We break down a few of the best, nostalgic kid films that you can curl up with your pumpkin-spiced *anything* during the count-down to Halloween.
Halloween isn’t that big of a deal in Australia but that shouldn’t stop us from re-watching and re-living these awesome films from our childhood.
Hocus Pocus
I mean, is it even October if you haven’t watched Hocus Pocus at least once? It’s funny, it’s tacky and it’s wonderful.
The film follows the resurrection of a trio of witches from Salem, Massachusetts. The Sanderson Sisters, played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker, cast a spell on a little girl to absorb her youth and kill her in the process. Before they are hung for being witches, the trio set a curse to come back when a virgin lights the a particular black flame candle. And light it they do…
Most of the film is set three hundred years later, after the candle has been lit. Shenanigans ensue and that’s the cult classic that is Hocus Pocus.
Halloweentown
Nothing says throwback like a Disney Channel Original Movie.
Halloweentown is about 13-year-old Marnie whose witchy grandmother wants to train her to be a witch. Marnie’s mother is anti-Halloween and doesn’t want her kids to have anything to do with the holiday. Marnie and her brother secretly follow their grandmother back to Halloweentown and an adventure with Disney-rated monsters and demons.
If you’re a fan of this movie, you’ll be excited to know that it’s a trilogy (we don’t talk about the fourth film… as if they thought we wouldn’t notice the lead actress replacement!)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton, Halloween and Christmas… Aka what happens when you mix the two biggest holidays together…
This film tells the story of Jack Skeleton, King of Halloweentown, who stumbles through a portal to Christmastown. Here, he decides to celebrate the holiday but there are consequences!
The Addams Family
A family with the perfect wardrobe if you’re into neutrals, the Addams family aren’t your typical. The film focuses on a family who are into the weird, whacky and unusual, who reconnect with their long-lost relative, Fester Addams. Plot twist, he’s actually a con man who is trying to con the family out of their fortune.
Spooky and unusual things happen that is only fit for a spooky and unusual family. This film has become a cult classic for Halloween time and Wednesday is a pretty popular character for costumes nowadays.
Edward Scissorhands
Another Tim Burton masterpiece, everything about this film is shocking and different. From the pastel neighbourhood and the doting stay-at-home mums, to the gothic mansion and artificial creation of Edward Scissorhands.
The film starts with a woman telling her granddaughter a story about a man with scissors for hands. Edward, an artificially created human, is found by door-to-door Avon saleswoman, Peggy Boggs, who takes him home after she discovers he is completely harmless. Edward goes from recluse to regarded community member. There’s a lot of sculpting – hedges, hair, ice sculptures – and a bit of community drama, before the movie ends with us wondering where Edward is now.
What’s your favourite throwback Halloween film? Let us know in the comments.