MUMBAI: Hollywood’s movie palace, The El Capitan Theatre, will celebrate the debut of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D on 19 October with special opening night tricks, treats (including the first-ever display of original puppets from the film), and fun-filled activities.

The announcement was made by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution senior vice president of worldwide special events Lylle Breier.

At the opening night performances, the festivities include a filmmakers’ panel featuring talent associated with the making of Nightmare, along with other surprises. The film will have seven shows a day through 31 October. From 1 November through 4 January, The Nightmare Before Christmas can be seen daily at 10:30 pm and 12:15 am. An exhibit of film sets, props, and original puppet characters (on loan for the first time from Disney’s Animation Research Library) will be on display through 31 October.

The popular stop-motion animated feature, directed by Henry Selick and presented by Walt Disney Pictures, has been converted from its original 2-D format into a 3-D version using the latest advancements in 3-D technology and animation. It is the first movie in industry history to be released exclusively in Digital 3-D, and it represents the first time in the history of motion pictures that a 3-D feature has been created from an existing animated classic. On the same bill throughout the engagement will be a newly rendered digital 3-D version of Pixar’s 1989 computer-animated short film, Knick Knack, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker John Lasseter.

The Disney Digital 3-D version of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas will open on 29 October in over 200 theatres worldwide.

Burton said, “For me, turning Nightmare Before Christmas into digital 3-D has taken a very pure little gem and made it that much better. I am extremely happy about the fact that the movie has kept its purity and the 3-D actually adds much more to it. It’s almost like being on the set — you can see the texture of the puppets, and see the characters in the foreground and others in the background. When we were making the movie, we felt in our hearts like our characters were real. When you see it in 3-D, everything comes to life and you can literally see through the eye sockets of Jack Skellington. I am thrilled that all the die hard fans, as well as a new generation of moviegoers, will get the opportunity to experience the movie in a whole new way.”

Disney Digital 3-D combines premier Disney creative content with state-of-the-art Digital 3-D projection technology to deliver a 3-D motion picture experience that is not only presented with digital clarity, but is also exhibited in a manner that makes it incredibly comfortable for the audience to experience.

First released in 1993, Burton‘s The Nightmare Before Christmas was directed by Henry Selick (James and the Giant Peach), and based on a story and characters by Tim Burton.