Halloweentown

An absolute classic for anyone who grew up in the prime of 90s/2000s Disney originals. Endlessly rewatchable, great concept, and full of good and slightly cheesy acting. Being normal is vastly overrated.

That was disappointing; I can't believe I said that. Halloweentown is a Disney Channel original movie starring Kimberly J. Brown and the late Debbie Reynolds. Kimberley J. Brown stars as Marnie, who just wants to have fun on Halloween, but her mom forbids it. But accidentally learning from her grandma that it's her destiny to become a witch, she decides to head to Halloweentown to begin her training. Now I saw this when it first came out, but I don't remember much of it, so I decided to explore this movie and relieve my childhood. And after that I became disappointed as though I just been punched in the stomach. I wanted to like this, I really did, but it was so bad and terrible. The jokes fall flat and they enter in the wrong moment and the wrong time, that it became a headache. I know that this is a Disney Channel movie and that it's supposed to target young audiences, but at least add some level of danger and drama to this. It doesn't have to be like intense that only adults can handle, just give it some intensity, but in small doses so that it balances out between the kids and adults. When we first see Halloweentown, it was like seeing a Wizard of Oz movie, but they don't explore it much. I wanted to learn more about Halloweentown, but they missed the opportunity and the producers or whoever rushed it so they could move onto the next scene. I have a love hate relationship with the running time. I wish this were longer so we could explore more of Halloweentown and the history of it. It does explain it, but it's very rushed that you're left scratching your head wondering what just happened. But I don't want this to be long, because the longer the running time the more annoying it's going to get. In conclusion I enjoy Disney Channel movies I enjoyed as a kid and as an adult, but this one is a big fat disappointment.

Many years ago, probably when it first came out, my wife and I watched Halloweentown. I remember disliking it somewhat because I don't have a strong affinity for the holiday of Halloween and thought the story was a little childish. But my wife liked it enough that she had us watch a couple of the sequels back then. Well, this year on Halloween she wanted to watch something for the holiday and I thought I'd give this another shot for her sake and do my best to have a good time with it. Sadly, there's nothing good about Halloweentown. Even the great Debbie Reynolds is forced into an overly corny role as a more sanitized version of Endora from Bewitched. Everything about Halloweentown screams low-budget made-for-TV kids movie. The costumes are not great, the sets feel small and cluttered with Spirit Halloween stuff, and the acting is like watching an elementary school play. I can give them a little bit of a pass because they are targeting the film to a young audience, but it shouldn't be necessary to talk down to kids as much as this film does. The plot is extremely basic and there is very little in the way of surprises. This film also falls prey to one of my big movie pet peeves that tends to sour most magic-based movies for me: There aren't well-defined rules to what the witches can and can't do. One minute they can seemingly perform a complicated task by making a rhyme, but then later they need multiple different items or a potion to perform the simplest spell. I can see the entertainment value in the Halloweentown franchise for little kids, particularly if they like Halloween stuff, but for me it is a total dud.

I love this movie this is the best movie I've seen for halloween and you can be young or old to watch this movie I would recomend it to any kid or adult in the world im 14 and i love it!! And now they have made HalloweenTown 2 and it was great seeing how old the characters grown and the changes in the cromwell family!

But then, I'm not a kid, so I shouldn't be the judge. Halloweentown is a colourful movie, though, full of cloaks, hats, pumpkins, and wrong ideas. The only part of the movie that shows something real is the short "pentagram" sequence when Gwen first finds out she's a witch. If a witch doesn't start her "training" before her 13th Halloween, she won't "lose her powers." That's just a fairytale. Witches don't fly on synthetic, or natural material, broomsticks. Witches don't wear funky cloaks and hats unless they want to. And, contrary to the common belief, warlocks are NOT male witches (male witches are simply called witches). A warlock is an evil witch. Lastly, and I know this is a pain to lots of people, witches aren't fantasy, nor are they creatures of Halloween. I should know, cus I myself am a witch. Once again, I remind myself that this movie is for little kids, not teenagers or adults.