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Barrel is one of the three secondary antagonists. He is part of the trick-or-treating trio with Lock and Shock, who all work for Oogie Boogie. In the original movie, he is played by Danny Elfman, but played by Jeff Bennett in Kingdom Hearts and Dee Bradley Baker in The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge.

Appearance

Barrel is five years old,[1] the youngest and shortest of the trio, and is more bulky than his cohorts, being nearly twice as wide as Lock, and his head and eyes are perfect circle shapes. His skin is alabaster white, his green hair is short and chopped in a buzz-cut, and his nose is short and pig-like. He also has the largest smile.

He wears an indigo shirt and pants with white pieces of fabric on them, aligned to resemble skeleton bones. He also wears a pale white mask with two rows of pearly white teeth to accompany the costume. In other words, he is small and round.

Notably, he is the only one of the trio who is barefoot, and he only has three pointy toes on his feet.

Personality

Always wearing a smile, he has a slightly more mild and easy-going temperament than his fellow cohorts, though he is seen balancing the teasing dynamic of his friends with his own tricks. Though still quite ill-mannered, is more easily influenced to do whatever he is told. He always carries candy with him, having a real sweet tooth, and is often seen with a swirly black and orange lollipop.

He is, alongside Shock and LockOogie Boogie's henchman, but does not seem to be faithful to him, since he's often found doing odd jobs for Jack, too. He is also the one to accidentally reveal Oogie's plans in Oogie's Revenge, who is always curtly shushed before he can say any more.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Barrel is introduced with Lock and Shock when they are called by Jack Skellington for their tasks for Christmas. He and the others first antagonize the Mayor using slingshots and shoot rocks at him. When Jack gives them the responsibility of kidnapping "Sandy Claws", Barrel promises, along with the others, to not involve Oogie Boogie, but crosses his fingers behind his back and giggles, meaning he is lying about it.

He and the others leave for their treehouse, where Barrel suggests they draw straws to see who gets to kidnap "Sandy Claws". However, he agrees with Shock to work together, and they start their song, "Kidnap the Sandy Claws". Barrel licks his lollipop and leaves it as bait for a bug to sacrifice to Oogie Boogie. Later in the song, he is placed in a cannon and launched through a door, where his head is stuck in a cauldron. Lock and Shock throw Barrel in their bathtub to wash the residue off his face.

After using said bathtub to travel to their weaponry room, Lock drags Barrel by the foot using a ball-and-chain during an argument about a plan on how to kidnap the titular holiday leader.

When they first attempt to kidnap "Sandy Claws", they accidentally come back with the Easter Bunny instead, much to Jack's frustration. Barrel says to Jack that they went through the door, until he shows them the exact Christmas tree symbol and Shock and Lock start to fight. He joins in with the quarrel, but they are briefly broken up when Jack interrupts with a monstrous face and roar. He then tells them to take the frightened Holiday Leader back to his world and to bring back the correct holiday leader for him, which they do and ensure they'll get it right next time.

On their second attempt, Barrel and the others are successful in getting the right Leader. Jack expresses his approval and tells them to make sure he's "comfortable", where Barrel rides on top of the bag out of town. After joining Shock's confusion on where to take him, they are convinced by Lock to bring him to Oogie Boogie, where he says he'll be the most "comfortable". Barrel laughs with the others as they bring "Sandy Claws" back to their treehouse, and stuff him down the pipe into Oogie's Lair. After listening to get him taunted, he and the others laugh profusely.

After he and the other two discover that Oogie is dead when Jack fights him, they rush to the Mayor to inform him that Jack won the fight and are seen by his side when they offer a ladder down to help him back up. He and Shock and Lock ride on top of the Mayor's hearse back into Halloween Town, where they wave to the cheerfully-singing residents and are last seen having a snowball fight.

The Pumpkin King

Lsb pumpkin king

Barrel with Lock and Shock in The Pumpkin King.

