It’s getting near that time of year again, I can feel it in the air. Cool nights, leaves changing colors, and the Disney Channel advertising the previews of their annual October Halloweentown marathons. I have been watching the Halloweentown movies for 7 years now, since the debut of the original Halloweentown in 1998. Last year I gave in to the pleas from my own little goblins and I purchased the DVD. Now my kids can watch the Halloweentown movies year round. And they do. The first Halloweentown premiered on the Disney Channel before Harry Potter and the many magic-themed followers ever cast a spell. Since then, the Disney Channel has produced a total of 3 sequels to follow the original Halloweentown. On October 20, 2006, Return to Halloweentown, the fourth movie in the series will be aired for the first time.

The Halloweentown Backstory

Halloweentown is a magical place in a parallel universe. Not unlike some modern secondary schools, there are characters of all sorts trying to fit in. These characters are a bit different though. Originally inhabitants of the mortal world, they created a world of their own after mortals continued to reject them. A town where everyday is Halloween but the costumes are not masks. This is a world where goblins, witches, warlocks, gnomes, vampires, and all kinds of fantasy-faced people live. Magic is commonplace and not just wishful thinking in this town. Humans are funny-looking to the monster majority here.

BEWARE: Thinly veiled plot details are revealed if you read ahead!

Halloweentown

The first movie in the DVD set is the original 1998 Halloweentown. The story begins in the mortal world, where the main characters of the movie are introduced. Young Marnie (Kimberly Brown) and her mother are arguing about why Marnie and her younger brother and sister are always limited with Halloween festivities. Marnie’s mother Gwen (Judith Hoag) is trying to keep the curious Marnie from learning that she is a Cromwell witch from a long line of powerful witches from Halloweentown. Then Grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) arrives for her yearly Halloween visit and the secret slips out. Grandma Aggie strangely reminds me of Edna Garret from the Facts of Life television series for some reason. After witnessing a bit of magic in the kitchen as Grandma Aggie livens up some poultry (I can’t give all the spells away!),Marnie races upstairs to tell her siblings. When Grandma leaves to catch the bus "home," Marnie and her brother Dylan follow. It seems that the bus stop only appears once a year before the portal to Halloweentown closes. Baby sister Sophie (Emily Roeske) secretly tags along.

Welcome to Halloweentown! The first glimpse of Halloweentown reminds me of the way that I felt when I first saw Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Surreal and cool are words that come to mind. This is a town with taxi-driving skeletons that have chattery teeth.

As the plot unfolds, Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie search Halloweentown for Grandma Aggie’s house, meeting the town spooks along the way. A human looking boy (former gnome) named Lucas tries to befriend Marnie but she swiftly turns him down. The mayor of Halloweentown, Kalabar, is interested in Marnie and her siblings, since he once tried to settle down with Marnie’s mother Gwen. He has not forgotten the pain of being rejected when she chose to marry a mortal man.

When they catch up with Grannie, Marnie learns that there is danger ahead. One look in the cauldron forewarns Aggie of pending doom when she sees a hooded demon vision.

The rest of the movie focuses on Marnie’s growing knowledge of her magical abilities and the ultimate battle between the good Cromwell witches and the town evildoer. You can guess what happens at the end after a few spells are cast. The town evil plotter is revealed and banished and Marnie and her newly discovered magic have to return back to the mortal world. Now that she is a witch-in-training, life will never be the same. It does bring her family closer though.

Halloweentown II-Kalabar’s Revenge

The second movie in the series debuted in 2001, just a few years after the original Halloweentown. Marnie is now a teenager who is more confident in her spell-casting abilities. Grandma Aggie has been preparing her for the responsibility of being a Cromwell witch. Marnie is still a teenage girl, however, with normal mortal teenage issues. Her crush on a boy named Kal (this name should ring some bells) leads her to try to impress him with her magic room. Big mistake. It turns out that Kal has ulterior motives and he steals the powerful magic spell book from the room. Marnie and Grandma Aggie must journey to Halloweentown to resolve the crime. Without the spell book, their magic gets shaky and strange things begin to happen.

Daniel Korentz plays the role of Kal in the movie, along with the original Halloweentown cast. Kal plots to bring the Halloweentown residents back to the mortal world, while he turns the once magical world of Halloweentown into a place that is as commonly boring and mundane as the mortal world. Marnie and Grandma Aggie must stop him! With the portal back to the mortal world closing, the Cromwell witches must find a spell to create a new portal. All is well that ends well in this sequel. Bye, bye Kal Junior, son of the first Kal who had a similar evil plot.

What a Ghoulish Delight of a Movie

This movie has become a family classic in our house. It is one of those rare television movies that caught my attention way back in 1998. Yes, the plots are fairly predictable, but the visual stimuli along the way are enough to satisfy my imagination and keep my attention. I would have loved this movie if I were eleven years old again!

This is a great movie to watch with school-age children on a Friday night in October. Pull out the cauldron and whip up a brew of cider to go with the kettle corn as the Cromwell Witches entertain you with their adventures in Halloweentown. The "fright factor" for the movies is pretty mild, but use caution with children that are easily scared by monster-like characters.

The price is right for this double feature. The DVD is produced by Buena Vista Home Entertainment/Disney. Additional features include a peek into the making of the Halloweentown movies, titled, "Magic of the Halloweentown Movies,"and a sneak peek
at Twitches.

To find out what happens when Marnie goes to Halloweentown High School:

Halloweentown High

CAST
Aggie Cromwell: Debbie Reynolds
Gwen Piper: Judith Hoag
Marnie Piper: Kimberly Brown
Dylan Piper: Joey Zimmerman
Sophie Piper: Emily Roeske
Luke: Phillip Van Dyke
Kalabar: Robin Thomas
Little Kal: Daniel Korentz












Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12