Born in Los Angeles, he entered the film industry in 1976, initially as an actor. He made his film scoring debut in 1980 for the film Forbidden Zone directed by his older brother Richard Elfman. He has since been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2002 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.
He is the son of novelist Blossom Elfman and the brother of director Richard Elfman.
Elfman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Blossom Elfman (née Bernstein), a writer and teacher, and Milton Elfman, a community in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles. He spent much of his time in the local movie theatre, adoring the music of such film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman.
Stating that he hung out with the "band nerds" in high school, he started a ska band. After dropping out of high school, he followed his brother Richard to France, where he performed with Le Grand Magic Circus, an avant-garde musical theater group. Violin in tow, Elfman next journeyed to Africa where he traveled through Ghana, Mali, and Upper Volta, absorbing new musical styles, including the Ghanaian highlife genre which would eventually influence his own music. Elfman contracted malaria during his one-year stay and was often sick. Eventually he returned home to the United States, where he began to take Balinese music lessons at the CalArts. He was never officially a student at the institute, nonetheless, the instructor encouraged him to continue learning. Elfman stated, "He just laughed, and said, 'Sit. Play.' I continued to sit and play for a couple years." At this time, his brother was forming a new musical theater group, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The group performed the music for Richard's debut feature film, Forbidden Zone. Danny Elfman composed his first score for the film and played the role of Satan. By the time the movie was completed, they had taken the name Oingo Boingo and begun recording and touring as a rock group.
In 1985, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the score for their first feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman was apprehensive at first because of his lack of formal training, but with orchestration assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist and arranger Steve Bartek, he achieved his goal of emulating the mood of such composers as Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. In the booklet for the first volume of Music for a Darkened Theatre, Elfman described the first time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as one of the most thrilling experiences of his life.[citation needed] Elfman immediately developed a rapport with Burton and has gone on to score all but two of Burton's major studio releases: Ed Wood, scored by Howard Shore, which was under production while Elfman and Burton were having a fight, and Sweeney Todd, an adaptation of the 1979 Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical. He also, more recently, accompanied Tim Burton in the composition of music for "Almost Alice", the soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland.
Burton has said of his relationship with Elfman: "We don't even have to talk about the music. We don't even have to intellectualize – which is good for both of us, we're both similar that way. We're very lucky to connect" (Breskin, 1997).
In 2021 he released "Big Mess", his first non-soundtrack album since 1984's "So-Lo", which is often considered to rather be an Oingo Boingo album due to the presence of many other band members.
Elfman has three children: Lola, born in 1979; Mali, born in 1984; and Oliver, born in 2005. On November 29, 2003, Elfman married film actress Bridget Fonda. In 1997 he scored A Simple Plan – his only score for one of her films to date (although he did compose a cue for the film Army of Darkness, in which Fonda has a cameo). He is the uncle of actor Bodhi Elfman who is married to actress Jenna Elfman, known most notably in her role as Dharma in the TV series Dharma and Greg.
Kidnap the Sandy Claws
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna do it
Let's draw straws
Jack said, "we should work together"
Three of a kind
Birds of a feather
Now and forever, whee (la, la, la)
(La, la, la)
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, lock him up real tight
Throw away the key and then turn off all the lights
First, we're goin' to set some bait
Inside a nasty trap and wait
When he comes a-sniffing we will
Snap the trap and close the gate
Wait, I've got a better plan
To catch this big red lobster man
Let's pop him in a boiling pot
And when he's done we'll butter him up
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, throw him in a box
Bury him for ninety years, then see if he talks
Then Mr. Oogie Boogie man
Can take the whole thing over then
He'll be so pleased, I do declare
That he will cook him rare, whee
I say that we take a cannon
Aim it at his door and then
Knock three times and when he answers
Sandy Claws will be no more
You're so stupid, think now
If we blow him up to smithereens
We may lose some pieces
And then Jack will beat us black and green
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, tie him in a bag
Throw him in the ocean, then, see if he is sad
Because Mr. Oogie Boogie is the meanest guy around
If I were on his boogie list, I'd get out of town
He'll be so pleased by our success
That he'll reward us too, I bet
Perhaps he'll make his special brew
Of snake and spider stew (mmm)
We're his little henchmen and we take our job with pride
We do our best to please him and stay on his good side
I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb
I'm not the dumb one
You're no fun
Shut up
Make me
I've got something, listen now
This one is real good, you'll see
We'll send a present to his door
Upon there'll be a note to read
Now, in the box we'll wait and hide
Until' his curiosity
Entices him to look inside
And then we'll have him, one, two, three
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, beat him with a stick
Lock him up for ninety years, see what makes him tick
Kidnap the Sandy Claws, chop him into bits
Mr. Oogie Boogie is sure to get his kicks
Kidnap the sandy claws, see what we will see
Lock him in a cage, and then throw away the key
Ah, ha, ha (he, he, he)
The song "Kidnap The Sandy Claws" from the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a darkly comedic tune sung by Jack Skellington, Sally, and the trio of Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Jack devises a plan with them to kidnap Santa Claus, whom they refer to as Sandy Claws, and take over Christmas in his place. The lyrics are filled with macabre imagery and references to violence, but it is all presented in a playful manner.
