Snickers, gum eyeballs, and… a small pumpkin? Indeed, we all know that a kid’s trick-or-treating bag might be surprising.
Like their Halloween night, one moment, they are all in on the costumes, and then they become spooked by the adorable ghost they noticed in the window! Though we adore the costumes, sweets, and decorations, occasionally getting the younger ones into the Halloween mood calls for something a bit less frightening yet as entertaining.
This is where a family-friendly movie night steps in to save the day. Whether your children are tiny tots or adventure tweens, we have searched the top streaming providers to bring you 15 absolutely terrifying yet age-appropriate family Halloween movies.
This list has something for everyone, from funny, haunted tales to cute cartoons!
So grab the popcorn, put on your matching Halloween costumes, or get family Halloween costume ideas from PatPat and get ready for a magical movie night that will keep everyone occupied without the nightmares.
1. Coco (2017)
This family Halloween movie is full of skeletons, but in a positive way that will not always scare children. It’s a great approach for youngsters to understand more about that unique festival, as it’s about the Day of the Dead, not Halloween. In it, Miguel, a little child, unintentionally ends up in the Land of the Dead and must rely on his (dead) family to guide him back into the realm of life. He grows in respect of his family’s past and discovers more about his own background along the road.
2. Beetlejuice (1988)
The recently departed Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis) discover their property invaded by nouveau riche boneheads wishing to sell the house as a haunted tourist trap just as they are getting used to being dead. Desperate, the couple hires the wicked monster purporting to be a “bio-exorcist,” Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), to frighten the new owners away. Teenagers will like the odd obscene moments from Keaton’s fast-talking humor as Beetlejuice is a visual feast.
3. Coraline (2009)
Coraline will definitely give your children the creeps, but it might also teach them to see their world differently. Young Coraline (Dakota Fanning) in Neil Gaiman’s dark fable is unhappy with her family’s new house until she finds a secret passageway leading to another mirror world more vibrant and thrilling than actual life. Though they’re happier, more attentive, and more wary with their eerie button eyes, her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) and Other Father (John Hodgman) seem exactly like her real parents. Although tweens will find this family Halloween movie to be thrilling and well-animated, it is not a smart pick for the younger group.
4. Hocus Pocus (1993)
Complementing three children and their talking black cat, the comedy-adventure Hocus Pocus boasts an attractive cast of clever witches worthy of an annual movie night ritual. Skeptic loner Max (Omri Katz) carelessly lights the legendary Black Flame Candle on Halloween night in Salem, Mass, bringing three hundred years’ worth of evil women back to life. It’s a campy celebration of every seasonal delight and fear. A third movie is under development; Hocus Pocus 2 was released on Disney+ in 2022.
5. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
At least, Linus, who intends to skip trick-or-treating to sit in a pumpkin patch and wait for him, says every Halloween, the Great Pumpkin climbs into the air to distribute toys to all worthy children. Though Linus celebrates the season any way he likes, the Peanuts children in this beloved episode are all getting ready for a costume party. Along with a famous Lucy dragging the football away when Charlie Brown attempts to kick it, the brief also includes an adventure for Snoopy.
6. Monsters Inc (2001)
Every child knows there’s a monster in the closet; the comedy-adventure Monsters Inc. shows where Monstopolis, a vibrant city of furred, fanged, and tentacled creatures, bottle human children’s cries as their main energy source. Ironically, the monsters are afraid of children; when top scarer Sulley (John Goodman) unintentionally lets a child into their universe, he and his friend Mike (Billy Crystal) have to sneak her back home before Monstropolis collapses. One of Pixar’s best works, Monsters Inc., is also a great choice for any Halloween binge-list.
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Considered a cross-holiday classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas combines Halloween with Christmas in a joyful stop-motion animated musical. Discovering the neighboring area of Christmas Town, Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, gets enthralled with enigmatic ideas, including snow, presents, carols, and flying reindeer. Danny Elfman’s clever mix-and-match of festive classics and appealing tunes makes this a great movie for the entire family.
8. ParaNorman (2012)
Though ParaNorman is an exception, a delicate coming-of-age tale about a youngster with the amazing capacity to make friends with the dead, few zombie movies try to grasp the point of view of the monsters. Though separated from his family and tormented at school, 11-year-old Norman (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is well-liked among the revenant set. Norman takes up the annual ritual meant to guard the village from a 300-year-old witch’s curse when his great-uncle passes away. Norman has to discover what actually happened decades ago and how to right things as animals emerge from their graves and the townspeople start to flee.
