And now one of the more popular Disney films: it's up to Marnie Piper and her siblings to save Halloweentown when they learn they're magical. On Halloween night when the other kids are trick-or-treating, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) and her sister Sophie (Emily Roeske) are upset about their mom's yearly rule to not participate. While Sophie sits sadly at the window and suddenly feels that someone is coming, Marnie argues with her mom, Gwen (Judith Hoag), about wanting to go to a party. Despite getting help from her friends, who point out how much she loves creepy things, Marnie fails to convince Gwen, who patiently says she'll explain when her daughter is older. To Marnie's annoyance, her rule-following brother Dylan (Joey Zimmerman) chimes in that there are so many negatives about Halloween, like cavities. Gwen takes Sophie away, ignoring her insistence that someone's coming. She stops Sophie from taking a cookie before dinner, but when her back is turned, it levitates toward the girl, so she grabs and eats it. Her mom Agatha Cromwell (Debbie Reynolds) then shows up for a visit, to her grandchildren's joy, though Marnie asks that Gwen not fight with her this time. She gives the kids costumes and candy, to Gwen's annoyance, and the family has a surprisingly good time for Halloween. Gwen decides the kids need to go to bed, and she and Aggie shadily say that their grandma has a limited time to get back home. Aggie spends a few final moments with the kids, telling them about a magical place called "Halloweentown" that magical creatures inhabit. Dylan is skeptical, so she produces a book from her bottomless bag called "Halloweentown," with colorful images of creatures inside. This culminates in the group noticing a witch who resembles Marnie, and though Aggie hints that it is her, Dylan retorts that she's too cute to be his sister. Marnie says there's nothing special about her anyway, and as Aggie tries to tell her something, Gwen interrupts and sends the kids to bed. Marnie sneaks down, however, and listens in as her mom and grandma discuss their witch heritage and how Marnie will soon lose her powers if she doesn't start training. As the two argue, Aggie shocks Marnie by turning their leftover chicken into a living one, then back when Gwen protests. Aggie presses that she didn't come about Marnie; she needs help because something seems to be trying to take over Halloweentown. Gwen shrugs it off, saying it's probably nothing and that she wants herself and her kids to be normal, so Aggie leaves in a huff. Marnie rushes upstairs and shares what she heard with Dylan, who assumes she's insane. She changes clothes to go after Aggie and start training, and Dylan follows when she calls him boring. They go outside where Aggie is at a mysterious bus stop, and as they're bickering, a bus suddenly drives up and they sneak aboard in the back as Aggie steps on. They are suddenly flung through a portal on a bus-full of monsters, though Dylan persists that there must be a logical answer. They end up plummeting to the ground and landing in Halloweentown. Aggie steps off and greets her kind friend Harriet as someone watches from behind a curtain. Marnie and Dylan are amazed at what they see and suddenly realize they forgot Sophie, only for the girl to step out, revealing she snuck aboard behind them. They meet the mayor of Halloweentown, Kalabar (Robin Thomas), who knows Aggie and Gwen. He pulls some quick magic for Sophie and directs them to Aggie's house, calling a cab. In the cab is skeleton driver Benny, who is also a friend of Aggie. On the way they notice a human-looking guy, whom Benny calls Luke (Phillip Van Dyke); the boy apparently used to look different, but claims to have gotten a "nose job" from a shadow creature. Once at Aggie's, the kids struggle to get through the locked gate until Sophie uses her own magic to wish it would turn into a frog, though Marnie thinks she herself did it, and they head inside. While suspicious of the kids being their, Aggie is still excited and tells the truth to Marnie as she leads them in. She's busy with her cauldron trying to find the threat to Halloweentown, and upon speaking an incantation over it, a creepy scarecrow-esque face appears, cackling. She says she's going to combat this force with the talisman of Merlin. She prepares a brew in her microwave, but the talisman doesn't work when she says her spell. She decides to take the kids to town where she can gather some needed ingredients, while back in the mortal world Gwen realizes the kids are gone. Aggie tells the kids about Halloweentown and its residents, and as they walk past an abandoned theater, Harriet bumps into them and screeches menacingly, which shocks Aggie. The group runs into Kalabar in a store, and Aggie tries to convince him of the coming threat. He doesn't believe her but assures her he'll keep an eye out. As they continue on their way, Marnie finds a broom shop where the cheesy salesman gets her excited about a broom, and Luke arrives. He hits on Marnie, but she turns him down. He accidentally knocks