Category: Holiday Themes

MARCUS BREWER, TWO

He’s a child, but he’s also a major character. We won’t be able to use his physical qualities to help determine his Enneagram — he’s not mature enough for that. The costume designer has made strong choices, though, that give him a definite physical presence.

For instance, awkwardness. The shoes are in the script. Marcus wears a brown loafer, something unathletic (as well as uncool). The trainers are his for only a brief time, basically showing that they aren’t a physical match for his character (as well as continuing the bullying storyline).

Not a Body Type. Not a Head Type, either. He’s clearly a Heart. Community, connection, social gathering — these are the theme. Marcus represents all the arguments for these things, going directly against (and ultimately persuading) Will and his lifestyle. Marcus wins, and he does so by repeatedly throwing himself into a difficult social milieu. Very Heart Type.

He’s not a Three. Can Threes even be bullied? And he’s much too unstylish to be a Four. That rainbow sweater! Oops, jumper, as they say across the pond.

He must be a Two, which makes sense with his generous nature. Instead of collecting gadgets or gewgaws, Marcus collects people. Friends and family.

WILL FREEMAN, FOUR

I didn’t even know he had a last name! It’s Will the Cool Guy, Will of the Carefully Disheveled Hair, Will of the Units of Time.

I love Will.

He is a wonderful mix of brutal honesty and deep deception. His narration, something that pains me normally, is an exception to the rule. Because “Santa’s Super Sleigh” impacts his life so thoroughly, this is most definitely a Christmas movie.

Well, he’s quite concerned about other peoples’ opinions. He pretends he isn’t, thus his armor of cool, but he’s devastated when Rachel might not like him. This is why the climax, when he sings in front of the whole school, is so powerful. He’s really risking something. Disapproval is the worst thing he can face.

Heart Type? Most people want to be liked, but it’s not the defining character trait for them.

Will’s a Four! He’s witty, cutting. Mostly we see his veneer rather than his lows and highs, but they’re there, hiding. A loner, he achieves community, friendship, and connection at the end of the movie. Vulnerability opens up a better life for him. It’s a beautiful message and a lovely film.

And the apple beelining for his head makes me fall off the couch laughing every time.

SALLY, SEVEN

A rebel, obviously. She’s very determined to help — stalk? — Jack. She’ll poison the doctor in order to escape. She’s so very mild-mannered while being utterly ruthless! What a great character.

Sally is very likable, very relatable. Her shyness, her doubt, her bravery. She’s also curious.

So many qualities! How to narrow her down to an Enneagram number?

We’re in an imagined reality with Rules of the Magic that work against discovering her, but even with that we can say she isn’t a Body Type. She throws herself out a window and lands with a thud! She’s a trooper about the whole thing, stitching herself back together, but she goes ka-splat.

Wait. A trooper. Is she a Six?

She’s regimented about right and wrong. She even says, “This feels wrong,” about the Sandy Claws plan. Staying with the doctor is wrong to her, and so she won’t comply. Saving Jack is right, and without hesitation she pursues Santa’s rescue. She’s pretty smart about it, too.

Aha! She’s a Seven. Men Sixes are troopers. For women it’s the Sevens. They’re methodical and relentless, while still willing to chase risk and adventure.

Also, something about being stuffed with leaves feels so Seven. What other number would be so practical and sensual at the same time?

JACK SKELLINGTON, EIGHT

Pure energy. He’s exhausting! Restless, he loves new ideas and new stimulus. When he finds the holiday doors and goes to Christmas Town he becomes obsessed with enacting his plan.

And he’s a little dense about what the holiday means. It’s all observed through his Halloween lens. He’s willing to learn and try new things, but he’s also entrenched in his own experiences. It takes the whole movie to break him out of his mindset. Which number powers forward, and reassesses afterward?

Completely lanky, his physique is probably not an indicator of his Enneagram number. He’s a skeleton. His design dictates his look. He’s very robust and active, though. That’s a true clue about him. His physical expressiveness is extreme.

I want to say a Seven because of his curiosity, but we must consider a Body Type, too. He seems too cavalier about the financial details involved in hosting Halloween, so I’ll rule out a One. I’ll also say he’s not a Nine, who would appreciate the 364 days that aren’t Halloween. Changing the holiday is too much conflict.

