The Mayor of Halloween Town is a supporting character in Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion Disney film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. He is a monster with two faces (one with a smile and the other with a worried expression.) He is said to be an elected official and relies on Pumpkin King Jack Skellington to come up with ideas for Halloween.
He is voiced by the late Glenn Shadix.
Background[]
Personality[]
The Mayor of Halloween Town is shown to be a benevolent, harmless, and passionate individual. He has a comedic sense of humor and a keen appreciation of Halloween, especially how it is celebrated by the citizens each year.
Besides being a two-faced politician, the Mayor's heavy reliance on Jack leads to uncertainty. He is quick to support Jack's plans on Christmas, despite having some concerns and doubts. He never reveals his true feelings of Christmas until only after Jack was supposedly killed, remarking that he "knew this Christmas thing was a bad idea", and that he "felt it in his gut".
He is capable of showing authority, as when Jack disappears, the Mayor is the one leading the Citizens on a search for him and checks up on everyone. He also gathers the Citizens for their tasks and the Town Meeting without any hassle.
The Mayor is an individual who shows fear as when he spots Lock, Shock, and Barrel as he knows they are the henchmen of Oogie Boogie, the truly evil, sadistic resident of Halloween Town. However, he does allow them to lead him to Oogie's lair, so he possibly doubted the trio until he learned that they served Oogie out of fear instead of true loyalty.
The Mayor is also shown to be good with children as he let a Mummy Boy ring the alarm for Jack's alarm, along being gifted in music as he sings a couple of songs and conducts the street musicians with their song.
Physical Appearance[]
The Mayor is depicted as a fat man with the overall appearance of a giant candy corn. He wears a dark gray blazer jacket over a white button-up shirt, he wears a black widow spider like a bowtie and a large red/orange "Mayor" button on his left breast. His most peculiar trait is his two-faced head, which flips itself depending on his mood; when he is happy, his face appears normal, however the opposite of his head is shown to be neurotic and paranoid, when he is anxious. This is supposed to be satirical, with his two faces being a representation of how politicians in the real world are often accused of being dishonest.
Role in the film[]
The Mayor is first seen singing and enjoying the Halloween celebration with the citizens of Halloween Town. When Jack finishes the celebration by rising out of the town fountain, the Mayor and the citizens cheer and give their thanks to Jack for making a wonderful Halloween. Then, the Mayor starts giving out awards to the town citizens for all of their hard work in the celebration of Halloween; giving one to the Vampires for "The Most Blood-Sucking."
The next day, the Mayor arrives at Jack's house to discuss the plans for next Halloween. However, after ringing the doorbell and knocking the door a few times, the Mayor begins to panic and tries to call out to Jack, only to fall down the stairs. Recovering, the street musicians inform that Jack isn't home and hasn't been since last night, causing greater worry in the Mayor even more. The Mayor then alerts all the citizens on Jack's disappearance and orders a search party, sounding the alarm on his Mayor-mobile.
However, after many hours of searching, the Mayor is seen laying on top of his Mayor-mobile with some of the citizens, feeling completely hopeless. Suddenly, they hear a dog bark and realize that the bark belongs to none other than Jack's pet ghost dog, Zero, just as they see Jack and Zero arrive home. Elated, the Mayor asks Jack where he's been and Jack responds by telling the Mayor to call for a town meeting immediately, promising him to explain. The Mayor agrees and calls for a town meeting. The Mayor then listens as Jack explains he's been to Christmas Town and what he's learned about Christmas. While expressing his approval for Christmas, the Mayor accidentally causes a piece of the floor to come off and nearly falls, sending the light all over the room. After Jack finishes the meeting, the Mayor can be seen applauding along with the crowd.
He is next seen accompanying Jack giving everyone their tasks for Christmas, calling out the names through his megaphone and checking them off a list. He remarks "how horrible our Christmas will be!", to which Jack corrects with "jolly!". When Lock, Shock, and Barrel come, he gets hit by rocks and loses his spider bow tie while trying to eavesdrop on what Jack is telling them. The Mayor also watches as Jack gives a Christmas task to Sally and watches as Jack scolds Lock, Shock, & Barrel for accidentally kidnapping the Easter Bunny, instead of Santa Claus.
The Mayor is seen with all the citizens of Halloween Town as they get ready for Christmas. Later on, the Mayor is seen conducting the street musicians with the song "Here Comes Santa Claus." He then starts giving out a speech to Jack, just as heavy fog pulls in, due to Sally using fog juice. However, Jack is able to take off in his sleigh with Zero's help because of his glowing nose and the Mayor, along with the other citizens cheer as they watch Jack take off.
While Jack makes his rounds in the human world, the Mayor can be seen watching through a witch's cauldron with the rest of the Halloween Town citizens. However, when Jack is shot down by the military, the Mayor and all of the citizens are shocked and saddened by his supposed demise. Getting into his Mayor-mobile, the Mayor remarks how he had a bad feeling about Christmas and goes on make the announcement throughout Halloween Town and the surrounding countryside, saying "The king of Halloween has been blown to smithereens. Skeleton Jack is now a pile of dust."
Later, he is told by Lock, Shock, and Barrel that Jack is alive and he, along with the trick-or-treaters, manages to retrieve Jack, Sally, and Zero from Oogie's lair after Oogie has been defeated. When they are back into Town, the Mayor follows Jack up the steps of the Town Hall and shakes hands with him before spotting Santa Claus flying over the town as snow begins to fall down. The Mayor's final appearance was when a snowflake landed on his tongue, turning his face happy as he enjoys the snow.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The mayor is voiced by the late Glenn Shadix, who had previously played Otho in Beetlejuice.
- He's the only monster with two faces.
- Despite being mayor of Halloween Town, Jack is really the one who comes up with ideas for every Halloween.
- Having two faces show whether he's in a good or bad mood, is a representation of how politicians are often accused of being dishonest.