Fun family viewing to get you in the Halloween spirit
Getty Images/Official Trailers/Laika Need some suggestions for Halloween films to watch with the family? Look no further than our guide of new and classic live-action and animated treats (no tricks on our list). Official Trailer/DISNEY « Twitches » (2005) Twin witches separated at birth? Sounds like a classic plot with a Halloween twist. Tia Mowry-Hardrict and Tamera Mowry-Housley play the « Twitches » in this 2005 Disney Channel original movie. Their characters — Alex (Mowry-Hardrict) and Camryn (Mowry-Housley) — reunite on their 21st birthday just in time to use their powers to save those they love. Catch it now on Disney+. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images « ParaNorman » (2012) Laika, the Portland, Oregon, based stop-motion animation studio responsible for beloved, darkly-tinged family features like “Coraline” (see below), reached their peak with “ParaNorman.” This story follows an awkward kid named Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who sees ghosts and uses his abilities to help save his small Massachusetts town from the threat of the undead and a very unhappy witch. A true Halloween treat you can watch on Netflix right now. Official Trailer/Culver Studios « Monster House » (2006) Produced by Robert Zemeckis (and his ImageWorks Digital team) during the peak of his motion-capture animation phase, « Monster House » is exactly what the title suggests — a family-friendly horror comedy with that Amblin edge (and Steven Spielberg as producer). With a winning design aesthetic (the setting appears to be somewhere between 1953 and 1983), wonderful performances (including Maggie Gyllenhaal as an uppity babysitter) and a genuinely creepy-cool concept, « Monster House » deserves more love than it gets. It’s available to watch on Netflix. Official Trailer/Laika « Coraline » (2009) Intoxicatingly creepy and visually stunning, « Coraline » cemented Laika as one of the most exciting studios working in animation today. Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novella, « Coraline, » plunges into familiar horror when our titular heroine discovers a portal to a parallel universe, complete with « Other » parents, friends and neighbors — all of whom have buttons for eyes. As she gets pulled further and further into the Other World, Coraline learns that in order to stay there she’ll have to pay a steep price. « Coraline » is the rare, super-hyped film that deserves all of its buttons — err, stripes. Rent it on Vudu, Google Play, Amazon Prime Video, or another service. Official Trailer/Lee Mendelson Productions « It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown » (1966) Charlie Brown and Linus split up on Halloween night to try and welcome the mythical « Great Pumpkin » in this wholesome classic, also featuring Lucy, Snoopy and all the classic Peanuts characters.