The first verse sets up the idea of working together to achieve their goal, and the subsequent verses detail their various plans to capture and dispose of Sandy Claws. They consider setting a trap for him, cooking him in a pot, and even blowing him up with a cannon. The final verse outlines their ultimate plan of locking him in a cage and throwing away the key.
Overall, the song explores the darker side of Christmas and the danger of taking holiday cheer to an extreme. It is a standout track in the film's soundtrack and is a fan-favorite.
Line by Line Meaning
Kidnap Mr. Sandy Claws
Let's abduct the man in red
I wanna do it
I am driven to perform this task
Let's draw straws
Random chance determines the order of our participation
Jack said, "We should work together"
Our leader suggests a collaborative effort
Three of a kind
We three are like-minded
Birds of a feather
We share common interests and qualities
Now and forever
We will remain together for all time
Wheeee
We express our excitement with joyous sounds
(La, la, la
La, la, la)
We use nonsensical sounds to express our glee
Lock him up real tight
Confine him securely and restrict his movement
Throw away the key and then
Turn off all the lights
Leave him in darkness and isolation, no hope of escape
First, we're goin' to set some bait
Inside a nasty trap and wait
When he comes a-sniffing we will
Snap the trap and close the gate
We will lure him into a trap, then capture him without warning
Wait, I've got a better plan
To catch this big red lobster man
Let's pop him in a boiling pot
And when he's done we'll butter him up
We reject the previous plan and opt for a disturbingly cruel one
Throw him in a box
Bury him for ninety years
Then see if he talks
Seal him in a container and wait to hear if he tries to communicate
Then Mr. Oogie Boogie man
Can take the whole thing over then
He'II be so pleased, I do declare
That he will cook him rare, wheee
If we fail, Oogie Boogie will take charge and kill Sandy Claws
I say that we take a cannon, aim it at his door
And then knock three times
And when he answers
Sandy Claws will be no more
We suggest using excessive force to eliminate him from existence
Yes you're so stupid, think now
If we blow him up to smithereens
We may lose some pieces
And then Jack will beat us black and green
We rebuke the previous idea, warning of dire consequences if we fail
Tie him in a bag
Throw him in the ocean
Then, see if he is sad
We discuss another brutal method of cruelty against him
Because Mr. Oogie Boogie
Is the meanest guy around
If I were on his boogie list
I'd get out of town
We critique Oogie Boogie's vicious behavior
He'II be so pleased by our success
That he'll reward us too, I bet
Perhaps he'll make his special brew
Of snake and spider stew
We anticipate receiving some kind of reward for our evil deeds
We're his little henchmen and
We take our job with pride
We do our best to please him
And stay on his good side
We are loyal to Oogie Boogie and seek to earn his favor
I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb
I'm not the dumb one
You're no fun
Shut up
Make me
I've got something, listen now
This one is real good, you'll see
We squabble over ideas and status, but continue discussing our plans
We'II send a present to his door
Upon there'll be a note to read
Now, in the box we'll wait and hide
Until' his curiosity
Entices him to look inside
And then we'll have him
One, two, three
We finalize our twisted plot of sending a gift to capture him
Beat him with a stick
Lock him up for ninety years, see what
Makes him tick
We reiterate our previous cruel plans to torment him
Chop him into bits
Mr. Oogie Boogie
Is sure to get his kicks
We consider another gruesome method to please our dreadful leader
See what we will see
Lock him in a cage
And then throw away the key
We speculate what will happen and decide to imprison him permanently
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Danny Elfman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind