The Nine Best Halloween Episodes You Should Watch With Your Kids
The golden age of television holiday “specials” is behind us: When you can watch Paul Lynde’s Halloween special or Halloween with the New Adams Family whenever you want, rather than at a certain hour in October, the special loses its specialness. But there are also some modern spooky-themed one-offs that you can watch with your kids to celebrate Halloween. In this post, I defined “special” as something that is not the length of a feature film, but could be a single episode of an existing TV show, and I defined “new” as “in the last decade.” Below I have collected the best modern TV series to watch with children.
Muppets Haunted Mansion
The Muppets have been a hit for decades, but this Halloween special was definitely a hit. It combines the classic Muppet formula – puppet show routines, lovable characters and surprise celebrity appearances – with a Halloween twist, in which Gonzo and Pepe the Shrimp spend the night in a mansion from Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. Yes, “Muppet Haunted Mansion” is a corporate synergistic use of two Disney IPs to reach an audience of programmers, but there’s still a little bit of magic left.
Where to watch: Disney+.
The creepy story of Captain Underpants
Everyone (except the most die-hard librarians) loves Captain Underpants! “The Creepy Tale of Captain Underpants the Hacker” is a special with more laughs than chills in which Mr. Krupp and Melvin manage to make Halloween illegal. So the Captain and his pals create their own holiday: Hack-a-ween. The absurdist, slightly crude humor of this book series fits perfectly with the light-hearted one-off Halloween format.
Where to watch: Netflix
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Legend of Boo-Keenie Bottom
Over his many seasons on television, SpongeBob has presented a ton of Halloween tales, but this one is my favorite. An animated episode with nods to Rankin-Bass (the people who brought us Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Mad Monster Party ), “The Legend of Boo-Keenie Bottom” will entertain both adults and children.
Where to watch: Paramount+
Mickey’s Creepy Stories
If you have little ones, Mickey’s Creepy Stories is made for them. This is a collection of gentle Halloween-themed short films that are a little spooky without being too scary. Seeing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, etc. Everything presented in computer animation may be a little annoying to you if you are an adult, like the consequences of the “Ghost Goofy” character, but your child won’t even notice it.
Where to watch: Disney+
The most wonderful time of the year
Apparently the annual Treehouse of Horror episode isn’t enough for The Simpsons Halloween, so this year they released the Halloween short film. In ” The Most Wonderful Time of the Year ,” Sideshow Bob teams up with “Disney+’s most notorious villains” to talk about the true meaning of Halloween, as well as some singing and cross-promotion. I included this three-minute “special” mainly because one of the villains is the hunter who shot Bambi’s mother, and it’s an amazing joke. This is clearly for older children.
Where to watch: Disney+.
Escape from the Undertaker
Like professional wrestling itself, Escape the Undertake r is the dumbest, most amazing thing ever. Young wrestling fans will rightfully love seeing their WWE favorites like New Day and The Undertaker (“Taker” to his friends) in a new environment, while funny-loving parents will shake their heads at how cheesy but surprisingly sincere it is. . Plus, Escape the Undertaker’s interactive choose-your-own-adventure gimmick is new enough to keep anyone interested.
Where to watch: Netflix
Werewolf at night
Werewolf by Night is a unique and stunning tribute to classic Universal horror films and Marvel comics for children aged 13+. The plot of Werewolf by Night is about a gang of monster hunters who travel to a creepy country house to (what else) hunt monsters. The most interesting thing is how the period story is presented: this special edition is 54 minutes of bold, old-school effects, lush black-and-white cinematography and period monsters created by people who clearly know and love the source material.
Where to watch: Netflix
Svengoolie’s House Cartoon Boo-Nanza
Let’s be clear, would you like? Svengoolie, the last of the old horror hosts, and his Sven team present a collection of the best horror-themed Warner Brothers cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and more, every Saturday night in October – you can’t go wrong with old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Nationwide House of Svengoolie is MeTV, which you probably don’t know you can probably watch right now. Here’s a guide tofinding a MeTV outlet near you .
Where to watch: MeTV.
It’s the big pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I said I was going to limit this list to the best specials of the last decade, but I included It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown because it was beautifully restored so it looks and sounds modern, and because Apple TV+ is streaming it for free. October 19 and 20 are a pleasant return to the “special” part of the holiday event. Apple TV+ will also stream “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” for free on November 23 and 24 and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for free on December 14 and 15.
Where to watch: Apple TV+