An Eight? His gusto for playing Santa could go either Seven or Eight. Also his scientific exploration of Christmas, his formulas and experiments, could indicate either number. The same for that confident bullheaded quality. 

It’s his confrontation with Oogie Boogie that makes him an Eight. He goes right in, relying on physicality and bossiness to defeat the villain. A Seven would’ve created a plan.

ICHABOD CRANE, ONE

The iconic Halloween figure. You’ve got autumn leaves and a pumpkin, fall harvest dances and returning to school. Washington Irving’s short story and the Disney animated production are watchable and necessary year after year. (Also, need I say it: Bing.)

So, what is this skinny, homely, frightened man? His small lankiness immediately suggests a One, but his personality doesn’t really mesh with that. Ones are much more likely to conquer the world than to cringe from it.

But wait. Ichabod’s main motivation is money. He courts Katrina because her family’s rich. He tutors children to get a free dinner. He even, in the epilogue, is rumored to live married and well-off in another town. Now, that’s One-ish.

But he’s such a klutz. That’s not One-ish. The storytellers want him to be awkward on his horse so he can contrast with the Headless Horseman bearing down on him. I see no reason, though, to have him bumble around the dance. He is depicted as clumsy.

He’s bookish and uncoordinated. What a horrible stereotype to perpetuate! Interestingly, in the written story, his moral character — mean, small, cheap — is stressed. He’s almost cold in regards to Katrina. Disney has taken all this and physicalized it in, I would say with hindsight, an unfortunate choice. Eh, it’s a twenty minute short. Show, not tell.

I’m going with One. I think Disney has exaggerated Ichabod beyond the bounds of the number, but I’ll stick with it.

CARL, TWO

He’s a friar. Bookish, ivory tower-dwelling, into research and experimentation but not real world application of his knowledge. Of course, in a hallmark of great storytelling, Carl must leave his comfort zone. “I want to return to my laboratory” would be a perfectly good action phrase for Carl to play. A lot of thwarting makes for exciting drama.

Out in the world, though, he doesn’t shirk. He’s a good teammate with untapped bravery. So, what number is he?

I want to lean away from Body Type. He’s not athletic. He’s a sympathetic fellow towards others, and he loves his inventions. Two? He’s also kind of ambivalent about his religious vocation. If he’s a Head Type it’s not as a Five or Six. He may have stumbled into the job as a Seven — he certainly has a lot of fun in his lab — but he seems a little too timid for that. A Seven would jump at the chance to ride with Van Helsing.

Two it is. Carl is a kind heart, but he’s not fastidious about rules. And he loves the gadgets.

FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER, NINE

This is specifically the version of the Monster in Van Helsing. I’m trying to remember. He’s barely “born”, right? The Doctor is killed, villagers come with torches, and the Monster falls into the flaming windmill. I don’t think he has a chance to be mistreated by his creator.

However, he is co-opted into Dracula’s scheme, and he resists. This Monster seems to instantly know right from wrong, justice from injustice. He does not want to be used to power the vampire babies.

The traditional Monster is a Four. Feelings seem to go with the territory of this character. I want to say Nine, though, for this Monster. It’s the justice. Also, he’s very conscious of his size and strength. He can unleash his power, but he chooses to control it.

He’s actually a very sweetly written/acted Nine. He has a touch of Six in him (his weakness number) that gives him a tenderness and sympathy.

COUNT VLADISLAUS DRACULA, NULL

Stoker’s Dracula is just evil. You fight him with the crucifix. This Dracula is a character with a backstory so convoluted I can’t remember it all. He’s got the whole “breeding with the brides” thing that’s quite disgusting, though. 

I would say that the closer Dracula is to archetype, the better. This Dracula is not that. So, what is he?

He can do things: fly, shape shift, dissolve. Magical powers are expected. I don’t see Body Type, though. He doesn’t really revel in his abilities.

He’s a scientist. Sort of.

Although he has brides, they’re the ones who pine, sort of, for children. Offspring. He wants world domination, maybe. He’s not sentimental, though. I’m not getting Heart Type.

Head? Yes, he’s an intellectual vampire. Beyond that, he has no definition.

He is nothing. The Rules of the Magic for him are so complicated that he doesn’t even register as a satisfying trope. He’s the weak link in this movie. The good guys are character driven. This Dracula needed to be more specific to work as their antagonist.