You know that laugh. It’s deep, gravelly, and sounds exactly like a basement full of gambling insects. When The Nightmare Before Christmas hit theaters in 1993, the Boogeyman got a makeover that nobody expected. He wasn't just a shadow under the bed; he was a neon-lit, jazz-singing pile of bugs with a serious addiction to loaded dice. But the real magic isn’t in the stop-motion burlap. It’s in the throat of the man who brought him to life.
The voice of Oogie Boogie belongs to Ken Page, a Broadway veteran who basically walked into the recording booth and changed how we think about movie villains.
Honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone else doing it. Before Ken Page stepped in, the production team actually had different ideas for how the character should sound. There’s a rumor—one that’s been backed up by Danny Elfman himself—that they originally considered a much more "monster-like" approach. But Tim Burton and director Henry Selick needed something with more soul. They needed a showman.
The Broadway Roots of the Voice of Oogie Boogie
Ken Page wasn't some random voice actor they found in a casting call for "scary guy #4." He was a titan of the stage. If you’ve ever seen the original Broadway production of Cats, you’ve seen him—he played Old Deuteronomy. He was also in Ain't Misbehavin'. That’s where the "Oogie Boogie Song" gets its DNA. It’s not just a spooky track; it’s a high-energy tribute to Cab Calloway and the jazz era of the 1930s.
When Page first saw the sketches of Oogie, he didn't see a villain. He saw a performer.
Think about the way he delivers lines like, "You’re joking, you’re joking! I can’t believe my ears!" It’s theatrical. It’s loud. It’s dripping with a kind of malicious joy that you only get from someone trained in musical theater. Page once mentioned in an interview that he channeled the "Ghost of Christmas Past" vibe, but with a sinister, gambling-addict twist. He wasn't trying to be scary. He was trying to be the loudest person in the room.
Why Danny Elfman almost didn't write for him
Here’s a bit of trivia that usually gets lost in the shuffle. Danny Elfman, the genius behind the score, actually sang a lot of the parts himself. He's Jack Skellington's singing voice, after all. But for Oogie Boogie, Elfman knew he couldn't hit those specific, soulful lows that a character of that magnitude required.
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Page’s range is massive.
He can go from a low, rumbling growl to a belt that fills a theater without a microphone. During the recording sessions, there wasn't a lot of digital manipulation. What you hear in the movie is pretty much what Page did in the booth. He brought a "jive" sensibility to the role that made Oogie feel distinct from the rest of Halloween Town. Everyone else is sort of gothic and melancholic; Oogie is a party animal who happens to want to eat Santa Claus.
The "Oogie Boogie Song" and its lasting impact
Let’s talk about that song. It’s arguably the most popular villain song in the Disney/Touchstone catalog. It shouldn't work. It’s a blues-jazz fusion in a movie about claymation skeletons. But the voice of Oogie Boogie makes it the centerpiece of the film.
Page’s delivery of the line "I’m the Oogie Boogie Man!" has been sampled, covered, and mimicked for decades. But nobody gets the vibrato quite right. It’s that shaky, unstable quality in his voice that hints at the fact that he’s literally held together by a few threads.
Interestingly, Ken Page didn't just do the movie and walk away. He stayed with the character for thirty years. Every time you hear Oogie Boogie in Kingdom Hearts, or at the Disney Parks during the "Oogie Boogie Bash," or in various sequels and shorts—that’s Ken. He’s one of the few actors who stayed fiercely loyal to his animated counterpart until his passing in late 2024.
He loved being the bad guy. He often told fans at conventions that Oogie was his favorite role because of how much "room" there was to play. You can’t overact when you’re a giant sack of bugs. You have to go big.
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Misconceptions about the voice
Some people think the voice was pitched down in post-production. It wasn't. Page just has that naturally resonant, "chesty" bass-baritone. Another common mistake is people confusing him with other deep-voiced actors of the era, like Keith David or Kevin Michael Richardson. While those guys are legends, they have a different texture. Page has a "smirk" in his voice. You can hear the character smiling while he’s threatening to turn Santa into "Snake and Spider Stew."
And then there's the Billy Crystal thing.
Wait, what? Yeah, believe it or not, early in the development, there were discussions about making the character more of a fast-talking comedian type. Thank goodness they went with the jazz-singer route instead. The "Vegas-style" villainy added a layer of greed and vice that made the stakes feel much higher for Jack and Sally.
The Technical Side of the Performance
Recording for stop-motion is a nightmare (pun intended). The actors usually record their lines first, and then the animators spend months—sometimes years—matching the movements to the vowels.
Page had to be incredibly precise.
If he slurred a word or changed his cadence mid-sentence, it changed how the puppets had to be manipulated. Because Oogie moves like a fluid mass, the animators used Page’s vocal energy to dictate how the burlap "skin" would ripple. When his voice gets loud and "fat," the sack expands. When he whispers, it sags. It’s a perfect marriage of vocal performance and physical artistry.
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- Vocal Texture: Page used a "raspy" overlay that he’s said was inspired by old-school blues singers who had "seen a few things."
- The Laugh: The laugh wasn't scripted to be as long as it was. Page just kept going, and Selick loved it so much they kept the tape rolling.
- The Nuance: Listen to the way he says "Sandy Claws." It’s not just a nickname; he says it like he’s tasting a fine wine. It’s creepy.
Why it still resonates in 2026
We’re over thirty years out from the release of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the character is more popular than ever. Why? Because the voice of Oogie Boogie represents a type of villain we don't see much anymore. He isn't misunderstood. He doesn't have a tragic backstory. He’s just a jerk who likes games and good music.
Page’s performance gave us permission to enjoy the villain. Usually, you’re rooting for the hero, but when Oogie starts singing, you kind of want the song to go on forever. It’s infectious.
The passing of Ken Page in September 2024 marked the end of an era for the Disney community. He was the "Voice of the Season" for many. But because he recorded so much material for the parks and games, his version of the character will likely remain the gold standard for generations. It’s one of those rare cases where the actor and the character are so intertwined that replacing them feels almost sacrilegious.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
If you’re a voice actor or a fan of character design, there are a few "pro" takeaways from studying Page’s work as the voice of Oogie Boogie:
- Look to the stage. If you want a character to feel "larger than life," study Broadway singers. They know how to project personality, not just volume.
- Embrace the flaws. Part of what makes Oogie’s voice great is the cracks and the "dirt" in the delivery. Don’t aim for a "clean" recording; aim for a characterful one.
- Consistency is key. Page’s ability to slip back into that voice for 30 years without it losing its edge is a masterclass in vocal health and character memory.
- Listen to the rhythm. The next time you watch the movie, mute the music and just listen to the rhythm of Page’s speech. He speaks in a "swing" meter, even when he isn't singing.
To truly appreciate the performance, you should look up clips of Ken Page performing the song live at the Hollywood Bowl. Seeing a man in a tuxedo belt out those lines with the same intensity as a burlap sack full of insects is a reminder that great acting doesn't need a costume. It just needs a soul—even if that soul is technically a collection of bugs.
Check out the original soundtrack and compare the demo versions (if you can find them) to the final cut. You’ll hear exactly how much "gravitas" Page added to a role that could have been a one-dimensional monster. He made Oogie a legend.