Horror movies are always a must for
October, but I also like to balance the adult scares with some “family friendly”
Halloween movies … preferably the animated ones. It’s like a tradition,
Halloween is one of the most nostalgic times of the year for me, when I feel
young again, so what better way to close out the year then by looking back at
all the tricks and treats that come from full-length animated movies we often associate
with the season. I won’t be including any half-hour specials in the vein of “It’s
the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” or Disney’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.
With all that said, here are my own personal top 10 favorite animated movies to
watch on Halloween.
#10 Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000)
It’s out of pure childhood nostalgia that this
film kicks off my countdown, and while this may be something of a guilty
pleasure, I just couldn’t imagine this list without it. While our favorite mischievous
chipmunks put together a spooky themed school play, Alvin gets fixated on the
idea that a real monster may be lurking in their neighborhood. What he wasn’t
counting on was his kid brother Theodor transforming into a werewolf … with the
Wolf-Man himself being he culprit. While this kid friendly monster feature is
perhaps a little too loud and obnoxious for the grown-ups, it’s still
competently animated, loaded with catchy songs, and is unavoidably cute in its
own simple way. It’s a movie I can only recommend to little kids, but by those
simple standards, it’s quite good.
#9 - Frankenweenie (2012)
I
personally adore “FrankenWeenie” … and it has a secure spot among my favorite
Tim Burton movies too. Re-making one of his own classic short films, and giving it
a more modern look was a welcome change of pace, and the result is a genuinely
heartwarming film, combined with an odd Burton style premise, likable
characters, subtlety, and an action packed ending full of awesome creature
effects. It's one of those special movies that can win me over with its own
simple charm, and never needs any big song numbers or spooky highlights to hold
my interest. It’s a film that tends to sneak-up on me, as I don’t usually think
about watching it annually for Halloween, but I still find myself watching it
anyway, and loving it more with each passing season. “FrankenWeenie”
came out at a time when Burton needed something special, and it payed off with
a positive reception of critics, as well as a nomination at the Academy Awards
for best animated picture. If you’re a fan of stop-motion or Burton movies in
general, then this film is well worth looking into. It has a distinct
atmosphere, a refreshingly simple premise, and heart as big as its central
character.
#8 The Batman vs Dracula (2005)
A unique crossover for Batman to say the least, and one that takes full advantage of what could happen when two legendary figures of the night collide. When Batman goes searching for mysterious disappearing people in the city, his trail leads to a covenant of vampires … lead by none other than Count Dracula himself. The chemistry and rivalry between Batman and Dracula is surprisingly well defined in the film, and it’s genuinely exciting to see the two most famous Bat-themed characters going into battle. There’s plenty of nods to the lore of both Batman and Dracula, and some well-placed characters from the Batman universe … including Vicki Vale, who was featured in the 1989 Tim Burton “Batman” movie. The music is dripping with Gothic atmosphere, the animation is stylish, there’s a spectacular dream sequence, everything moves at a fast pace, and its action packed. For the only movie adaption from "The Batman" TV series, it definitely ranks high as … maybe not one of the absolute best Batman movies, but certainly my personal favorite to watch around Halloween.
#7 – Corps Bride (2005)
#6 Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
Here it is, the spooky child-hood venture that introduced me to zombies in the first place. As the title suggests, Scooby-Doo and the gang journey to an island to solve the mystery of disappearing bodies and haunted claims. It may seem average on the surface, but once the sun sets, supernatural oddities come about, dark secrets of the island’s history are explored, and an army of zombies awaken to terrorize our hero’s. The story is respectfully multilayered, there’s a mostly challenging mystery slowly being unraveled, some clever twists, the danger was legitimate, and I feel it’s the closest that Scooby-Doo ever came to being genuinely scary. No joke, the ending gets surprisingly dark … certainly darker than anything else in the franchise. Also, the soundtrack rocked, especially with the theme song “Terror Time Again”, which is easily one of my favorite songs to listen to during October. Personally, I think “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island” is the absolute best thing to ever come out under the character’s name, and one that even non-fans might be able to get behind. This film is almost too good for Scooby-Doo, and probably would have made for a great spooky zombie adventure without him.
