Halloweentown (NR, 1998)

Life changes forever for 13-year-old Marnie Cromwell (Kimberly J. Brown) when she discovers she's a witch. It's Halloween night, and Marnie begs to go out, but her over-protective mom Gwen (Judith Hoag) never lets her kids celebrate the holiday. When Grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) shows up with candy, costumes, and a big secret, Marnie learns that she's a witch and that a dark force is threatening Halloweentown, where Aggie lives and Gwen was raised. But Gwen doesn't want anything to do with magic or witches, and sends Aggie back to Halloweentown. Marnie decides to follow Aggie to Halloweentown, along with brainiac brother Dylan (Joey Zimmerman) and little sis Sophie (Emily Roeske). In Halloweentown -- a cheery-looking village populated with monsters, goblins, witches, ghosts, vampires, and other freakish creatures – the Cromwell kids decide to help their grandmother track down and eliminate the dark force that's turning the citizens of Halloweentown into zombies. Marnie, Dylan, Sophie, and Aggie work together to uncover the mystery, a hunt that leads them to a terrifying warlock with plans to destroy not only Halloweentown, but the normal (mortal) world as well. Of course, when the kids' mom shows up, she threatens to put a wrench in their plans and send them home again.

While some scenes fall a little flat and the storyline is nothing new, this made-for-TV movie offers a satisfying brew of festive Halloween sets, creative costumes, and family adventure, all rolled up into one tween-safe feature. Reynolds, Hoag, and Brown are especially good in their roles as grandmother, mother, and daughter. This Halloween adventure is mostly pure entertainment, but the storyline does include some valuable messages. Compared to other tween-targeted productions, this Disney feature is downright wholesome, but parents of younger or more sensitive children should note that it includes a couple of mildly scary scenes.

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Duwayne Dunham
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Judith Hoag, Kimberly J. Brown
Genre: Fantasy
Run time: 84 minutes
Theatrical release: October 17, 1998
DVD release: September 13, 2005
MPAA Rating: NR