My Tribute to Halloweentown

A couple classes ago we were talking about the modern day town of Salem and how they capitalize on their history in almost an amusement park-esque way. Someone shared that they celebrate Halloween not just on the one day of the year like all us other people do but for a whole month. This really got me thinking about one of my favorite childhood movies that didn't get it's time to shine in our semester-- Halloweentown. Halloweentown is a journey of the Cromwell Kids embracing their family witch roots and going on their new life adventure alongside their teacher---Grandma Agatha.  If you've never seen the classic, here's a little peak of the kids and the town itself!

Halloweentown doesn't just celebrate Halloween for a day like us, or a month like Salem, they celebrate every. single. day. ever. A Disney movie released in 1998, Halloweentown enraptures the witchiness of the October holiday we all know and love. Witches in this film completely embody the clichés we've talked about: pointy hats, robes, black cats, potions, spells, flying, the whole shebang. The town itself is full of magical beings, not just witches. There's ogres and vampires and werewolves and genies and fairies and so on. The town came to be as a safe haven for all these creatures to escape the mortals. Here, once again, we see the trope of witches being "othered" from normal society. It's an us vs. them narrative once again.

What stands out is that there's a conflict between "good witches and warlocks" versus the "bad witches and warlocks" throughout this franchise. There's two types of witch you can be per say. And instead of the good witch being domestic, she is still powerful and independent. It definitely empowers the female witch instead of putting them down in my eyes. Witchcraft is framed positively when it is used for good in Halloweentown. It's not powers that make you good or evil. It's your heart behind the powers that determines if you're deemed "good" or "bad."

Although Salem tries to take the cake as capital of Halloween, in my eyes this Disney original town will always win that award.