Top Ten Tuesday: Family Friendly Halloween Movies!
Sep 29, 2014 02:23PM ● By Fredericksburg Parent Staff
Tomorrow is the first day of October! Time to start hunting for perfect Halloween costumes, carving pumpkins, and snuggling under blanket with your favorite Halloween movies! Now, when we say "Halloween movies" we don't mean the gory slasher flicks that most people associate with the season. There are plenty of Halloween movies out there that the family can enjoy together. So grab some kettle corn and a cup of hot apple cider, and snuggle on in for some Halloween fun!
Top Ten Family Friendly Halloween Movies
For the really little guys ( These 3 movies are all rated G):
1 Room On The Broom- The beloved Julia Donaldson book (author of The Gruffalo) comes to life in this beautifully animated movie! Room On The Broom is perfect for the preschool and toddler crowd, and is only 26 minutes long.
2 It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - It really doesn't get more classic than this movie. Kids have been watching Linus wait for The Great Pumpkin since 1966. This would be a great one to watch after a day of pumpkin picking!
3 Disney’s The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow- Another classic! Did you know that this movie was first released in 1949 and is narrated by Bing Crosby? Just be careful not to mistake this movie for one of the scarier versions released more recently.
For the elementary-ish school crowd (These movies are rated PG)
4 Scared Shrekless- How about something a little more modern? Here is IMDb's summary: "Shrek gets in the Halloween spirit by challenging his fairytale friends to come up with scary stories for a contest. But the gang learns that they'll have to spend the night in Lord Farquaad's haunted castle before the winner is named." Who can resist that charming and hilarious Ogre?!
5 Casper- We love a good Halloween movie from the 90's! Per IMBd, "A paranormal expert and his daughter bunk in an abandoned house populated by 3 mischievous ghosts and one friendly one." Christina Ricci really is one of the queens of Halloween movies! She definitely doesen't disappoint in this one.
6 Frankenweenie - What kind of Halloween movie list would this be if we didn't include a Tim Burton film? Frankenweenie is a subtle parody of Mel Brook's "Young Frankenstein." In it, Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his dog, Sparky, back to life. Unfortunately for Victor, some unexpected albeit funny consequences ensue. Just a heads up: The movie is in black and white.
7 ParaNorman- ParaNorman came out a few years ago and boasts a star studded voiceover cast. You may recognize Leslie Mann and Anna Kendrick, just to name a few. The movie centers around a young boy trying to prove he can talk to ghosts all while saving his town from the undead.
8 Monster House - This movie is about three tweens that discover their neighbor's house is an actual monster, with a surprising secret! Don't worry, though. It has a happy ending.
For The Older Kids. (These are also rated PG, but are either a bit scarier, use some bad language, or have more potty humor):
9 Ghostbusters - Billy Murray at his finest! A hilarious movie about three scientists who get kicked out of their positions at a university and become paranormal investigators. The MPAA has rated this movie as PG. The original version has some crude language and humor, as well as some pretty scary scenes. The TV version is a bit cleaner than the original. If you're concerned, it may be worth DVRing when it comes on TV.
10 Hocus Pocus I don't know anyone who doesn't get excited when this movie comes on TV (moms included!). It's the perfect quotable, funny, cheesy Halloween movie! You can watch it with your older kids (it's rated PG for some scarier scenes and language), or have the girls over for a fun Moms Night Out!
What movies are you looking forward to watching this Halloween?
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