Halloweentown (film series)

Halloweentown
Poster for the first film.
Directed by	Duwayne Dunham (1) Mary Lambert (2) Mark A.Z. Dippé (3) David Jackson (4)
Starring	Kimberly J. Brown Sara Paxton Joey Zimmerman Emily Roeske Debbie Reynolds Judith Hoag (More)
Distributed by	Disney Channel
Release dates	1: October 17, 1998 2: October 12, 2001 3: October 8, 2004 4: October 20, 2006
Running time	336 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Halloweentown series consisted of four fantasy horror television films aired on The Disney Channel (presented as "Disney Channel Original Movies") between 1998 and 2006.

Background

Halloweentown proposes that fantasy beings such as Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, Trolls, Ogres, Pumpkin Heads (a race of people with jack-o'-lanterns for heads), Skeletons, Goblins, Humanoids with varying numbers of heads, Humanoids with varying number of limbs, and Humanoids with varying number of sensory organs are real, but have separated themselves from Earth's history to escape humans' fear and persecution. These characters created their own community, Halloweentown, a thousand years ago in an alternate universe.

Travel between Halloweentown and the ordinary, historical world (which Halloweentown residents call "The Mortal World") is only possible with magical aid, and only at regulated times (on Halloween), until the portal seals at midnight. In the second film they permanently open the portal between the mortal world and Halloweentown, and events of the third film breach the gap even more.

It is stated that many of the traditions of Halloween in the Mortal World are parallels based on regular traditions in Halloweentown. An example of this is how mortals wear costumes that mimic the creatures of Halloweentown, and are often depicted as being more frightening than they are naturally. In Halloweentown, the residents dress up every day, and most are much friendlier than humans generally depict them.

Although magic is present in many of the details of daily life of Halloweentown, it appears that only a limited number of persons actually practice or control magic. These people are mainly human, and are called witches (female) and warlocks (male). These beings appear human, but possess some sort of biological extra-sensory ability which allows them to harness magic unlike their "mortal" counterparts. Magic is also hereditary in their families.

The Halloweentown movies concern episodes in the lives of the Cromwell-Piper family. The family matriarch, Agatha Cromwell, has been a pillar of Halloweentown society for centuries. Her daughter, Gwen Piper, married a mortal and chose to leave Halloweentown for a life in the Mortal World. At the time of the movies, she is apparently widowed. She has decided to raise her three children (Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie) apart from magic, and thus rejects contact with Halloweentown and the influence of her mother.

Cast and characters

Character	Films
	Halloweentown	Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge	Halloweentown High	Return to Halloweentown
Marnie Piper	Kimberly J. Brown			Sara Paxton
Aggie Cromwell	Debbie Reynolds			Debbie Reynolds (cameo) Sara Paxton (young)
Gwen Piper	Judith Hoag
Dylan Piper	Joey Zimmerman
Sophie Piper	Emily Roeske
Luke	Phillip Van Dyke
Kalabar	Robin Thomas
Benny	Rino Romano
Harriet	Judith M. Ford
Kal		Daniel Kountz
Astrid		Xandra Radley
Alex		Peter Wingfield
Gort		Blu Mankuma
Ethan Dalloway			Lucas Grabeel
Edgar Dalloway			Michael Flynn
Cody			Finn Wittrock
Cassie			Eliana Reyes
Principal Phil Flanagan			Clifton Davis
Pete			Todd Michael Schwartzman
Chester			Jessie Harward
Natalie			Olesya Rulin
Bobby			Bob Lanoue
Scarlett				Kristy Wu
Sage				Katie Cockrell
Sapphire				Kellie Cockrell
Silas Sinister				Keone Young
Chancellor Goodwin				Leslie Wing
Professor Precilla Persimmon Periwinkle				Millicent Martin
Dr. Grogg				Scott Stevenson
Aneesa				Summer Bishil
Burp-Urp-Snurt-Pfsfsfsfst III				Christopher Miller

References