What’s The Deal With All The ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ References In ‘Fargo’ Season 5?

The debate over whether The Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween or Christmas movie rages on, but one thing is for sure: Fargo is a Nightmare Before Christmas show. There have been a pair of references to Henry Selick’s 1993 stop-motion masterpiece so far in season five: a “This is Halloween” needle drop and Gator (played by Joe Keery) wearing a Jack Skellington mask.

Creator Noah Hawley included the song in the two-part premiere simply because “I like that movie!” he told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a specific choice, and I chose that movie because it’s a favorite of my house. My kids will grow up and watch Fargo one day and it will feel meaningful to them. We had to get a blessing from Tim Burton to do it, which is great.”

As for the menacing mask, “[Jack is] someone who, much like Joe Keery’s character, is trying to be something he’s not, which is an evil, scary dude when, really, he’s a softie,” Hawley explained. “There’s just too much pressure on Gator, and he’s always trying to live up to those expectations while at the same time, deep down, with a different father, he would have been a kind soul.”

Gator’s father is played by Jon Hamm. If there’s a Nightmare sequel, maybe he can voice Jack Skellington’s dad Or better yet, don’t make a sequel, because The Nightmare Before Christmas is perfect as is.