Halloweentown (film)

Halloweentown
Promotional poster
Written by	Paul Bernbaum Jon Cooksey Ali Matheson
Directed by	Duwayne Dunham
Starring	Debbie Reynolds Judith Hoag Kimberly J. Brown Joey Zimmerman Emily Roeske
Theme music composer	Mark Mothersbaugh
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Ron Mitchell Brian Pogue
Cinematography	Michael Slovis
Running time	84 minutes
Production company(s)	Singer-White Productions
Release
Original network	Disney Channel
Original release	October 17, 1998 (1998-10-17)
Chronology
Followed by	Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge

Halloweentown is a 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Duwayne Dunham. It is the first installment in the Halloweentown series, and stars Kimberly J. Brown, Debbie Reynolds and Judith Hoag.

The film begins with 13-year-old Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) and her mother, Gwen (Judith Hoag), arguing over why she and her younger siblings 12-year-old Dylan (Joey Zimmerman) and 7-year-old Sophie (Emily Roeske) can never go out for Halloween, and why Marnie cannot go to a costume party. Her mom offers no clear explanation. Gwen's mother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), who is an expert witch, shows up for her annual Halloween visit. The children are happier to see Aggie than Gwen is, as Aggie openly encourages the children to get more involved in Halloween.

Unknown to Marnie, Aggie is intent on training Marnie as a witch. Before heading home, Aggie reads the children a bedtime story called "Halloweentown", a mystical place where witches, vampires and monsters of all sorts live in peace. Sophie points out a drawing of a witch in the book that resembles Marnie; Aggie does nothing to stop Marnie from imagining such a thing. Gwen and Aggie then get into an argument. Gwen insists Marnie will be raised as a normal person and not a witch. Aggie says she disagrees, but actually she is there for another reason: people have suddenly started mysteriously disappearing in her hometown. Gwen thinks they just moved, but Aggie says it is not that simple. Aggie desperately asks for Gwen's help, but Gwen declines. Marnie overhears the argument.

When Aggie leaves to return home, Marnie and Dylan follow her. They see Aggie getting onto a magical bus, and sneak onto it through the back door. When they arrive in Halloweentown, Aggie does not see Marnie and Dylan getting off the bus, and the children lose sight of her. At the same time, Marnie and Dylan realize Sophie snuck onto the bus. They begin looking for Aggie, and are approached by Kalabar (Robin Thomas), the Mayor of Halloweentown. He whistles for a cab which is driven by Benny (voice of Rino Romano), a skeleton with a bad sense of humor. The children find their grandmother's home, and against her better judgment, Aggie decides not to take them home immediately. She says she will start Marnie's witch training, but has to take care of "the bad thing" first. She shows her grandchildren what she is talking about: in her cauldron, a vision of a hooded demon appears, laughing maniacally. She says she must activate Merlin's talisman with a spell and potion to defeat the demon.