It's a debate that's raged ever since the flick's debut in 1993: Is "The Nightmare Before Christmas" a Halloween movie, or a Christmas movie? Fans have their own reasoning for picking a particular side, but now, the film's director, Henry Selick, has weighed in with the definitive answer.

In an Q&A session following a "Nightmare" screening at the Telluride Horror Show last weekend, Selick was asked directly by a little girl in the crowd, "Is this a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie?" After a pause, the director revealed that he came down decidedly on Team Halloween.

Birth.Movies.Death. reports:

After the question was asked Selick looked a little surprised, and he said, "Oh boy," likely knowing that whatever answer he gave would be controversial.

"It's a Halloween movie," he said, definitively. He acknowledged that a lot of people liked the Christmas Town stuff waaaaay better than the Halloween Town ("They love Santa and say he's all-powerful," he said), but he had to tell the truth: this is a movie about Halloween, and the people of Halloween, and how they react to something like Christmas.

Some fans will argue that the flick's focus the December holiday puts it more in the Christmas camp, but the Tim Burton-produced film doesn't exactly put us in the holiday mood -- it's creepy as hell, and that, if anything, should sway viewers into agreeing with Selick.

Regardless of where you fall in the divide, though, feel free to fire up your DVD -- or Netflix -- of the film at whatever time of year you feel is appropriate. We won't tell.

[via: Birth.Movies.Death.]

Photo credit: Getty