Why does Jack Skellington look so wrong?

[kay1864]

That said, I think he's creepy and alien-like, and I have no desire to meet him looking the way that he does. It seems that even a slight re-shaping of the eyes would help somewhat. So, that's one fewer person in that long, long line.

Agreed. On the cruise, I could have waited, and it probably would have been about a 10-20 minute wait, depending on how quickly I joined the line. But after looking at Alien Jack, I decided it wasn't worth it.

What was worth it though, was seeing The Nightmare Before Christmas in 4-D. That was an amazing experience, that made an exceptional movie even more beautiful.

 

[AngiTN]

It's been explained several times. These two don't talk. Jack does.

True...but that can be managed as well. I can't see how it would weigh any more than these.

 

[AngiTN]

Besides, if people can accept that Mickey Mouse, Chip and Dale, Pluto, Minnie, etc appear full size, not mouse, chipmunk, dog, etc sized then I think they accept the difference in Jack's head shape without question. It's Disney. Things are just not taken so seriously. Things are accepted at "face" value and not over analyzed or critiqued.
It's got nothing to do with how popular a movie is either. If you think Nightmare before Christmas isn't popular or the Jack isn't popular you'd be sorely mistaken. It is and he is. And he's very well known. The movie, and the characters, are some of DGD's (9) favorites. She didn't even notice anything off about him. Kids accept so much more than adults do. Sometimes we probably could learn some from them, instead of the other way around.

 

[Linkura]

Safety is supposed to be the number 1 issue especially for the costumed characters. Perhaps the shape of Jack’s head keeps the lines relatively short at MNSSHP and MVMCP.

60-90+ minute lines are "relatively short?" Honestly, I don't think most people care about his head. I personally agree with the person who made this thread though, and have personally wondered the same thing.

 

[mesaboy2]

60-90+ minute lines are "relatively short?" Honestly, I don't think most people care about his head. I personally agree with the person who made this thread though, and have personally wondered the same thing.

For that character, yes.

 

[Linkura]

For that character, yes.

I really doubt they would be any longer if they changed the shape of his face.

 

[hiroMYhero]

60-90+ minute lines are "relatively short?" Honestly, I don't think most people care about his head. I personally agree with the person who made this thread though, and have personally wondered the same thing.

Yes. I should have added . Just think how long the lines would be if people overlooked his alien-features. And, another

Guests and Disney overlook/accept the fact that Moana’s CM friends are Filipino American and/or Puerto Rican. If ethnicity of a face character isn’t of concern, I’m sure most overlook Jack’s eyes.

 

[Disneylover99]

Just because people are willing to wait doesn't mean this doesn't look really wrong. It could easily be "I really really want to see Jack and Sally because they appear only at MNSSHP", and some put up with the bad design, since the alternative is no meet and greet with Jack and Sally.

Like I said, most people don't know Jack as well as the other characters. Many may not notice how not-Jack this looks. Their not noticing doesn't make it look any better.

I'm in the camp of never noticing, and now that you've pointed it out, you're right there is a big difference. But I actually like the looks of the alien meet n greet character better then the original movie Jack.

 

[kay1864]

Besides, if people can accept that Mickey Mouse, Chip and Dale, Pluto, Minnie, etc appear full size, not mouse, chipmunk, dog, etc sized then I think they accept the difference in Jack's head shape without question.

There is quite a difference between a full-size character who looks as they appear on screen...and one who doesn't.

If you think Nightmare before Christmas isn't popular or the Jack isn't popular you'd be sorely mistaken.

Then it's certainly a good thing that I didn't say that.

 

[kay1864]

It's been explained several times. These two don't talk. Jack does.

And as I explained, Disney could design a round head with a moving jaw. They've accomplished far more difficult tasks.

 

[BrianL]

I think if his eyes weren't so elongated it would look a little better. The skull shape doesn't really bother me.

 

[elphaba91]

You could say the same thing about Sally - why doesn't Sally in the parks have the same round face, giant eyes and small mouth as Sally in the movie?


The answer is clearly because she's a face character. I would consider Jack to be a quasi-face character. If you want him to speak in the parks then his friend has to have enough movement in his jaw to do so. They have obviously determined that the best/most practical way of doing so is by having the jaw entirely exposed.

 

[kay1864]

They have obviously determined that the best/most practical way of doing so is by having the jaw entirely exposed.

Thus ending up with an misshapen alien head--a mask which (given Disney's expertise) could have been done otherwise, in a way that at least resembles the actual character.

 

[goofy4tink]

I stood in line for 120 mins, last year, to see them. My dd begged me!!! It was her birthday, so she got to choose. Did we notice that his head had a slightly alien look to it? Yes. But the truly amazing thing? There was a man (I'm assuming it was a man) about 3 groups ahead of us in line. He was almost an exact duplicate of Jack!!! Right down to that head!!! When Jack and Sally went on break, we were pretty close to the meet area. This guy just walked over, and had his friends take photos of him in the meet and greet area. It was really spooky when he got to have his photo taken with Jack and Sally a bit later.
So, evidently, not everyone has an issue with the head. It is what it is. If you don't care for it, I guess you have extra time to do other stuff at the party.

 

[DisneyMom93]

I think the answer is obvious. The Jack at the Meet and Greet is THE REAL Jack, not the animated version.

 

[RnbwSktles]

This is actually the reason I never bother to do the meet & greet. They look more like knock-offs than Disney characters.

 

[ArwenMarie]

They just need to make the eyes rounder.

Seems doable

 

[Ceilidhscot]

It's the eyes that do it for me - just completely wrong and I'm another one that wouldn't wait for an hour to meet Jack despite loving the movie.

 

[YawningDodo]

In order to give Jack a truly round head, they would need to fully encase the head of the CM in the costume so yes, it would result in a larger head. It would also result in Jack having little to no visible neck, just as in those photos of Woody and Jessie, and would make a character who's meant to be very thin and elongated even more compact-looking than he already has to simply in order for it to be physically possible for a human being to wear the costume. That's not even mentioning the logistics of a head that would enclose the chin; they would either have to joint it so it could open to be put on/taken off or they'd have to leave a hole in the bottom large enough to fit the actor's whole head and use a neck cloth, as they do in most of the fur costumes. The former would be difficult to hide on a head that has so much smooth expanse of a single color, and the latter would leave him with a misshapen head and, again, a weird-looking short neck. In order to make a round head with a hinged jaw to allow him to speak without showing any part of the CM's face it would have to be even larger still, again in order to accommodate the fact that there is a human head inside of it, and it would throw his proportions off even further.

Am I saying it's perfect as is? Of course not. The proportions are different from how he appears on screen, and I have to confess that I'm a little puzzled about why they didn't make his eyes rounder. What I'm saying (and what others have said) is that there are very real limitations to what is physically possible when you design a costume to be worn by a real life human being for a significant portion of their workday, and even more so if they want him to be able to speak and interact.

And why aren't you complaining about Sally, anyway? As a face character, her facial proportions don't match her round head onscreen.

 

[mamamelody2]

Huh. I'll admit, I don't know Jack and Sally well.
Seeing the movie pic and the WDW character pic, he is quite different.
BUT, it's Disney, and it doesn't seem to bother many people.