9. The Witches (1990)
Staying at an English hotel with his grandmother, 7-year-old Luke (Jasen Fisher) finds a child-hating conspiracy in The Witches, a 1983 dark fantasy adaption. Just down the corridor is a convention of evil hags, and Luke hears the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) outlining her scheme to turn every child on Earth into a mouse by use of a magic potion. Luke has to figure out how to flip the script on the evil conspirators once he’s taken prisoner and made into a pip-squeak personally. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop’s inventive puppetry enhances the scary but kid-friendly movie.
10. Ghostbusters (1984)
Ideal for older children, Ghostbusters is a timeless comedic classic family Halloween movie with a first-rate ensemble. Playing college professors starting a ghost-hunting company in New York City, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson promise to free customers of paranormal hazards for a price. Two citizens, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis, are possessed by terrifying demigods that could wipe out the city as mystical energy surges through midtown. Though the viewers are sometimes eerie, the lighthearted tone keeps things lively. It will also permanently alter the way your family views marshmallows.)
11. Halloweentown (1998)
Children may explore a new world in the delightful Disney Channel original family Halloween movie Halloweentown. Until she overhears her mother and grandmother debating training her to utilize magic powers, 13-year-old Marnie (Kimberley J. Brown) believes nothing is unique about her. She and her siblings follow Grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) as she boards an enigmatic bus and makes her way to Halloweentown, a welcoming city of skeletons, warlocks, and varied ghouls housed in another dimension. With Aggie’s support, Marnie finds she is descended from a line of witches and unleashes her magical abilities just in time to fight a source of evil buried in the town. For a clear fall evening with the family, this is a cheerful tale.
12. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Hidden among the Transylvania hills with rafters full of zombies, werewolves, vampires, and everything else that goes bump in the night is a luxurious hotel. Count Dracula (Adam Sandler) has created a safe place for monsters to assemble far apart from the pitchfork and torch-wielding humans that threaten them in this fast-paced farce. Although Dracula wants to keep his teenage daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) sheltered from the outer world, Johnny’s unanticipated presence throws off his preparations for her 118th birthday celebration—a laid-back human visitor. With a star-studded voice cast, young macabre pupils will find great delight in the film’s vast spectrum of otherworldly oddballs.
13. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
The second of two featurettes, Washington Irving’s horrific story of Sleepy Hollow, becomes more acceptable for the youngsters in this cartoon. This narrative of bumptious schoolmaster Ichabod Crane and his antagonist, the Headless Horseman, follows The Wind in the Willows. Until the Horseman appears for one of those dream sequences Uncle Walt so loved, this is a simple, chocolate-box picture of colonial days. He enjoyed frightening his small crowds.
14. Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (2022)
With a sinister demonic uncle and the actual Halloween hook—the green, brilliant Hamsters of Darkness—it has a healthy Indiana Jones adventure atmosphere. Living a fish-out-of-water life, Chickenhare is the tale of a treasure-seeking adventurer like his adopted father, who never fits in as a chicken or a hare. Meg, who had all of us laughing, is a vibrant skunk who especially skunked out of a tavern during a fight. Your kids will like this family Halloween movie on Netflix.
15. Frankenweenie (2012)
With the 2012 stop-motion animated movie Frankenweenie, Director Tim Burton is carrying on his run of kid-approved horror presentations. Young Victor Frankenstein ( Charlie Tahan) chooses to handle things himself after losing his beloved dog Sparky and zap his puppy back to life. However, the bullies at the school utilize Victor’s reanimation machine to produce monsters of their own when they find it. Children and adults will find resonance in this somber but remarkably relevant story of a pet’s love that spans death.
Conclusion
These family Halloween movies offer the perfect opportunity to gather around the screen, have some laughs, and savor some spookiness together as Halloween draws near. Whether you’re dressing in matching clothes or curled up in comfortable pajamas, the delight of seeing these movies generates a lifetime of treasured memories.
See PatPat’s matching Halloween outfits and Halloween pajamas for even more Halloween fun that would be ideal for family-friendly Halloween movie evenings! Celebrate this eerie season with these amazing movies everyone will love!
Leave a Reply