It’s October first, and that means the countdown to Halloween has begun! Keep the kids entertained between now and the big night with these fun, family-friendly movies.
All movie descriptions below are from IMDB.
Monster House (PG, 4/5 stars, closed captions available, currently priced at $7.99 to buy in SD or HD)
The teenage DJ is observing his neighbor Nebbercracker on the other side of their street in the suburb that destroys tricycles of children that trespass his lawn. When DJ’s parents travel on the eve of Halloween and the abusive nanny Zee stays with him, he calls his clumsy best friend Chowder to play basketball. But when the ball falls in Nebbercracker’s lawn, the old man has a siege, and soon they find that the house is a monster.
Later the boys rescue the smart Jenny from the house and the trio unsuccessfully tries to convince the babysitter, her boyfriend Bones and two police officers that the haunted house is a monster, but nobody believes them. T
he teenagers ask their video-game addicted acquaintance Skull how to destroy the house, and they disclose its secret on the Halloween night.
– Written by Claudio Carvalho
The Addams Family (PG, 4.5/5 stars, closed captions available, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $13.99 in HD)
The Addamses step out of Charles Addams’ cartoons.
They live with all of the trappings of the macabre (including a detached hand for a servant) and are quite wealthy.
Added to this mix is a crooked accountant and his loan shark and a plot to slip the shark’s son into the family as their long lost Uncle Fester.
Can the false Fester find his way into the vault before he is discovered?
– Written by John Vogel
Hocus Pocus (PG, 4.5/5 stars, closed captions available, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $19.99 in HD)
300 years have passed since the Sanderson sisters were executed for practicing dark witchcraft.
Returning to life thanks to a combination of a spell spoken before their demise and the accidental actions of Max, the new-kid-in-town, the sisters have but one night to secure their continuing existence…
– Written by anonymous
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG, 4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $17.99 in HD)
It is the same routine every year in Halloweentown, on Halloween the monsters come out and perform a real scare.
This particular Halloween, the pumpkin king Jack Skellington, bored of the idea, saunters off into the woods with his dog Zero after Halloween night.
Upon the break of dawn, he discovers a clearing of trees with different doors representing various holidays.
The Christmas Tree door attracts his attention and upon entrance into the world of Christmas, Jack is fascinated with this new idea of Christmas that he must absolutely share with the citizens of Halloweentown.
– Written by commanderblue
Hotel Transylvania (PG, 4.5/5 stars, closed captions available, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $7.99 to own in SD or HD)
In 1895, Dracula builds a resort in Transylvania, hidden from the humans, to raise his beloved daughter Mavis in a safe environment.
In the present day, the place is the Hotel Transylvania, where monsters bring their families to spend vacations far from the frightening humans. Dracula invites his friends – Frankenstein and his wife Eunice; Wayne and Wanda, the werewolves; Griffin, the invisible man; Murray, the mummy; the Bigfoot, among others – to celebrate the 118th birthday of Mavis.
When the party is ready to start, the 21-year-old Jonathan is walking through the forest and stumbles onto the hotel. Dracula sees Jonathan and disguises him as a monster to hide Jonathan from the guests. But Mavis also sees Jonathan and Dracula forces him to pose of a monster.
Soon Mavis believes that Jonathan is the “zing” of her life despite the advice of her father about the humans.
– Written by Claudio Carvalho
The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG, 4/5 stars, closed captions available, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $13.99 in HD)
Once upon a time, upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.
Unable to explain the strange disappearances and accidents that seem to be happening on a daily basis, the family blames it all on Jared.
When he, Simon and Mallory investigate what’s really going on, they uncover the fantastic truth of the Spiderwick estate and of the creatures that inhabit it.
– Written by Anthony Pereyra
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (PG, 4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $12.99 in HD)
Set back in the late 1800s in a Victorian village, a man and woman by the names of Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot are betrothed because the Everglots need the money or else they’ll be living on the streets and the Van Dorts want to be height in society.
But when things go wrong at the wedding rehearsal, Victor goes into the woods to practice his vows.
Just as soon as he gets them right, he finds himself married to Emily, the corpse bride.
While Victoria waits on the other side, there’s a rich newcomer that may take Victor’s place. So two brides, one groom, who will Victor pick?
– Written by XxCherrySodaxX
The Haunted Mansion (PG, 3.5/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, not currently available to own)
Realtor workaholic Jim Evers and his wife and business partner Sara gets a call late one night from mansion owner Edward Gracey, who is looking to sell his property.
Smelling the biggest deal of their career, Jim, Sara and their two children pay a visit to the mansion, located on a remote bayou.
A torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands the Evers family in the old mansion with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, Ramsley, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen.
At first Jim scoffs at Gracey’s stories about ghosts and hauntings, until he unearths the mystery of the mansion and finds that his wife Sara has unexpected connections to its haunted past!
– Written by Anthony Pereyra
Coraline (PG, 4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $12.99 in HD)
When Coraline moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents.
She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true.
When the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.
– Written by Claudio Carvalho
Beetlejuice (PG, 4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent in SD / $3.99 in HD, $9.99 to own in SD / $12.99 in HD)
This is the story of Adam and Barbara who live in a beautiful house in New England. One day while driving home they are involved in a terrible auto accident. They manage to walk home only to discover later that they have died and now haunt their house.
When their house is purchased by an out of state family, they feel their home is threatened by the over-the-top artist wife and real-estate idea-man husband. Their only relief is the Gothic daughter of the family.
Their attempts at scaring the family out of the house are ignored or laughed at. Finally they fall to the temptation to use the people-exorcizer Beetle Juice. When they find his tactics too dangerous, they attempt to contain him and save the family they were trying to boot.
– Written by FMJ_Joker
Parents: note that while this film is only rated PG, it does have some pretty creepy/scary elements that might give very young kids nightmares.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (not rated, 5/5 stars, closed captions available, currently priced at $9.99 to buy in SD / $13.99 in HD, not currently available to rent)
From Amazon:
This timeless classic from Charles M. Shultz and Bill Melendez is remastered and features many heartwarming scenes. Also included are the bonus episodes It’s Magic, Charlie Brown and Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown.
From IMDB:
Charlie Brown is excited to be invited to his first ever party, Violet’s Halloween party. Before the party, the Peanuts gang plan to go trick or treating, with Snoopy, who is dressed as the WWI flying ace, taking his Halloween persona to an extreme.
The one person who won’t be joining them for the trick or treating or the party is Linus, who will be waiting in his local pumpkin patch for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin…
– Written by Huggo
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