The Halloween Tree (film)

The Halloween Tree
1996 VHS Release Cover
Based on	The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Written by	Ray Bradbury
Directed by	Mario Piluso
Voices of	Leonard Nimoy Ray Bradbury Annie Barker Alex Greenwald Edan Gross Kevin Smets Andrew Keegan
Narrated by	Ray Bradbury
Composer(s)	John Debney
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Kirschner Buzz Potamkin
Producer(s)	Kunio Shimamura Mario Piluso Mark Young
Editor(s)	Gil Iverson
Running time	69 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna Barbera Productions
Release
Original network	TBS
Original release	October 1993

The Halloween Tree is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning 1993 feature-length animated fantasy-drama television movie produced by Hanna-Barbera based on Ray Bradbury's 1972 fantasy novel of the same name. The film tells the story of a group of trick-or-treating children who learn about the origins and influences of Halloween when one of their friends is spirited away by mysterious forces. The Halloween Tree stars Ray Bradbury as the narrator and Leonard Nimoy as the children's guide, Mr. Moundshroud. Bradbury also wrote the film's Emmy Award winning screenplay.

The movie is often featured on Cartoon Network during the Halloween season. The film changes the novel's group of night travelers from eight boys to three boys and a girl. A longer limited edition "author's preferred text" of the novel was published in 2005, which included the screenplay.

The film opens to the voice of a narrator (Ray Bradbury) describing one small town's preparations for Halloween night. Four friends are shown at their respective homes donning costumes excitedly: Jenny as a witch, Ralph as a mummy; Wally as a monster; and finally Tom Skelton as a skeleton. They all hurry so as not be late meeting up with each other and their best friend, Pip, who is described as "the greatest boy who ever lived". Jenny, Wally, Ralph and Tom meet up, but Pip is absent. Believing it a trick, as Pip would never miss his favorite holiday, the four head to Pip's home at the edge of town.