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Five Best Disney Channel Original Movies About Halloween

Noah Camarena |
October 9, 2014 | 9:36 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Halloweentown Poster (Twitter)
Halloweentown Poster (Twitter)
Costumes, candy and screams all encompass the spirit of the holiday that seems to last four days in college: Halloween. Growing up, Halloween always meant dressing up as your favorite movie character, walking around the neighborhood with your parents and resenting the houses that pass out raisins or apples; I want candy! Another staple of Halloween has always been the movies that are shown on Disney Channel. They became classics and helped define Halloween for an entire generation.

"Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire"

This 2000 comedy revolves around a few kids who would do anything to get their mom out of the house and get out of being grounded. The mother, Lynette, eventually agrees to go on a date with a man named Dimitri, who her youngest son, Taylor, is convinced is a vampire.

The elder siblings, Adam and Chelsea, do not believe their brother’s claims, so Taylor decides to hire a vampire hunter and follows his mom on her date with Dimitri. Adam and Chelsea do not want their mom to come home because they have other plans, so they follow Taylor to the site of the date. 

Adam convinces Taylor that “the spoon test” will help determine if Dimitri is a vampire, and when he passes the test, Taylor accepts that he may have been wrong. However, Adam then sees that Dimitri does not have a reflection in the mirror, proving that Taylor was right all along. He and his sister set out to save their mom from a vampire after he puts her in a trance and takes her back to his mansion. The vampire hunter, Malachi Van Helsing, is also en route to the mansion, as is Taylor who realized that he was tricked by his older brother. 

All four of these characters arrive at the mansion to battle against the vampire,but they are not powerful enough to do anything. Dimitri goes in to bite Adam, but he and his sister call out to their mother, still in a trance, who is awoken due to the call of true love. A newly awoken Lynette throws Dimitri away from her son and into a coffin where he is locked up by Helsing. The characters then all go home for breakfast as the sun is rising after a long night.

"Under Wraps"

This 1997 film, only the second Disney Channel Original Movie, is about a group of friends who discover a mummy in an abandoned house.

Just as many kids discovering a mummy would be, they are frightened by him at first, but they soon learn that he is actually very friendly. They name their new friend Harold and he takes up residence in one of their bedrooms. 

READ MORE: 7 Forever Popular Halloween Costumes

When they introduce Harold to another friend, who just happens to be obsessed with Halloween, they are informed that if Harold is not put back in his coffin before midnight on Halloween, he will no longer exist. 

The kids scramble to save their friend and go through a number of obstacles, including Harold’s scary appearance and a man who orders henchmen to capture Harold because he intends to sell the mummy. Harold is also determined to reunite with the love of his life, another mummy. Harold sees his love one last time before he is placed in his coffin and saved from eternal destruction.

"Phantom of the Megaplex"

This 2000 film is about 19-year-old Pete who works at the local movie theatre. The theatre is rumored to be haunted by the phantom of someone who was trapped in the old movie theatre when it was demolished. The theatre is preparing the facilities for a big movie premiere and Pete is forced to bring along his two younger siblings, Karen and Bryan, because his mom is on a date. 

Pete ditches his siblings to work on the preparation and then chaos begins. Mishaps occur all across the theatre and his brother and sister realize that all of the problems are related to the titles of the movies. All three siblings start to work together and discover that the rumored phantom is indeed behind these acts. They discover the ending to the movie that will be premiering and they are able to stop the phantom from messing up the premiere. 

The phantom is discovered to be senior manager Shawn, who is immediately fired but then offered a job by the producer of the new film to develop a movie based on the mayhem he caused throughout the night. Pete turns down a promotion to senior manager of the theatre in order to take time to enjoy the rest of his childhood.

"Don’t Look Under the Bed"

The 1999 horror film "Don't Look Under the Bed" is about a girl named Frances who lives in a town where strange things are starting to occur, including B’s spray-painted all around town. Frances’ locker is the only one in her school to remain untouched, pointing the blame towards her. A guy named Larry Houdini tells Frances that he is an imaginary friend and that the Boogeyman is the one who is framing her. Frances starts to lose her sanity after the Boogeyman causes a town-wide blackout, excluding her house, and she cannot convince anyone that Larry exists. 

Frances checks out “The Boogey Book” and Larry is able to transform the Boogeyman into a harmless old man. Frances discovers that Larry was her brother Darwin’s old imaginary friend. Darwin almost died from cancer at a young age, causing Frances to believe that she must grow up and take care of him. She had previously convinced Darwin to stop believing in Larry and to grow up.

READ MORE: Top 5 Halloween Movies To Watch

Larry makes Boogey Goo in order to attract the Boogeyman. Darwin accidently steps in the goo and is captured by the Boogeyman himself. Larry and Frances follow her brother under her bed to the Boogeyworld dimension where Larry transforms to a Boogeyman himself. Once Frances convinces Darwin to believe in Larry again, he reverts back to his original self. 

Frances discovers that Boogeymen are created when people stop believing in their imaginary friends. She then realizes that the Boogeyman who was framing her is her imaginary friend Zoe, whom she stopped believing in when Darwin was sick. Frances proves that she still cares about Zoe and holds her hand as she returns to her to her original form. 

Frances and Darwin return to the real world after their adventure. Larry kisses a distraught Frances to show her that being an adult can have its perks as long as you do not let go of your childhood. 

"Halloweentown"

The first installment in one of Disney Channel’s most successful franchises follows a young girl named Marnie in this 1998 film.

Marnie’s mom will not let her go out on Halloween, a view that is completely opposite to Marnie’s grandmother Aggie, an expert witch. Aggie wants to raise Marnie as a witch while her mother wants her to remain a normal girl. Even though Aggie disagrees with her daughter’s reasoning, she says that her main reason for showing up at the house is because people have started to disappear.

Marnie heard the whole story and decides to follow her grandmother to Halloweentown. Marnie and her younger brother Dylan sneak onto the magical Halloweentown bus and later discover that their youngest sister, Sophie, was on the bus as well. When they arrive in Halloweentown, the mayor, Kalabar, whistles the siblings a cab and sends them to their grandmother. Aggie wants to start Marnie’s witch training but first she shows the children a vision of a hooded demon laughing in a cauldron, something she says she must take care of prior to the training.

Marnie runs into a boy named Luke at a broom shop before her mother shows up and tries to bring the children back to the mortal world. Her mother tries to find a way back home and asks the mayor, whom she discovers is her former boyfriend Kalabar. Kalabar leaves and the family sees Luke and Aggie going to an abandoned movie theatre and follow. 

At the movie theatre, they get in a battle with the demon seen earlier, who is revealed to be none other than Kalabar. In the battle, Marnie is able to light a giant jack-o-lantern in the middle of the town which frees all of the Halloweentown civilians who went missing. Kalabar is then defeated by the family who return to the mortal world.

These movies have become classic Halloween films and can be seen on Disney Channel throughout the month of October. 

Contact Staff Reporter Noah Camarena here and follow him on Twitter here.


 

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