Halloweentown (film)

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Halloweentown

Halloweentown promotional advertisement
Directed by Duwayne Dunham
Produced by Ron Mitchell
Brian Pogue
Written by Paul Bernbaum
Jon Cooksey
Ali Matheson
Starring Debbie Reynolds
Judith Hoag
Kimberly J. Brown
Phillip Van Dyke
Joey Zimmerman
Emily Roeske
Music by Mark Mothersbaugh
Distributed by Disney Channel
Release date(s) October 17, 1998
Running time 84 min.
Language English
Followed by Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
IMDb profile

Halloweentown is a Disney Channel Original Movie released in October 1998 to correspond with the holiday of Halloween.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film begins with Marnie and her mother arguing over why she and her younger siblings can never go out for Halloween. Gwen patiently explains that "there are things about Halloween that you don't understand", but with no more detail than that, it is little surprise Marnie still has a problem with her mom's order.

Gwen has more or less restored order when her mother Aggie shows up for her annual Halloween visit. The kids are happier to see Aggie than Gwen is, and it is soon shown why: Aggie openly encourages the kids to get more involved in all things Halloween, and Gwen is nearly powerless to stop her. Aggie seems especially intent on training Marnie as a witch, since it is Marnie's 13th Halloween. Marnie, of course, has no idea about any of this. Aggie drops a huge hint as she is about to head home: reading the kids a bedtime story, she selects a book called "Halloweentown," and when Sophie sees a drawing of a witch that closely resembles her big sister, Aggie does nothing to stop Marnie from imagining such a thing.

Gwen and Aggie get into an argument about all of this, and Gwen insists Marnie will be raised as a normal person and not a witch. Aggie says she disagrees with this, but actually she is there for another reason: people have started disappearing "back home." Gwen thinks they just moved, but Aggie says it is not that simple. Aggie leaves, turning the chicken leftovers into a live chicken on the way out. Aggie and Gwen are not aware Marnie was watching this the whole time.

Marnie runs back upstairs to tell Dylan what she just saw, and Dylan says she's insane. They then follow Aggie covertly to a previously non-existent bus stop. When the bus indeed arrives, Marnie and Dylan sneak on board. Suddenly, the bus shakes violently and the bus is filled with flashing lights...and before they know it, the bus is landing in Halloweentown.

Aggie also doesn't see Marnie and Dylan getting off the bus. At the same time, Marnie and Dylan don't see Sophie getting off the bus. Dylan notices her, and Marnie asks what she's doing here. Sophie says she was only pretending to sleep; she heard everything Marnie told Dylan, and followed them. They all begin to look for Aggie, who they have lost, when the mayor approaches them. He says his name is Kalabar and whistles for the cab. The cab is driven by Benny, who is a skeleton with a bad sense of humor ("He's a much better driver than a comedian," says Kalabar). Dylan can barely believe what is happening, and Marnie sees it on his face:

Marnie: It's not polite to stare!
Dylan: Polite? Let's talk about how illegal it is to drive without eyeballs!

The three siblings find their grandmother's home, and against her better judgment, Aggie decides not to take them home immediately. She says she'll start Marnie's witch training, but has to take care of "the bad thing" first. She shows her grandchildren what she is talking about: in the cauldron, a vision of a hooded demon appears, laughing maniacally. Aggie has a talisman that she says can defeat this demon, but her witches brew is defective ("That's what I get for trying to use instant!"). So she has to take the kids into town and get the ingredients to make her own.

In town, Marnie discovers a broom salesman, and the family is introduced to "local punk" Luke, who looks like a normal human kid. He makes a clumsy pass at Marnie, which she turns down on the spot; after Luke calls himself a "big cheese" and offers to take Marnie out for an ice cream, she stares daggers at him and says, "I was hungry, but then I smelled something stinky...it must have been the Big Cheese!" Benny later explains that Luke once looked like a gnome, but claimed a shadow demon made him look better.

Marnie picks a broom, and she and Aggie take it for a test drive. When they get back, a furious Gwen has shown up and orders the kids to return home immediately. Marnie fights her briefly, but eventually knows she is in deep trouble. Gwen can't find another bus back to the mortal world, and when she tries to see if the mayor can do anything, she is shocked to see that the mayor is Kalabar...her old boyfriend. When Kalabar briefly leaves to handle another problem, Gwen and her kids see Aggie walking somewhere with Luke. Sensing Aggie might be in trouble, they follow Aggie and Luke to an abandoned movie theatre. Once inside, Gwen and Aggie find themselves battling the hooded demon they had seen in the cauldron. The demon freezes Aggie and Gwen, and suddenly Marnie finds herself in charge.

She decides to finish what Aggie started, with some help from Dylan and Sophie, by gathering the ingredients for the witches brew that will hopefully make the talisman work. They are successful, and soon find themselves battling the demon...who reveals himself to be none other than Kalabar himself. With the help of Luke, who has realized the error of his ways, Marnie disables Kalabar long enough to unfreeze Aggie and Gwen...as well as all the other Halloweentown citizens Kalabar trapped in the theatre. Marnie, Gwen and Aggie confront Kalabar. Kalabar is apparently bitter that their kind were forced to relocate to this new world because humans wouldn't accept them, and also that Gwen passed him over years ago for a mortal man (the kids' father, now deceased). But the three of them alone aren't enough. Sophie had also been showing signs of possessing magic, and Dylan, when angered, also shows slight powers himself. The five of them combine their powers and banish Kalabar to oblivion.

