“Bay tiki mah, Bay tiki fear.” If these words look like nonsense to you, then you obviously haven’t seen the Disney Channel Movie Halloweentown. People may think that there are not too many Halloween films out there other than Hocus Pocus or The Nightmare Before Christmas, but Halloweentown is another great film that is often over-looked in the Halloween genre. Halloweentown is a children’s film, which aired on the Disney Channel on October 17^th, 1998. The film starred Debbie Reynolds, Joey Zimmerman, and Kimberly J. Brown.

Marnie Piper learns on her 13^th Halloween that she is a witch, and that she will be trained by her grandmother Aggie. Aggie is the one that takes Marnie to Halloweentown. This town is an alternate universe created by and for witches, wizards, skeletons, vampires, trolls, goblins and all things Halloween. Marnie soon discovers there is much more to being a witch than meets the eye. Evil forces are afoot and are working to undo the sanctuary that harbors all of Halloweentown’s exotic residences. The Cromwells have to work together to help save Halloweentown.

Halloweentown is actually a series of four films that aired between 1998-2006. The sequels are called Halloweentown 2: Kalabar’s Revenge, Halloweentown High and Return to Halloweentown. The fourth film re-casted Kimberly J. Brown’s character Marnie with actress Sara Paxton. While some fans were mad about the change, the original Marnie had no problem with it. “Sarah and I have grown up in the business together, and she is really sweet,” Brown said during a Facebook QHYPERLINK “https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKJB/posts/1045279878817731?comment_id=1045286438817075&reply_comment_id=1045289525483433&total_comments=4&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D”&HYPERLINK “https://www.facebook.com/OfficialKJB/posts/1045279878817731?comment_id=1045286438817075&reply_comment_id=1045289525483433&total_comments=4&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D”A. For young millennials, Halloweentown is one the most nostalgic Halloween films. Halloweentown was listed as number nine on the “Top 20 List of Disney Channel Films” and Buzzfeed stated that the film was one of the best things about Halloween. Halloweentown has a 6.8 rating on IMDB and a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.

For fans of the series, you can actually go and visit Halloweentown. The Spirit of Halloweentown in St. Helen’s, Oregon has an annual festival where the town is set up like the set of Halloweentown. Halloween became something special in the city after it was used to film Halloweentown. Local shops celebrate by decorating with scarecrows and spooky decorations. The City Square pays homage with a giant pumpkin similar to the one in the original movie. There are people who travel across the country for the activities. In St. Helen’s, and around the country, the Spirit of Halloweentown is to October like “The Grinch” is to Christmas. For the film’s seventeenth anniversary this year, Brown came back to St. Helen’s to light the annual jack-o-lantern in the middle of town. The 30-year-old actress came back to Halloweentown in October wearing her iconic witch’s cloak and with her broomstick.

Brown still loves her Disney past. In an interview with MTV, Brown said, “Halloweentown was not only an instant success for Disney Channel, but it’s since become a cult classic for the generation that grew up with it.” Both of these statements are definitely true. Halloweentown is still a success with fans ready to re-watch the series every Halloween. Brown said, “When I see it I just remember everything that went into shooting that scene. So sometimes it’s fun to just see the movies for that reason, to see those memories.” Halloweentown is one of those films that takes you back to your childhood and reminds you “Halloween is Cool.”

For those of you who want to experience the nostalgia that is Halloweentown, Disney Channel will be showing the film at three o’clock in the morning on October 29^th. If you are not awake for that, the film is on DVD and available on iTunes. And remember one last thing, being normal is vastly overrated.