:

INT. CHRISTMASTOWN FACTORY. DAY/SAME TIME.

The factory looks like it was constructed by a master gingerbread

house maker, all dandy jigsaw angles and bulbous shapes and

filigree. There's a calendar that tells the NUMBER OF DAYS LEFT

'TIL CHRISTMAS -- it says ONE.

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