Autumn is here and it’s been spreading pumpkin cheer! Fall is my favorite season, with Halloween being my favorite holiday. Each year I watch the same Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs) to get into the spirit! These have been part of my childhood, and I think it’s safe to say they are a part of the childhoods of countless others. Here are my top two favorites to get you feeling that autumnal nostalgia!
Halloweentown (1-3) is the best series to view during the season! Whether it’s before, during, or after Halloween, the setting of the movies is perfect all season long. Halloweentown is now 25 years old, which is crazy to think about, but all the more special when it’s considered a staple. Each film progresses as its main character, Marnie, gets older. The first film focuses on her discovering she is a witch and she and her siblings must save Halloweentown from the villain, Kalabar.
In the second film, it is revealed that Kalabar had a son, and now he is here to take over Halloweentown and the mortal world. Marnie is still learning magic and navigating her own feelings when the boy she likes is just using her. Her grandma Aggie guides her in Halloweentown while her brother, sister, and mother work in the human world to get rid of Kalabar. A little more sinister than the first (for a children’s movie), the series gets to a darker place.
The third film shows Marnie in High School. Her grandmother is a teacher now, and they are accepting Halloweentown transfer students. They do not show their “monster” selves at school, rather they put on the appearance of a human. Grandma Aggie develops a relationship with the principal and Marnie takes an interest in a human boy. The Halloweentown students face a threat in the mortal world causing them to reconsider staying in Halloweentown. Humans and creatures have been at odds, so they think the attack is from a human. All is revealed at the Halloween Carnival with a shocking twist.
Twitches is a two-parter that tells the story of two twin witches (hence the name Twitches) who were separated at birth. They are also royalty living in the kingdom of Coventry, but when they were separated they were taken to a non-magical dimension. It is foreseen that they will meet on their 21st birthday. This event does take place and it is then revealed that they are witches, royalty, and that their kingdom is in danger. The twins team up to defeat “the darkness” and it seems to be successful until the second film comes about.
In Twitches 2, the twins are off to college! Or at least one of them is. Alex decides to go to college while Camryn goes to Coventry in order to learn her royal duties. However, romance and darkness loom. They both find their respective love interests in the magical and non-magical realms, but a new danger named Thantos disrupts the lives they are trying to build. Their father, Aron, had disappeared into the Shadowlands at Thantos’ hand. Thantos is gaining power, but Alex believes that she is able to get their father back. This film had little me on the edge of my seat!
Halloweentown and Twitches remain iconic DCOMs for Monstober (as Disney calls it). These are feel-good and definitely comfort films. Grab your popcorn get ready to binge, and feel like a kid again.