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Dr. Finkelstein is is a major character and minor antagonist in Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion Disney film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. He is a wheelchair-bound mad scientist residing in Halloween Town, and the creator of Sally.

He is voiced by the late William Hickey.

Background[]

Personality[]

As a scientist, Finkelstein takes full responsibility with his creations, especially Sally and will reward his assistant, Igor for completing various tasks such as creating blueprints for his next invention. Other than working on creations, Finkelstein acts as an over-protective father figure towards Sally, by keeping her under lock and key under the pretext of sheltering her from the world. Yet, he acts very grouchy, bossy, and careless towards her, insisting she is not ready for excitement and not caring about her wants and needs, despite being sympathetic towards her. He is also shown to have a positive and friendly relationship with Jack Skellington where he is willing to help him out when needed.

It is possible that Finkelstein craved companionship when creating Sally, as when he is seen replacing her with Jewel, wanting somebody to share his similarities with which he possibly managed to receive upon completing Jewel at the end of the film.

Physical Appearance[]

Dr. Finkelstein is a frail-looking person, with thin, spindly limbs and very small hands and feet, but a disproportionately large head. He is confined to a black, electric wheelchair that seems to be rather old and difficult to operate. The chair is almost entirely metal and lacks any sort of cushioning, and it sports two levers, one on either armrest, that Finkelstein uses to move it. Finkelstein himself dresses in a long white lab coat that buttons up on the right side, pants of the same color, black shoes, and black gloves that are a good deal wider than his arms. His skin is an unhealthy white color and he has small, beady black eyes, normally covered by his goggles, as well as thin black eyebrows. His mouth is beak-like in structure and he seems to be missing a few teeth. Finkelstein's ears and nose are so small as to be almost nonexistent, and his nostrils point forward. Easily, Dr. Finkelstein's most prominent feature in his skull, which bears several obvious bolts and a clear horizontal seam going around the middle. Finkelstein can literally flip his skull open via a hinge in the back, exposing his pink brain, which he often scratches when attempting to figure something out.

Role in the film[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Dr. Finkelstein is voiced by the late William Hickey
  • Finkelstein is referred to as "Evil Scientist" in the credits. His true name is mentioned once in the movie by the Mayor of Halloween Town when he is called up to the front of line to receive his Christmas assignment.
  • Finkelstein was originally going to be Oogie Boogie in disguise who planned to get revenge on Jack after Sally fell in love with him. However, Tim Burton hated the idea so much that it was scrapped after he literally had anger outburst.
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