Barrel also makes an appearance in the prequel video game, "The Pumpkin King". He, Shock, and Lock are first seen talking to Oogie Boogie about Jack Skellington, who explains that Jack runs the town and that he's the scariest. When Oogie asks them if he's scarier than him, they fail to respond and he tells them to be quiet. He then gives them the assignment to get Jack and bring him back to his Lair, saying it's about time that they met.

Barrel comes back with the others and say that they captured Jack, but when Sally comes out of the bag, Oogie is confused and tells them they were supposed to bag Jack Skellington. The three get into an argument about who she is and begin fighting each other, until they're broken up by Oogie, who says that he'll show him and his town what he is capable of.

As explained by the Mayor, Barrel and the others are racing around Halloween Town, up to no good. They later trap Jack in his house, and are ecstatic about getting "Newt Nugget" as a reward, then run off. Later in the game, Barrel is seen with the others breaking street lights in the Spiral Hill, then laugh and run off. This causes the town to go dark and no one can see anything. When they're later caught by Jack, one of them accidentally leaves word of their boss, though it isn't known for certain if Barrel let this information slip. They then flee, and later make a small appearance telling Oogie the elevator is fixed and then leave again.

They're found again in their treehouse, and after being questioned on where they took Sally, Barrel and the others tell Jack that they can't tell him otherwise their boss will whomp them. When they're told it's not their boss they should be worrying about, they run off and Jack chases after them. They then bump into Jack again, and argue whose idea it was to come that way. One of them assures the other that the room is equipped with all sorts of unpleasant surprises, to which Jack interrupts asks them about it. Barrel and his cohorts then attack him, but when they lose, they ask him not to hurt them and confesses Sally is with Oogie Boogie. They give him a "gift" that explodes in his face, and run off again.

In the final battle, Lock, Shock, and Barrel aid Oogie Boogie as part of his "bug" bike, and tells Jack then when Oogie rules the town, it'll be theirs to play with. In the fight, Barrel is able to launch three spike balls at Jack all at once. Eventually, when Jack wins and Oogie is defeated, Barrel, Lock, and Shock are seen sinking to the side while their boss is banished from town.

Much like Oogie's Revenge, it's unknown what Lock, Shock, and Barrel do after the final fight, but they are not shown in the crowd that leaves to celebrate Halloween afterwards, implying they stayed with Oogie in his Lair after his defeat.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge

Barrel or

Barrel in Oogie's Revenge.

Barrel makes his first appearance with his cohorts in their bathtub in the sequel video game, Oogie's Revenge, when Jack is in the Cemetery. He asks him if he's having fun, but when Jack asks them if they have any involvement with Oogie's return, Barrel hesitates to respond. After being ordered to set the town back as it was, Barrel mentions their secret mission to stop him and tells him not to tell anyone, but is whacked on the head by a plunger.

Barrel has a level named after him called "Barrel's Maze", where he sets up a maze and shows up with Shock and Lock in the Pumpkin Patch to offer Jack some candy. He tells Jack that he's going to get lost after what they did to the Mayor's House, but realizes he wasn't supposed to tell him that and runs off with his cohorts. In the level "Big Pumpkin Head", Jack finds Barrel munching on some pumpkins and asks him how he got through his maze. Then he attacks him, but loses. When Jack tells him to stop working for Oogie, he agrees, but crosses his fingers behind his back.

Later, in the level "Rooftop Rumble", Barrel and the others meet with Jack on top of the Mayor's roof. He asks Jack for another round, then he and the others fight him. However, the end up losing, and as they're sent to the ground, Jack says it's finally time he and the others learned their lesson. As he inches closer to them, they scoot back on the ground before pressing a button, thus sending Jack into a hole.

It is never revealed what Lock, Shock, and Barrel are up to during Jack's battle with Oogie Boogie, nor where they are after the events of the game unfold.

Gallery

Click here to view the image gallery for Barrel.
Click here to view the gallery for Barrel.

Trivia

  • Barrel's mask makes an appearance in the game Sally Face.
  • Barrel is referred to as the "star pupil" of his fellow cohorts in Oogie's Revenge, making him Oogie's favorite.
  1. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Pop-Up Book and Advent Calendar [1] page 22
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