I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and had a lengthy discussion in the TNBC Club Server about just how horrifying Oogie Boogie is, and how terrifying his capabilities really are. That he’s a truly strong villain on his own with advantages - ones that might’ve even beaten Jack, if that circumstances had been right...or different.
(TW; gore imagery with bugs)
My thoughts on Oogie’s Bug Day holiday aside, I think a lot about how the Nightmare cast actually USED this idea in scrapped scenes and workprints. How Oogie can have bugs inside of him that can cause actual harm. In one workprint, during the Jack vs Oogie fight scene, he sends a swarm of bugs after Jack Skellington, who starts running, and we see that the bugs can actually eat flesh AND bone, after they attack other beings in Oogie’s Lair.
In this situation - if Oogie’s “control bug” had sent the others in a deadly swarm, it’s very likely they could’ve caught Jack and eaten his bones, effectively making him ‘double dead’. How powerful Oogie is in this scene is incredible - although I know animating all those bugs in stop motion would’ve been a nightmare for the animators. They definitely took into account the type of bugs Boogie can have, and how much of a threat they pose, if sent in the right circumstance.
I wish more adaptions would acknowledge the possibilities of Oogie’s powers, and what he’s truly capable of. I know the Nightmare cast did, and it’s a shame that didn’t really get shown in the movie, in the end. He’s still a powerful and terrifying villain - and seeing the reasons why, I don’t think he should be underestimated.