It's clear from the opening shot of a jack-o'-lantern,
before the title Halloweentown even
appears, that this is a movie built to tie-in to a specific holiday. (No, not
Arbor Day.) This marks Disney Channel's second annual mildly creepy October
movie. It's a story about another dimension that houses the homes of all manner
of beasties from folklore and fairytales, but there's not a hint of true
malevolence to be found. It's aimed squarely at kids and as such takes place largely
in daylight and the danger within is treated with gravity leavened by enough
sweetness and optimism that there's never any doubt that it'll all be okay by
the end.
At the start we're in our world when meet a spirited
13-year-old girl (Kimberly J. Brown) who wonders why her mother (Judith Hoag)
has not and will never let her and her younger brother (Joey Zimmerman) and
sister (Emily Roeske) celebrate Halloween. It's a question that's soon to be
answered this particular year by the arrival of their grandmother, played by a
true Hollywood legend: Debbie Reynolds. No longer the fresh-faced ingénue of Singin’ in the Rain, she still sparkles
natural charm with each twinkle of her eyes. By 1998 she had aged gracefully
into the grandmotherly roles she began taking. In this movie, the sweet old
woman only wants her daughter and grandkids to move back to her hometown, a
place her daughter would rather forget.
That would be Halloweentown and it's a secret the older
lady's not planning on keeping this year. For you see, Grandma is a witch. You
could've gathered as much from her entrance as a sort of bizzaro Mary Poppins
(though we're quickly made to understand that she's even sweeter and more
overtly indulgent a figure). She flies into the picture on a floating bus and
disembarks with her levitating umbrella and a sentient bottomless bag filled to
overflowing and then some with Halloween decorations, costumes, and a
preponderance of sugary snacks. If her daughter won't provide Halloween to her
grandkids, then she'll do it herself. Of course, for her, every day is October
31. One thing leads to another and the young teen overhears her grandmother
chastising her mother for slacking on the oldest child's witch training. Once
the secret's overheard, the kids sneak out after Grandma and end up following
her right onto the bus to Halloweentown.
This is clearly a low-budget production, but the star
location nonetheless shows some imaginative design. It's simple, like a
real-world small town's Halloween superstore burst and rained decorations all
over downtown. Happily amazed and not scared one bit, the kids wander around
looking for their grandma. The youngest asks if the town's in the middle of a
Halloween party. It's a festive place with cobwebs and pumpkins everywhere you
look. The residents are average folks going about their business, shopping,
chatting, and bowling, normal people but for the practical masks and sculpted
makeup that signifies them as otherworldly in some way. My favorite was the
two-headed bus station clerk who argues with himself about what one head is consuming,
since what one head eats, the whole body digests. After Head 1 takes a sip of
coffee, Head 2 shouts, "You're killing me!"
Despite all the monsters, creatures, and assorted spooky
sights, the production is too colorful and good-natured to disturb in any way.
Reynolds is the biggest reason for this. She brings a warm bubbly presence that
stays chipper even as she investigates some strange happenings around town,
where the movie comes closest to almost threatening to be nearly creepy. But not
to worry. It's all so sweet, brightly lit, and full of gentle comedy that plays
likably with themes of family and identity, sticking up for yourself, and
learning about your past in order to stay true to who you are. It'd be
stretching to say director Duwayne Dunham, who had previously helmed Disney’s
1993 live action theatrical release Homeward
Bound: The Incredible Journey,
and writers Paul Bernbaum, Jon Cooksey and Ali Marie Matheson, sitcom veterans
all, were trying to say anything particularly substantive about the immigrant
experience, but there's a bit of that floating around as a mild spice in this
pleasant witch's brew of a TV movie.
There's some external conflict about an encroaching dark
curse that drives the plot, but it never feels truly perilous, although the
climactic action is just dangerous enough to prompt these rather pluckily sunny
kids into action. It's urgent enough to provide some force to propel the
narrative. I like how it all comes down to a scavenger hunt of sorts. This is a
movie refreshingly and charmingly aimed directly at a child's point of view.
Not to say adults can't enjoy it - I certainly found it a mild diversion with
modest charms - but it's built with a solid understanding of the kind of
channel surfing elementary-age kid who'd be much better off landing on Halloweentown instead of Halloween in the last week of October.
Up next: Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
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