Jack Skellington from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" makes a brief cameo during the credits. In the scene going down in the ground, Jack's skull appears among other skulls. He is also seen as a topper on the antenna of the juvenile justice van.
Henry Selick used Charles Addams cartoons, The Twilight Zone (1959), Ray Harryhausen's stop-mo monsters, The Night on Bald Mountain, The Night of the Hunter (1955), and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) as inspiration for this movie.
To prepare their voice roles of Wendell and Wild. Key & Peele had to watch a lot of Abbott and Costello comedies.
The soundtrack is comprised of all Black rock bands or Black fronted leads of rock bands, in tribute to Fishbone.