- “Jack, please, I'm only an elected official here! I can't make decisions by myself!”
- ―The Mayor
The Mayor of Halloween Town is a supporting character in Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion Disney film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Background
Despite his office, the Mayor apparently has very little actual authority in the day-to-day running of the town, especially in planning for Halloween. This is attested when he arrives at Jack Skellington's house to discuss some plans with him, not knowing that Jack is not home. When Jack does not answer, the Mayor quickly gets hysterical and whines, more to himself than anyone, "Jack, please, I'm only an elected official here! I can't make decisions by myself!" His true role seems to relate to simply assisting Jack in governing the town, and concocting plans for Halloween, as seen during Jack's ambitions to bring Christmas to the world of Halloween, which the Mayor immediately supports, in spite of secretly having reservations on the subject.
Nonetheless, the Mayor acts quickly in case of an emergency; when Jack appears to have gone missing, he organizes a search party. He seems to enjoy his position as well. He apparently owns the only automobile in town: a hearse-like car called the "Mayor-mobile" that is equipped with a loudspeaker for making announcements and a black, cat-shaped hood ornament that sounds a siren when its tail is cranked.
Personality
The Mayor of Halloween Town is shown to be a benevolent, harmless and passionate individual. He has a comedic sense of humour and a keen appreciation of Halloween, especially in how it is celebrated by the residents each year. However, 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.
Physical appearance
The Mayor of Halloween Town, with both faces.
The Mayor is rather short, especially when compared to Jack. His head is cone-shaped and displays the two faces he is most notable for. One face (as well as his hands) is peach-colored, with rosy cheeks, a spiral eye, a black eye, and a mouth set in a permanent smile. The other face is bone-white, has a mouth set in a permanent frown (the teeth of which are pointed) with blue lips and pink eyes. There is a seam of some sort around the mouths of both faces because in the claymation for the movie, the mouths were replaceable to make the mayor talk. His top hat is gigantic, being the same height as the Mayor himself, but very thin.
The Mayor's body is also cone-shaped, with his body ballooning outward before ending on short, stubby legs with very tiny feet. He dresses in a black suit with a white undershirt and black-and-white pinstriped pants. He wears a pendant or bow-tie shaped like a black widow spider, though it only has six legs and the notorious red hourglass marking is on the spider's back and is much more detailed than in real life. There is a red ribbon with the word "MAYOR" printed on a white center pinned to the left breast of his blazer. He is never seen without his short, metal megaphone that he uses to issue orders, announcements, and, more often, call for help from Jack.
Role in the film
The Mayor in the original film.
He gets the people of Halloween Town and himself ready for Halloween by asking Jack Skellington for help. However, after Jack goes missing over night, the Mayor goes into panic, fearing Halloween would be ruined without Jack's much needed input; he decides to alert everyone and lead the search for the Pumpkin King. Thankfully, Jack eventually returns and requests a meeting to be held at town hall, to which the Mayor happily agrees. Turns out, Jack visited a realm known as Christmas Town and wishes to use their festivities to celebrate the season themselves. The Mayor supports Jack and helps him in his quest to bring his own version of Christmas to the world, despite his secret misgivings about it. When Jack is apparently killed by the US Army while delivering presents in place of Santa Claus, the Mayor openly admits he had a bad feeling about "this Christmas thing," and sorrowfully goes off in his Mayor-mobile to make the announcement throughout Halloween Town and the surrounding countryside that "the king of Halloween has been blown to smithereens". Later, he is told by Lock, Shock, and Barrel that Jack is in over his head and alive, and comes to retrieve him and Sally after Oogie Boogie has been defeated. The Mayor of Halloween Town is among the citizens surprised when it starts snowing in Halloween Town.
Video game appearances
The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
In Oogie's Revenge, the Mayor is seen in the opening cut scene congratulating Jack on another "horrible" Halloween. He is later seen in the level "Mayor's Madhouse" where Jack rescues him from a cage hanging from the roof of his house. While Jack goes to Christmas Town, the Mayor frees the other holiday leaders.
Kingdom Hearts series
In Kingdom Hearts, during Jack's rehearsal in the town square, the Mayor introduces Jack while the Search Ghosts perform. After Dr. Finkelstein's first attempt at creating a heart, the Mayor comes into the entryway to the lab in distress and tells everyone that the Heartless have started rampaging. He later appears in the graveyard and tells Sora and company how to obtain the "surprise" ingredient, the Jack-in-the-Box.
In Kingdom Hearts II, when several Heartless appear in the Town Square, the Mayor stands to one side, yelling ineffectually at the Heartless to leave and calling for Jack to stop them stating that he's only an elected official. After Sora and company defeat Oogie Boogie later on, the Mayor arrives in Christmas Town looking for Jack. He and Jack then walk off in order to plan for the next Halloween, just as the Gate appears to Sora. During Sora's second visit, Heartless have again invaded the town square, this time playing with Santa Claus's missing Christmas presents. The Mayor again tries to order the Heartless to leave Halloween Town, to a predictable lack of effect, and he calls on Jack and friends to stop them.
During the end credits, the Mayor is seen hurrying into Doctor Finklestein's lab to listen to Jack's plans for next Halloween.
Disney Universe
The Mayor was part of The Nightmare Before Christmas pack as a playable costume character.
Disney Parks
Disneyland Resort
In 2003, along with the other The Nightmare Before Christmas characters, the Mayor made a special, one time live appearance in Disneyland for the Haunted Mansion Holiday opening event. The Mayor's likeness is also featured in the attraction, itself.
In 2016, the Mayor was featured in a unit based on The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disneyland's Frightfully Fun Parade, where he led the unit in his automobile while announcing their presence on the megaphone.
Walt Disney World
At Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Mayor briefly appears in the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! holiday show.
Trivia
- The fact that he has two faces is a play on the term "two-faced dictator."
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