Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge - NR
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this Halloween movie contains some mildly scary scenes in which a young warlock surprises the main characters by popping up in unexpected places and talking in a threatening, taunting tone. In another scene, the very nice mom turns into an angry, scary-looking witch. The main character faces a time crunch as she scrambles to save friends and family from falling under the villain's spell, so this may cause a bit of edge-of-your-seat tension for some young viewers. Overall, this sequel isn't as scary as the first, mildly scary, Halloweentown film, and a bit of humor is added to the parts that are slightly scary or sad. For example, a curse causes the eccentric citizens of Halloweentown to turn into mundane mortals who enjoy sorting socks and wearing drab clothing.
Families can discuss how Marnie overcame obstacles in order to save her friends and family. How did she use logic and creative thinking in solving her problems? How did her friend help out as she tried to solve the problems? What lessons did Marnie learn about trusting complete strangers and sticking by her friends and family?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Ellen Dendy
Young witch Marnie Cromwell (Kimberly J. Brown) must stop another villainous warlock, Kalabar, from harming innocent people (and creatures) in this Halloweentown sequel. Like the first in the series, this made-for-TV Disney feature is brewed for tweens, but scary scenes are few and their fear-factor mild, so younger viewers may also enjoy this Halloween story.
In the first film, Marnie learned she was a witch; in this outing her magical skills are put to the test as she scrambles to find a way to stop a power-hungry warlock without much help from Grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds).
The tale begins on Halloween eve, when an attractive young warlock disguised as a mortal shows up at the Cromwells' festive party and charms Marnie in order to steal an important family heirloom, which he needs to set his dastardly plan in motion. At first Marnie stands by her new suitor when her grandma accuses him of the theft, but it doesn't take long for Marnie to realize she's made a terrible mistake. The warlock-gone-wrong has cast a spell on all the inhabitants of Halloweentown, and his second evil spell will affect everyone in mortal-ville, including Marnie's mom, Gwen (Judith Hoag). With Grandma Aggie under the first spell, it's up to Marnie and her good friend Luke (Phillip Van Dyke) to save the day.
Overall, this sequel isn't as scary as the first film (which itself was only mildly scary). The villain in this story is an attractive young man, and his tone of voice is threatening in a snotty way, which differs from the villain of the first film, who appeared as a horrific ghoul with a booming, maniacal voice. In the scariest scene, Marnie's mom turns into a terrifying witch who lashes out at her own children. It's clear that she's under an evil spell, and even though the scene is very brief, younger kids may find it too scary. There's a good bit of nail-biting tension in the movie as well, as Marnie and Luke work against the clock to save the mortal world from a horrible fate.
Just as in the first Halloweentown feature, valuable messages are masked within pure entertainment in HALLOWEENTOWN II. Marnie is at first taken in by the attractive young man and accepts a date with him, but once she learns who he really is, she repeatedly refuses his appeals to join him in his quest for ultimate power -- rather than compromising her beliefs and falling to the pressures of an attractive young suitor, Marnie controls her own future and sticks by her tried-and-true friends and family.
Marnie and Luke also have to use their brains and creative thinking to stop the bad guy, and despite many obstacles and thoughts of giving up, their teamwork and mutual support pay off. Marnie's siblings, Dylan (Joey Zimmerman) and Sophie (Emily Roeske), also take part in stopping the bad warlock, demonstrating the importance of family support.
Fans of the Halloweentown series might also enjoy Twitches, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Escape to Witch Mountain.
Rate It!
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
|
||
ViolenceNon-graphic scenes involving magic (for example, the main character gets zapped by the villain but recovers quickly). |
|
|
||
Language |
|
|
||
Message |
|
|
||
Social BehaviorMarnie is initially fooled by the attractive young villain, but once she finds out that he's no good, she sticks by her principles and refuses to be swayed by his peer pressure. Marnie and her friend use their smarts to come up with creative solutions to a very tricky problem; family members and friends work together to stop the villain. |
 |
|
||
Commercialism |
 |
|
||
Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco |
|
|
||