Gwen agrees to let Marnie start witch training and even invites Aggie to live with them. The film ends with the family going on to the bus to the mortal world, with Luke (who has returned to his true face as a troll) as the bus driver, and blast off.

[edit] Characters

Splendora Agatha "Aggie" Cromwell (Pts I-IV) is the mother of Gwen and grandmother of Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie. She is a witch and resides in Halloweentown. She carries a bottomless carpetbag which magically strolls along next to her as she walks.

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Piper (Pts I-IV) is the daughter of Aggie and mother of Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie. She was born a witch but moved to the human world after marrying a human. In Halloweentown, Gwen wants what's best for her three kids - which means raising them as normal kids in the human world. She was once in love with the powerful warlock Kalabar but dumped him for a human, the kids' father.

Marnie Piper(Pts I-IV) is the eldest daughter of Gwen, granddaughter of Aggie, and older sister of Dylan and Sophie. She is the protagonist of the series, a young witch who has always fancied the holiday of Halloween. In Halloweentown, the 13-year-old Marnie discovers for the first time about her witch heritage. This is the only role that had to be recast, with Kimberly J. Brown playing the role in Pts I-III, and Sara Paxton taking over in Pt IV.

Dylan Piper (Pts I-IV) is the middle child and only son of Gwen, grandson of Aggie, younger brother of Marnie, and older brother of Sophie. He strongly dislikes Halloween. He is sarcastic and frequently teases his sisters, especially Marnie. He doesn't like to use magic but will use it sparingly, to help his family. In Halloweentown, he is about 12 years old.

Sophie Piper (Pts I, II, III) is the youngest daughter of Gwen, granddaughter of Aggie, and younger sister of Marnie and Dylan. Like Marnie, she is also a witch. She can cast simple spells that she learns from her sister and grandmother. In Halloweentown, she is about 7 years old.

Luke (Pts I, II) is the laid-back friend of Marnie's who resides in Halloweentown. He is a goblin but is changed to human form by Kalabar.

Calabar (Pt I) is a powerful warlock and former boyfriend of Gwen. He is racist and dislikes the fact that Gwen left him for a human, yet the Cromwell magic remains as powerful as ever. His son kal is the primary villain in Pt II.

Benjamin C. "Benny" Deadman (Pt I, II, IV) is a skeleton taxi cab driver. his whole name is revealed in movie 4

[edit] Literary themes

All four movies develop the characters and plot around a triad of relationships among the three main characters:

The mother-daughter relationship between Aggie and Gwen is tense. They live in, literally, different worlds. There is a generation gap between the choices of the two. The parent tries to persuade her child to do things the way the parent prefers. Aggie and Gwen struggle over whether Gwen's children will know their magical heritage.

The mother-daughter relationship between Gwen and Marnie mirrors in many ways the one between Aggie and Gwen. The same underlying cause (their attitudes toward the magical heritage of the family) causes another generation gap. Marnie wants the magical life her grandmother offers, and resents her mother's rejection of that choice. This relationship is somewhat echoed in Gwen's relationship with younger daughter Sophie.

The grandmother-granddaughter relationship between Aggie and Marnie has two aspects. Aggie provides what Marnie misses in her relationship with Gwen. Aggie is also a magical teacher to Marnie, who becomes Aggie's apprentice.

The teacher-apprentice relationship between Aggie and Marnie also exhibits some common comic themes. Aggie often plays an addled grandmother - her magic seems more pride than potency. In the first two movies, the apprentice takes over when the teacher is defeated, and both outshines and rescues the teacher. Yet Aggie's formidable reputation is based on skills she actually has, and Aggie comes through after her rescues to lend essential strength in the climactic confrontations.

The first and third movies rely heavily on the theme of xenophilia, of a stranger coming to town, and running afoul of unfamiliar local customs. In Halloweentown, Marnie, Sophie, and Dylan are tourists in the unfamiliar town of Halloweentown but they have heard of it earlier that night when Aggie showed them the Halloweentown book. In Halloweentown High, Marnie plays the local expert who rescues both Aggie and the Halloweentown students from comic situations.

Prejudice is also a strong theme in the series. In the second movie, for example, each society is turned into its own misconception of the other.

In Halloweentown High, Marnie makes a foolish wager (to be fair, this is accidental; Marnie says she would "bet all the Cromwell magic" that she can get the two worlds to co-exist peacefully, not thinking for one second that the Witch Council would actually take her up on this; indeed, her defense is that "I thought it was just a figure of speech!"). When this theme appears in literature, the wager may be unwinnable, resulting in tragedy. Because this movie is a comedy, the family finds an unexpected way to win the wager, causing a happy ending.

Doris Roberts was offered the role of Aggie Cromwell but had to turn it down do to filming Everybody Loves Raymond.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Sequels

[edit] Mistakes

  • When Marnie is hit by Kalabar over the jack-o-lantern, her right foot is in the right eye hole but, two shots after she drops the torch in to the candle, her left foot is in the left eye hole.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Trivia

  • Halloweentown is the first DCOM to have 3 sequels.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Brink!		 Disney Channel Original Movies Succeeded by
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
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