over a rack while threatening them with the "powerful creatures" he knows, and leaves embarrassed. Aggie buys the broom for Marnie and they take it for a ride, coming down just in time for the angry Gwen to arrive. She demands that the kids come home with her and declares that Marnie won't be training, so they sadly go with her. She goes to an info station to get bus information, but the two-headed attendant says the bus won't go around again for a few hours, and Marnie angrily heckles her from behind, until Gwen decides to go to the mayor. They pay him a visit, and Gwen is as shocked to learn Kalabar is the mayor as he is to even see her. He flirts for a bit, revitalizing a flower, but is called away to deal with another matter. Luke stops Aggie as she heads home, claiming to know the creature she's after. As he is interested in her, too, she agrees to follow Luke, which Sophie sees from a window, so the Pipers follow. Aggie follows Luke to an abandoned movie theater, where numerous people, including Harriet, sit petrified and covered in webs. Luke chuckles as the movie screen swirls with clouds, and suddenly the creature from Aggie's cauldron, in a flowing black cloak, appears. She accuses him of trying to destroy Halloweentown and turning everyone into statues, but he reveals they're merely frozen in time for his coming plan. The creatures tries to blast her, to Luke's confusion, and he runs off as the others arrive. Gwen tells Marnie to keep the others back, and leaps in the way when the creature shoots at the distracted Aggie again, taking the force of the blast. He then gets Aggie, who manages to tell the kids about how they're merely frozen and to escape. The kids run out, blasting the creature with light, clearly bothering him. With Marnie now in charge, the kids' only choice is to get the ingredients Aggie needed to complete her brew and use Merlin's talisman. Definitely a classic for many, Halloweentown is one of the most popular and successful Halloween films from Disney, even getting three sequels, though the last one I ignore.
While the beginning is a bit odd because of what Gwen is willing to let Marnie get away with arguing, but the family definitely feels real. Brown and Zimmerman feel like a real brother and sister, constantly bickering and calling each other names. You can tell easily that while the family members feud, they still love each other, and that Gwen just wants to keep the kids safe. Considering that she was trying to get rid of the kids' powers, it seems likely that Gwen's reason for banning Halloween was that possibly any exposure to things about the magical world would strengthen their abilities. Of course as stated, she was trying to keep them safe and do what's best for them, but obviously she should have been willing to let them choose their futures. Everything is pretty simply when it comes to the magical world; some tricks, like bringing the chicken back to life, come from camera tricks. This helps out, because nothing is completely computer generated, which would have looked especially bad at the time the movie was made. Rather, there is a mix of special and practical effects, allowing the world to feel more real and magical. This is especially true for the other characters, as the costumes and makeup for the creatures is well-done, especially the shadow creature. To be quite honest, his design used to give me nightmares as a kid, and when I later watched the movie again, I still understood why, because he looks rather creepy. Halloweentown itself is perfectly designed, with creative creatures just walking around, and a pumpkin as the center of town. The kids give pretty good performances throughout the movie, aside from a few small moments, and the story establishes itself well and moves along nicely. Along with them talking about Marnie's potential and her desire to become a witch, there is the naturally talented Sophie. Gwen at one point mentions that Marnie had similar moments to Sophie's tantrums when she herself was a toddler, and along with that is Sophie's premonitions of people and danger coming, like Aggie's ability, and turning a lock into a frog. Having the kids be at odds with each other and Marnie feuding with Gwen, along with mirroring Gwne's own feud with Aggie, is a perfect way to set up for their later need to work together to save their family and Halloweentown. Although their are always creatures walking around, having the shadow creature appear also adds more fear to the situation. The possibility of coming across a similar creature, especially without Gwen and Aggie, leaves the kids constantly in potential danger. The movie also finds time for jokes, like Benny's constant joking, and references like Aggie's microwave having "Bubble, Boil, and Trouble" for her brew. Most people already do revisit this movie each year, but if you haven't, it's definitely worth a viewing, especially if you now have your own kids.
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AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
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