In my opinion, Halloween should never be a single-day event. The entire month of October should be dedicated to getting into the spooky spirit, and celebrating all of the witches, goblins and ghosts of the world. One of my favorite ways to do this, besides decorating and baking, is by watching Halloween films.
I know I might get some pushback for this, but the Halloweentown movies are the absolute best, most iconic, spookily spectacular Halloween movies of all time. Hocus Pocus is fun, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a classic, but nothing truly compares to Marnie, Aggie, Kalabar, and the whole Halloweentown gang.
Related: 9 Ways To Have an Amazing Halloween While Social Distancing
If you’re not convinced, here are 10 reasons from across the films that prove the Halloweentown series reigns supreme.
- Marnie owned who she was
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Marnie never cared if she was “weird” or “geeky.” She owned that she had different interests from the very first film. Besides being a great example for younger viewers, watching the movies every October provides a constant reminder that personal interests are always more important than other people’s opinions.
- The movies are full of complementary characters
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I love movies with a little yin and yang, and nothing proves that quite like the Halloweentown films. Dylan always helped level out Marnie’s hyperactive tendencies, and the same goes for Gwen and Aggie. They beat the bad guys so many times because of their complementary strengths, proving there’s no right way to do anything.
- Grandma Aggie was the ultimate source of wisdom
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Okay, besides being the perfect mix of kooky and rebellious, Grandma Aggie was actually full of wisdom and great advice. Even rewatching the films as a young adult I realized there was still a lot I could learn from Aggie Cromwell. “Being normal is vastly overrated,” and, “I’ve always said that the movies could teach us about life,” are two of my personal favorite quotes.
- Everything about the actual town
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Who wouldn’t want to live in a town where it’s Halloween all the time? The movie was actually filmed in St. Helen’s, Oregon — so if I can’t get to the real Halloweentown, at least I can walk its streets with a little trip out to the Pacific Northwest.
- All of the family activities
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I love my family and I love how we bond, but even we don’t fly on broomsticks, travel between worlds or cast spells together. It’s impossible to watch these movies without admiring how much love there is between the Cromwells, and how much fun they have.
- They remind us it’s never too late to do the right thing
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In the first Halloweentown movie, Luke realizes his mistake in helping Kalabar, and eventually redeems himself by helping Marnie place the talisman in the jack-o-lantern. This similar theme returns in Halloweentown High, when Ethan proves that he can stick up to his dad in the end.
- Marnie understands what really matters
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When Luke explains why he helped Kalabar and how unconfident he was in his appearance, Marnie forgives him. She even promises him a date upon her return. Besides showing that second chances are worth giving, she also reminds us that our actions and who we are as people always matter so much more than our insecurities.
- The supporting characters were all amazing
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Across all the films, the supporting characters were always amazing, even when they only had one scene. Wolfie, Gort, Pumpkinhead — they were all perfect. They had just the right amount of personality and humor without ever stealing too much attention. The movies are great examples of supporting characters that enhance the narrative without distracting viewers.
- Marnie exemplifies that differences shouldn’t divide us
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In Halloweentown High, Marnie proves that the residents of the human world and of Halloweentown can coexist, showing that our differences don’t matter much compared to empathy and compassion.
- The movies remind us that, sometimes, magic is just believing
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Halloweentown proves that the real magic in this world comes through believing it exists, and it’s often right under our noses.