The Nightmare Before Christmas: Who Voices Sally?
The game-changing stop-motion feature "The Nightmare Before Christmas" introduced audiences to a wealth of lovable characters, one of them being the Frankenstein-type monster, Sally. Created by the mad scientist Doctor Finkelstein, Sally longs for freedom from her laboratory prison while holding passionate feelings for the ruler of Hallowentown, Jack Skellington. Throughout the film, she attempts to warn Jack and the other residents of Halloweentown of the disaster headed their way as they adopt Christmas as their own.
It's not hard to fall in love with Sally. Despite her off-putting appearance, she exhibits a gentle soul and loyalty to those she cares about. Aiding in the character's appeal is the sincere vocal performance of actress Catherine O'Hara. O'Hara succeeds at making Sally instantly endearing to the audience, contrasting from some of Halloweentown's more bombastic inhabitants with a sweet, soft tone to her delivery. When singing "Sally's Song," O'Hara gives it her all, helping build the utmost sympathy for Sally's plight in perhaps the film's most somber and sentimental number. Other performers have since stepped up to voice Sally in outside media, such as Kath Soucie in the "Kingdom Hearts" video games and even Billie Eilish who performed "Sally's Song" at a live orchestrated screening of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 2021.
Without a doubt, Sally would not have the same impact without O'Hara's talent and dedication to the part. Thankfully for audiences, Sally is only one of many memorable roles to have been graced by O'Hara.
You may also know her for another 90s holiday classic
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Catherine O'Hara earned the role of Sally in "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Not only did she previously star in another Tim Burton vehicle with 1988's "Beetlejuice," but she was also featured prominently in another holiday hit with 1990's "Home Alone."
The film sees O'Hara star as Kate McCallister, the doting mother of the film's young protagonist Kevin. When she and their large family unit travel to Paris and accidentally leave Kevin behind, she makes the long and arduous trek home to reunite with her son, coming across other quirky personalities along the way. O'Hara reprised the beloved role in the film's 1992 sequel "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." Interestingly enough, both "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Home Alone" were officially inducted into the National Film Registry in 2023.
Following "Nightmare," O'Hara's resume became stacked with various voice acting roles in films such as "Chicken Little," "Monster House," "Over the Hedge," "When Marnie Was There," and most recently Pixar's "Elemental." In 2012, she reunited with Burton on the stop-motion horror comedy "Frankenweenie."