Halloween is right around the corner and whether you celebrate for the entire month of October or contain your spooky activities to a single day, there are a number of things you can do to mark the occasion. You might be heading out with the kids for some trick or treating, heading to a Halloween party, or staying in to eat candy and watch some on-theme movies. If it’s option number three, that’s where we come in.
The movies you watch when kicking back this Halloween may well be determined by the company you keep at home. Some of us don’t have the luxury of sticking on the Saw box set and letting it play. There might be kids around, and watching some old guy torture people with his gory games isn’t suitable for them. Don’t worry though as there are plenty of spooky Halloween movies that you can watch with your kids, and we’ve handpicked a few of them for you to choose from.
Updated on October 6, 2024, by Sai Vsr: In this update, we bring to you a classic kids Halloween movie that has been cherished across generations. Check it out below.
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It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Best Nostalgic Classic
Best Halloween Movies For Kids
Best Nostalgic Classic
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Sincere Pumpkin Patch Awaits
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a beloved animated Halloween special featuring the Peanuts gang. Join Charlie Brown and friends as they celebrate Halloween, go trick-or-treating, and await the arrival of the mythical Great Pumpkin.
- Beautifully crafted animation and soundtrack.
- Timeless charm appeals to multiple generations.
- Iconic characters and memorable quotes.
- Lack of resolution for Linus’ storyline.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown remains a treasured Halloween tradition nearly 60 years after first airing. This Peanuts special immaculately captures the joys and letdowns of childhood holidays. It follows the gang during Halloween, concentrating on Charlie Brown’s trick-or-treating misfortunes and Linus’ unshakable faith in the Great Pumpkin.
The special’s strength is its skill to blend humor with poignant moments, covering themes of faith, camaraderie, and determination. Iconic scenes, like Snoopy’s imaginary WWI flying ace battles, exhibit the innovation that made Peanuts an cultural phenomenon.
There are a lot of Ghostbusters movies out there as the series has been rebooted multiple times. You’d think since this is a guide to Halloween movies for kids in 2024, I’d have picked one of the modern remakes, but no. The newer takes on Ghostbusters are good, but nothing compares to the original concept, and kids today need to know that. Show them these iconic films and then they can watch the newer ones and if they don’t agree that the originals are the best, well, I’d be very surprised. Fantastic actors starring in timeless classics. There’s a reason the series has been rebooted so many times. Because the originals were that damn good.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
This Is Halloween
- Release Date
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October 29, 1993
- Runtime
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76 minutes
- Director
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Henry Selick
- Writers
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Caroline Thompson, Michael McDowell
- One of Disney’s best movies, Halloween or otherwise
- Will hopefully inspire ideas for some fantastic costumes
- Young kids will want to watch it every day, Halloween or not
Okay, I’ve held off on pushing this on you for long enough and I think I should be rewarded for that. If you’re going to pick up just one movie to watch this Halloween, then it should be The Nightmare Before Christmas. The one film on this list that I watch every Halloween (and every Christmas) without fail. Follow Jack Skellington – The Pumpkin King – on his adventure out of Halloween Town and his return, bringing Christmas back with him. A Disney classic no matter how you frame it, and one that can be watched any time of the year but feels particularly special when you watch it on October 31.
The Addams Family is almost as synonymous with Halloween as the humble pumpkin, and while there have been plenty of movies and shows depicting the creepy and kooky family, none compare to this one. If you’re struggling to place Addams Family Values, it’s the one in which a nanny brought in to keep an eye on the kids turns out to be a cold-blooded killer who marries men and then bumps them off, inheriting their fortune. Uncle Fester is her target, and when Wednesday and Pugsley start to figure her out, the pair get shipped off to summer camp. Another timeless classic and perfect Halloween viewing.
If you like The Nightmare Before Christmas but want to mix things up this Halloween, then you may as well stick with Tim Burton. No one does spooky animated movies quite like him, and Coraline is another terrific example of that. Coraline stumbles upon a mirror dimension in her own home, a reflection of her reality which even includes alternate versions of the people she knows. It’s her Other Mother and Other Father that freak Coraline out, sending her back to her own dimension. However, when she returns, her real parents are gone, and she thinks the Other parents she ran from have probably got something to do with it.
Tim Burton Really Likes Halloween
- Release Date
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March 30, 1988
- Runtime
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92 minutes
- Director
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Tim Burton
- Writers
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Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren
- Perfect time to watch as the sequel approaches
- A lot of fun alongside its spooky theme
- Hasn’t aged quite as well as some of the other picks on this list
Anything and everything is eligible for a sequel or a remake nowadays, and more than 35 years after the first movie hit cinemas, Beetlejuice is getting a second movie. That means there has never been a better time to watch the original movie than this Halloween, possibly the last Halloween before we officially have a Beetlejuice 2. Return to the edge of your seat as some good-natured ghosts have a moment of weakness, consider hiring Beetlejuice, and despite deciding against it, the damage has been done. An absolutely fantastic performance from Michael Keaton, and just a year before he puts on another one in Batman. The man really was on a hot streak in the late ’80s/early ’90s.
- Release Date
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July 16, 1993
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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Kenny Ortega
- Writers
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Mick Garris, Neil Cuthbert
- Sequel(s)
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Hocus Pocus 2
- Another classic that recently got a sequel
- And another Halloween movie with a fantastic cast
- If your kids have seen the sequel, they might struggle to get on board with the original
Speaking of 30-year-old classics getting sequels, Hocus Pocus got a follow-up movie in 2022. The actors who played the three witch sisters all returned to the roles and it was almost as if no time had passed at all. As good as the sequel is, there’s no beating the original movie. Resurrected after 300 years, the Sanderson sisters attempt to pick up where they left off, and it’s up to those who brought them back to send them back from where they came. Another Disney classic, and one that was originally released on the very same day as The Nightmare Before Christmas. Halloween 1993 must have really been something.
FAQ
Is Halloween Appropriate For Seven-Year-Olds?
Whether you think your children are ready for Halloween is naturally a decision that’s up to the parent. Personally, I would say seven is more than old enough to be celebrating Halloween and it’s likely they will have been engaging in Halloween activities at school long before that age.
Is Coraline Too Scary For A Seven-Year-Old?
Coraline might be an animated movie geared towards children, but it is still pretty scary in places. Much like deciding whether your children are ready for Halloween in general, determining whether Coraline, or any of the other movies above, is too scary for them is a judgment call. I certainly wouldn’t recommend they watch it without an adult in the room with them.
What Halloween Movies Are Not Scary?
All Halloween movies are a little scary otherwise they wouldn’t be Halloween movies. One of the animated picks above might be the best way to go if you’re looking for the least scary option, or something that’s as funny as it is scary like Hocus Pocus or Beetlejuice.
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