#5 Hotel Transylvania (2013)
With
all the really dark and scary Halloween films like “ParaNorman” and “Coraline”,
it’s nice to know that kids have alternatives in the form of films like “Hotel
Transylvania”. The story revolves around Count Dracula as he’s built a safe
haven for all the classic monsters, but his daughter wants to see the world,
and when a young human boy stumbles into monster land ... an unexpected romance is born, and
it’s one energized situation after another as the Count tries to maintain peace
in his castle. This movie has got just about everything ... funny moments, touching
moments, colorful characters, terrific animation, lots of energy, upbeat music, and a location that’s just drenched in Halloween goodness. Dracula's daughter Mavis has a secure spot as one of my favorite new animated Halloween characters, and the rest of the cast play their parts great. It may be over
shadowed by other Halloween films that are a pinch more adult, but I hope more
people discover this film. It really is a gem, and a good one to show to your
kids.
#4 ParaNorman (2012)
This
is one of the scarier animated movies to show your kids, but it’s an incredible
motion picture that I highly recommend. “ParaNorman” takes the familiar
concepts of a boy with a supernatural ability to talk to the dead, a witch’s
curse, a zombie epidemic, and weaves them all together in a brilliant story,
with surprising emotional depth, deep conflicts, and plenty of comedy along the
way. Some of the jokes also get very adult, like border-line PG-13 territory,
so the age of the viewer needs to be kept in mind before seeing this. I definitely
have my issues with inconsistencies in tone, and I really can’t stand the silly
supporting players, but for all my reservations going against it, this film
balances out with stunning imagery, a heavy Halloween atmosphere, and just the
right amount of emotional subtext at the center. The visual effects and
stop-motion animation are big spectacles, which alone make the film worth
viewing, but with an enduring lead character, an especially heartwarming ending,
and competent storytelling make this something really special that’s not only
worth yearly viewings but also deserving of being called a modern Halloween
classic.
#3 Monster House (2006)
In 2003, Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion” was released and turned out to be a somewhat underwhelming haunted house adventure. Then three years later came an animated gem titled “Monster House”, which completely made up for it. As you’d expect, this is a scary adventure with kids in a haunted house, but it’s also a very smart film with lots of excitement, first rate animation, and plenty of laughs. Watching these kids go exploring through this visually amazing house, discovering clues, and hidden secrets is so much fun, and rekindles the inner child in me looking for adventure on Halloween. It really does take me back to that time when I was young and would go on imaginary spooky haunted house adventures with my friends. I can’t make a persuasive argument that this is a film for everyone, as some may be put off by the annoying character animation or other details. Perhaps it’s more of a guilty pleaser for me, but a favorite all the same. The film simply has everything you’d want ... lot of Halloween charms, likable characters, thrilling action scenes, a nostalgic overtone, and arguably the coolest haunted house I ever seen in motion picture.
#2 The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994)
As far as I’m concerned, the Halloween season
officially begins when I listen to this film’s opening “This is Halloween” number, which is still my
favorite song to associate with the season. I’ve always regarded this film as
the perfect holiday special ... Why, because it’s both Halloween and Christmas
rolled into one awesome package. When Jack Skeleton of Halloween town decides
to take a shot at Christmas, it becomes a crazy mash of two holiday worlds. The
novelty of the film is that it’s mostly told through song, and is brought to
life with top-notch stop-motion animation. It’s an amazing visual experience
I’ll never forget, with memorable songs, creative holiday worlds, and stealer
artistry. Two holidays are better than one, and this is that rare
Halloween/Christmas film that you can watch twice in the holiday season.
Before I
crown my #1 favorite, here are some quick Honorable Mentions …
“Scooby-Doo and the
Witches Ghost”
“Hotel Transylvania 2”
“Alvin and the
Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein”
“The Halloween Tree”
“Monster Mash”
#1 - Coraline (2009)
Even though this film isn’t directly aimed at Halloween, it’s still very creepy, twisted and dripping with a haunting other worldly atmosphere. When a little girl is tired of her boring life, she finds a door leading her to an alternate reality where everything is perfect and fun, but something dark and sinister is trying to lead her away, which leads into an exciting adventure involving Ghosts, monsters and talking cats. It’s scary but very exciting, crazy yet imaginative, dark but not without some decent family morals. Animated movies are always more impressive when there stop-motion films like this, I love looking at all the visuals knowing that there all real sets, props and puppets that act and perform right in front of the camera. Great atmosphere, eye-pleasing visuals, imaginative storytelling, a top-notch vocal performance from Dakota Fanning and so much more make this my favorite animated Halloween movie and personally one of my favorites animated films ever.
Thanks for
reading my countdown … and weather scary or kid friendly, make every day in
October feel like Halloween!
Happy Halloween!
kid halloween movies
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