Halloween is a great time to be with friends and to enjoy this spooky night in a family friendly environment. You can make your family’celebration of Halloween more enjoyable for kids of all ages by starting a tradition of watching family friendly Halloween movies together. Below is a look at family friendly Halloween movies by their titles and a brief description.
“It’the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” This movie is perhaps the most famous of all family friendly Halloween movies. In this Peanuts classic, enjoy watching the characters that you love dress up and celebrate Halloween while Linus waits in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin who he is sure will make an appearance that night.
“Casper” Whether you watch the live action or animated version, Casper the friendly ghost is a great option for families. In the live action version of this movie, watch as a ghost therapist and his daughter are hired to rid a mansion of ghosts so that the mansion’greedy owners can get their hands on the hidden treasure. “Casper Meets Wendy” is another fun Casper movie where Casper and Wendy the Good Little Witch meet and become friends, but their aunts and uncles definitely disapprove.
“Dr. Seuss It’Grinch Night!” If you loved the Grinch when he stole Christmas, you will enjoy this clever Dr. Seuss spin on Halloween. Follow a young Whooville boy named Eukariah as he learns important lessons about facing unpleasant facts and fears of life.
These next two movies are for slightly older children as the content becomes a bit scarier than what young children are able to enjoy.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” Follow Pumpkin King Jack Skellington as he attempts to take over Christmas in addition to his holiday of Halloween. This movie has received many accolades including an Academy Award Nomination for Best Visual Effects.
“The Witches” In this movie follow a young boy as he discovers the secret world of Witches, but with one catch, this boy has been turned into a mouse. Follow him on his quest to thwart the Grand High Witch in her plot to turn all children into mice.
If you are looking for even scarier movies that you and your older children will enjoy, consider the following list. Also note that some of these movies will have scenes of violence/gore and some of the language may be harsh for young ears.
“Hocus Pocus” Watch as witch sisters attempt to suck the life out of children in order to attain immortality. This comical movie takes place in present day Salem, Oregon and involves three kids, a talking cat and some interesting characters that you will only see on Halloween.
“Beetlejuice” This movie has an all star cast and is definitely a modern tale of the afterlife. With all sorts of scary un-dead creatures, this is a perfect movie for Halloween. Watch as a young deceased couple hires Beetlejuice, a bio-exorcist, to scare away a family that has moved into their old home.
If you are a fan of the classic Halloween Horror films, consider these for your family. The language is clean and the special effects may not be realistic enough to scare your kids.
“Frankenstein” (1931), “The Bride of Frankenstein” (1935), “Dracula” (1931) These monster movies are practically the definition of Halloween as we know it today. Watch as your favorite scary monsters suck blood, gain life from evil scientists, and even find love. You cannot lose with these quintessential scary Halloween movies. Your kids will enjoy how different they are from what they are used to seeing and you will enjoy the nostalgia of watching a film like they just don’t make anymore.
