Creating Christmas: How the fictitious holiday towns of “Elf,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and “Nightmare Before Christmas” were brought to life by their production designers
A group of production designers in Hollywood created some of the most iconic Christmas villages in movie history once upon a time. These include the whimsical corners of Whoville in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Gothic towers of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the candy cane lanes in Elf.
It’s not simple to create the overall aesthetic and feel of a holiday classic, but as these designers explain to Yahoo Entertainment, it all starts with a storyboard idea.Production designer for Elf Rusty Smith says, “It’s the most satisfying thing to be able to take a vision — be it from the director, the producer, or a writer — and sort of give it life.” “Once it’s in the can, it stays there forever. And it endures.
However, according to How the Grinch Stole Christmas production designer Michael Corenblith, getting there can need months of “thoughtful, careful planning.” “Every aspect is looked at from every perspective, so our concepts are fairly well-established by the time we start working on the project.” Little is known about the method by which each designer brings their individual Christmas town to life, but behind every designer is a committed crew that shares a passion for creating Christmas magic. This is how they managed to pull it off.
