Ranking the Halloweentown Films

Okay I am fully aware that this is going to be my most controversial ranking article yet. Those of us that grew up with the Halloweentown movies feel very strongly about them. And that strong sense of nostalgia is what led to this list. I would also like to add that I did not come to these conclusions alone. I brought the perspective of nostalgia and many repeated watches, whereas my husband brings fresh eyes, logic and reason. That said, we agree on this list so no matter what your favorite Halloweentown movie is, this list does its best to be impartial. This list is from best to worst in the most relative way possible because honestly all of the Halloweentown movies are magic and there isn’t really a “bad” one.

In first place with a huge asterisk next to it is Return to Halloweentown. So here’s the deal: this is the Halloweentown movie with the best story. It has the most interesting and compelling writing. The acting is great. All of the elements come together in the best way. The huge, glaring, major flaw is that they recast Marnie without the original actress really knowing about it and expecting the audience to just be chill with the change. Turns out we were not so chill with it. And had this movie starred Kimberly J. Brown it would have been the perfect Halloweentown movie. It's not even that Sara Paxton was bad; she was just not the Marnie we grew up with.

Next up is the original Halloweentown. There is something so charming about the original movie and it does a great job of showcasing just how delightful Debbie Reynolds is. It feels exactly like it was released in 1998 in the absolute best way. It really left us all wishing for magic powers on our 13th birthday.

I actually struggled with putting this one third because in my mind it's actually second, Halloweentown High. I think I watched Halloweentown High approximately 1000 times when it was released. There was something about seeing the other creatures of Halloweentown in human high school that I really loved. And quite honestly it holds up. This movie is so good. I love the relationship between Debbie Reynolds' character and the principal. I love the interspecies friendships. I love the use of the knights. I just really love this movie. But more than that it is a very tightly paced, well written movie. It was more about teenagers of all species discovering who they are and what they want. And I think that story is timeless and adaptable into any form.

And last but not least we have Halloweentown: Kalabar's Revenge. Now I want to be clear that this is not a bad movie. None of the Halloweentown movies are bad. But comparatively to the other films the story was just the weakest. And I hesitate in saying that because the reality is that all of these films are well written 90-2000s Disney was on one. We are simply saying that off the amazing story points brought to us by Halloweentown Kalabar’s Revenge was the least awesome. There really weren’t any glaring flaws in the film, the story was just the least compelling.

The Halloweentown films are timeless and incredible. Truly a staple of the spooky season for all ages. As I continue to watch these films every year I am actually astounded by how awesome a series of children’s movies were and are. Definitely a recommended watch as we close out October leading into Halloween.