It's easy to see how the ending of Nightmare Before Christmas can be considered a somber one. Looking at all of the events on the surface, Jack made Christmas a failure and submitted to his destiny as the Pumpkin King. Many might think that Jack tried desperately to become something he could never be, and ended his journey in failure. Jack wanted to make Christmas Halloween Town's. He instead made everyone's Christmas a nightmare, including his own. All of this screams failure of the highest degree, except almost paradoxically, the movie has an ending filled with glee and a promising future. So why is this the case? It is because there is more to unpack in this graveyard scene.
There are three telling things this scene gives us. First, Jack laments that he failed because despite his efforts, Halloween Town couldn't understand Christmas, and no one in the world understands his intentions. Second, Jack comes to a resolution when he concludes he at least tried something new, and this new experience invigorates him. Third, Jack is inspired by this new experience with a novel idea for next Halloween, which reinvigorates his passion for his home holiday. With this new found energy for his title, he embraces being the Pumpkin King, which is the exact opposite of his feelings at the beginning of the film before experiencing Christmas.
So what does this all mean? It means Jack didn't actually fail. Sure, Jack failed to make Christmas his, but Jack could've never succeeded at this in the first place. Jack's main conflict seems to be external, but the reality is it is all internal. Jack in actuality is the one that cannot understand throughout the film. He tries desperately to make both himself and others understand Christmas on a fundamental level, when he himself admits when first experiencing Christmas Town that it is a feeling moreso than anything else. A feeling that can only be brought upon by experiencing Christmas, not being told what it is like. This fact is acknowledged at the end of the film when Santa brings snow to Halloween Town, giving the rest of the citizens a chance to experience Christmas themselves so that they can understand it. Jack himself never fully understands Christmas. He wants to make Christmas his, yet Christmas is a holiday that is supposed to be about everyone else. The spirit of giving, not the spirit of taking away. Jack takes away Santa's control of the holiday without that fundamental acknowledgment, which is why he fails as the new Santa.
Jack however does not fail as the Pumpkin King. Jack's first conflict is about being tired of the same thing, yet by the end of the film he has done so many novel things. These new experiences aid him in his passion for what he loves most, being the leader of Halloween Town. Jack never actually needs to change himself to find new happiness, he only needs to expand his horizons to come up with new ways to make the next Halloween different from the last. This idea is cemented when at the end of the graveyard scene Jack says, "I just can't wait for next Halloween cause I got some new ideas that will make them scream." Jack never wants to become Santa Clause. He wants to receive inspiration and motivation from beyond the norm to make next Halloween different from the last.
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