The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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Halloweentown
Family · Fantasy · Comedy · 1998
On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns she's a witch, discovers a secret portal, and is transported to Halloweentown — a magical place where ghosts and ghouls, witches and werewolves live apart from the human world. But she soon finds herself battling wicked warlocks, evil curses, and endless surprises.
Movie details
Halloweentown
1998 Family · Fantasy · Comedy 1h 24m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns she's a witch, discovers a secret portal, and is transported to Halloweentown — a magical place where ghosts and ghouls, witches and werewolves live apart from the human world. But she soon finds herself battling wicked warlocks, evil curses, and endless surprises.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Halloweentown?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
Family · 2001
The Cromwell clan lives in the real world, except for their grandmother who lives in Halloweentown, a place where monsters go to escape reality. But now the son of the Cromwells' old enemy Kalabar has a plan to use the grandmother's book to turn Halloweentown into a grey dreary version of the real world while transforming the denizens of the real world into monsters.
Under Wraps
Family · 2021
Three friends try to save their mummified friend, Harold, from greedy criminals by returning him to his resting place before midnight on Halloween.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Fantasy · 1996
A girl, sent by her parents to live with her two eccentric aunts, finds out on her sixteenth birthday that she is a witch.
Hocus Pocus
Fantasy · 1993
After 300 years of slumber, three sister witches are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween night, and it is up to three kids and their newfound feline friend to put an end to the witches' reign of terror once and for all.
Return to Halloweentown
Family · 2006
As Halloweentown prepares to celebrate its 1,000th anniversary, Marnie Piper and her brother Dylan return to Witch University, where trouble is in session from the Sinister Sisters and from someone who's plotting to use Marnie's powers for evil.
Halloweentown High
Family · 2004
Marnie puts her magic on the line to get several Halloweentown teenagers transferred to her high school in the mortal world. But soon, Marnie and her new friends are in trouble and out of luck when the evil Knight Of The Iron Dagger appears. He's determined to destroy all things magical, and it's up to Marnie to save her high school, the human world and her magic.
Hotel Transylvania
Animation · 2012
Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up and no humans are allowed. One special weekend, Dracula has invited all his best friends to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis's 118th birthday. For Dracula catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but the party really starts when one ordinary guy stumbles into the hotel and changes everything!
Monster Family 2
Animation · 2021
To free Baba Yaga and Renfield from the clutches of Monster Hunter Mila Starr, the Wishbone Family once more transforms into a Vampire, Frankenstein's Monster, a Mummy and a Werewolf but when aided by their three pet bats, the Monster Family zooms around the world again to save their friends, make new monstrous acquaintances.
The Boy Who Cried Werewolf
Family · 2010
A Californian family inherits a castle in Romania. This is especially exciting to the son, who is obsessed with monsters. And he is not disappointed.
Monster High: Fright On!
Family · 2011
See what happens when the student bodies of an all-vampire school and an all-werewolf school integrate with Monster High.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Duwayne Dunham
Written by
Paul Bernbaum · Jon Cooksey · Ali Marie Matheson
Debbie Reynolds
Aggie Cromwell
Judith Hoag
Gwen Piper
Kimberly J. Brown
Marnie Piper
Joey Zimmerman
Dylan Piper
Phillip Van Dyke
Luke
Emily Roeske
Sophie Piper
Robin Thomas
Calabar
Court is in session
Put Halloweentown on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.