Listmania! Best Halloween Movies for Kids
By GlindaI know, it’s only September. But hey, all the stores have their Halloween stuff out, so I consider the holiday to be fair game. But, if you need to order a movie, it takes a while to ship and all that, so before you know it, Halloween is almost upon you!
Besides, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and it doesn’t take much for me to get into the, uh, spirit. So sorry, couldn’t resist.
But as with all “scary” movies, buy with caution and forethought into how your little viewer will be likely to handle it.
The Nightmare Before Christmas This movie is really two movies in one, because not only does it work for Halloween, it works equally well for Christmas. I’m all about the value, you know. This is a new re-release, and you’d better snap it up quick, because once they are gone, it’s unlikely Disney will do another for a while. Take it from the woman who lost her DVD oh, eight years ago and wasn’t able to buy another until this month.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Can this 1981 gem be any more classic? Can Linus be any cuter? And Lucy any more endearing than when she collects her brother from the pumpkin patch to put him into bed? Can Glinda just be done with the questions?
Casper Debate abounds about this movie, actually. Some people think it is horrible, while others see it as light and fluffy bit of entertainment. There are no Oscar noms here, but the kids will probably really like it.
Clifford’s Big Halloween Clifford is just one of those enduring, endearing creations that will be loved until the end of time. Trust me, you can never go wrong with Clifford.
Mickey’s House of Villains Not a movie but a collection of animated shorts held together by an admittedly thin plot device. It is a mixture of old and new shorts, along with a sing-a-long by all the Disney villains.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks Who doesn’t love Angela Lansbury in a live-action/animated movie about a magic bed? The young Ms. Lansbury plays an apprentice witch who goes on adventures with three adventurous orphans. This is old-skool Disney, and what’s not to like?
Something Wicked This Way Comes The scariest, thematically, of all the movies on this list. And it technically isn’t really about Halloween. But, this movie adapted from an excellent Ray Bradbury novel will leave you with tingles.
Corpse Bride All right, another movie not truly about Halloween. But with the underworld, ghosts and ghouls, it is sure to get you into a Halloween frame of mind. Victor Van Dort is already engaged, but somehow finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride. Which bride will he pick, the one that’s alive, or the one that’s dead?
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad This DVD has both a version of Wind in the Willows (one of my favorite in children’s literature) and Sleepy Hollow. Both are definitely worth owning, and the vision of the Headless Horseman is enough to send almost everyone in the family hiding under the table.
September 7th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
What about Garfield’s Halloween special? It is available here on one disk along with the Christmas and Thanksgiving specials.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I will be totally honest in saying I didn’t even know there WAS a Garfield Halloween Special. Does that make me bad?
September 8th, 2008 at 9:52 am
No it doesn’t make you bad. You really should watch it though, it’s really fun.
September 10th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Oh, I HATED Something Wicked This Way Comes. I loved the book, and I thought they ruined it. I wonder if years and perspective would change my mind? Last time I saw it was when it first came out, in the theater.
LOVE Nightmare Before Christmas, too. 🙂
September 10th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
The books are, as a rule, ALWAYS better, aren’t they? I loved the novel, and it is interesting to note that Ray Bradbury himself was heavily involved in the movie.
And my love of Nightmare Before Christmas knows absolutely no bounds.
September 20th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Another scary but not Halloween kids movie is Disney’s “The Watcher In The Woods”.
It even has an elderly Bette Davis in it.