Catch a ride to “Halloweentown” this spooky season

By: Velvet Jessen

If you didn’t spend your childhood on Disney channel then you may have missed out on one of my favorite Halloween movies. Halloweentown aired in 1998 on Disney channel and though I may not have been born when it first came out, I have watched it for every Halloween season that I can remember or had control over the remote for. 

The movie starts with the main character Marnie arguing with her mom about why she isn’t allowed to trick or treat. Marnie is in the middle of arguing with her mom when her Grandma Aggie pops up at her house much to her mother’s chagrin. 

The movie’s plot is quickly set up when it’s shown that Marnie’s mother is trying to hide the magical powers her children have from them while her grandmother argues that they should be honing their powers before they lose them. Once Marnie and her siblings realize this the movie really starts. Grandma Aggie goes back home to Halloweentown, a place where goblins, trolls, witches, a skeleton cabby and any other odd creatures can roam peacefully, or at least they used to be able to before evil had started to seep into the town. Marnie and her siblings work with their grandmother to develop their powers and save the town. 

You may think that this seems like a boring children’s movie but I assure you that it’s worth more than just nostalgic value. Afterall the movie was given three sequels, “Halloweentown II: Kalbar’s Revenge” in 2001, “Halloweentown High in 2004” and “Return to Halloweentown” in 2006. 

Personally, I think Halloweentown II is the best but it’s important to start from the beginning. Nothing could have started had Marnie not argued with her mom that she was 13 and she should be able to make decisions. 

The movie is full of sass and magic which I think are some of the best ingredients to a Halloween movie. Granted if you prefer a ton of guts and gore in your Halloween movies this movie probably isn’t for you, but if you enjoy a simple funny movie that you can safely watch without nightmares then it might just be perfect. 

It’s easily a movie you watch while carving pumpkins to get into the Halloween spirit and get ready for the night. It’s easily one of the best parts of my Halloween traditions and if you add it to yours, I’m sure you would love it too. 

The movies are so popular that this year marks the first year the Halloweentown movies haven’t aired on Disney channel. That makes 22 years of the movie being aired because it’s that good. With loveable characters like sassy Grandma Aggie or the skeleton cab driver Benny its easy to keep coming back to the movie.