Disney Channel and Nickelodeon Announce Halloween Tricks and Treats
Published October 04, 2005
Taking the low-density marathon-type route, the Disney Channel began its family-oriented "Hauntober Fest" — a Halloween-themed movie every night at 8 ET/PT in October — over the weekend.
We caught the charming-if-tepid Halloweentown High last night, about attempts by a well-meaning teenage witch to integrate the denizens of Halloweentown with humans - very multi-culti.
Continuing the "sympathy for the freaks" theme, tonight "children risk their lives on Halloween to help a mummy reunite with a lost love and save his soul" in Under Wraps. Twitches, starring Disney Channel stalwarts Tia and Tamera Mowry as twin girls separated at birth who meet on their 21st birthday and "must learn to use their magical powers to save the parallel world of Coventry," debuts Oct 14.
Conversely, kids network Nickelodeon is jamming all of its Halloween treats into a compact "Shriekin' Weekend," which runs from Friday night, October 28, until dark on Halloween, Monday October 31, with "eerie premieres" of Catscratch (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET/PT), Zoey 101 (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET/PT), Unfabulous (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET/PT) and Backyardigans (Monday, 10 a.m. ET/PT).
"Shriekin' Weekend" schedule (all times ET/PT):
Friday Night Marathon, October 28
7 p.m. — SpongeBob SquarePants/"Scaredy Pants" — SpongeBob is the easiest scare in Bikini Bottom, but this Halloween he aims to turn the tables and scare everyone at Mr. Krabs' party. With Patrick's help, SpongeBob devises what is sure to be the scariest costume ever. Although his costume scares no one, his presence does summon Bikini Bottom's most feared ghostly legend, The Flying Dutchmann, who is appalled by the way SpongeBob is portraying him.
7:30 p.m. - Catscratch/"Scaredy Cat" — Holiday Premiere — It's Halloween: superstitious Gordon's most dreaded day of the year! After locking himself in his room to ward off evil, Gordon grudgingly allows Blik to decorate the house. Unfortunately, when Blik turns the mansion into a giant spaceship, real aliens mistake it for their long-lost mother ship and show up to reclaim it. The three brothers must band together to defend their house, a mission made more difficult by the fact that the aliens have launched it into outer-space - with everyone inside it.
8 p.m. — The Fairly OddParents/"Scary GodParents" - Timmy finds himself mummified in two-ply toilet paper and trick-or-treating with Vicky as his chaperone. Tired of not having a cool costume, like the Jack-O-Bots in his favorite Crash Nebula Halloween special, "Crash Nebula vs. the Pumkinator," Timmy wishes everybody's costume were "real and scary." So it goes that everyone in the world becomes the character his or her costume denotes. The bad news is the rich kids are in the Pumkinator costumes, and when Timmy's wish comes true, THEY become the Pumpkinator - a gigantic monster doomsday device that can destroy the world. Oh ... and the Yugopotamians are angry they weren't invited.
8:30 p.m. - Danny Phantom/"Fright Night" — Heroic title teen battles the evil ghostly Spirit of Halloween a.k.a. Fright Knight. In an attempt to beat Dash in a haunted house decorating contest, Danny "borrows" Fright Knight's enchanted sword. When the powerful apparition arrives to retrieve his magic saber, he decides to stick around long enough to turn the real world into his own stormy realm of terror, but Danny Phantom has other ideas.
- Disney Channel and Nickelodeon Announce Halloween Tricks and Treats
- Published: October 04, 2005
- Type: News
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Video: Animation, Video: Family, Video: News, Video: Television
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments
you are absolutely right, Tan! Are You Afraid of the Dark would give the lineup an edge it is definitely missing and used to be a Nick staple. I wonder if they don't have rights anymore.
Eric,
This is a comprehensive guide. Thanks very much.
By the way, we've watched HALLOWEENTOWN and the two sequels this week. It's a kick seeing Debbie Reynolds in these things. My daughter is crazy about this stuff.
As a kid we didn't have this "soft" scary stuff. I remember we had weekly shows such as CHILLER and CREATURE FEATURE that provided truly scary old flicks. At Halloween time these shows had the best old horror around.
Anyway, thanks for the post.
great guide! thank you so much eric!
i'm too cheap to pay for cable here (thank you US for spoiling me rotten) but i've copied the guide for my sister who never seems to see these things in time for her kids...
i bought the halloweentown dvds and hocus pocus today...we should be ready for a ghoulish night-o'-G-rated-spookiness...
my comm-husband and the other marines in our apartment building have figured out a way to broadcast these dvds from our apartment to a screen to be set up with the lawnchair lineup in front of the building on halloween night...
your tax dollars at work!
i do wish for "are you afraid of the dark?" on dvd...and wings...and powers that be...and and and...sniffle, sigh, whine...
i don't own it on dvd as i've no wee ones around but i do like rather like "it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown" also...
That is so cool Diana, very glad it was helpful and your localized projection method is very clever! I love It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown as stated effusively here.
I'm not sure why there is no Are You Afraid of the Dark? on DVD yet, but there is on VHS.
Thanks Victor, I have come to count on you for reinforcement on these kinds of posts! I had never seen Halloweentown before last night but we will try to catch the first two for sure. It looks like they will recycle some of these throughout the month.
aww eric, your review of the great pumpkin was nothing less than precious and would be the perfect copy for the dvd jacket...your review reminds me of why i like these classics better than today's fare -- the slower groove that allows you to savor one moment before the next begins...well done...
thanks Diana!
I'll take Spongebob Squarepants for $1,000, Alex.
I would love to have a chance to program Nickelodeon for a day or two of Halloween fun. So many fun cartoons to share.
I agree - they really are missing out by not doing anything with Are You Afraid of the Dark, but as I said, there might be licensing issues
we watched Under Wraps last night by the way, and while Lily said the friendly mummy looked "fake," Dawn and I cracked up thinking it was quite clever. And if the mummy's grunting sounded familiar, it was the voice of Patrick on SpongeBob
The voice of Patrick! Damn, Eric, I knew I knew that voice but couldn't place it.
My daughter now thinks mummies are cute.
That's Disney for you.
AOL RED for teens announces its annual Halloween 'Scary Movie Contest'! Teens between the ages of 13 and 17 are invited to grab their video cams and make a scary movie (3 minutes or shorter) in time for Halloween. All entries must be received by October 12, 2005. Click below to view two of last year's wining entries:
Nightmare
The Music Man
Prizes:
- Fist prize winner will receive an iMac G5 computer and digital video camera
- Second Prize winner will receive a Sony PSP handheld game device with two games and two movies
- Third Prize winner will receive an iPod Nano
Scary Movie entries will be judged according to 3 criteria:
Setting: How well you use wherever your movie takes place to enhance the mood your trying to create, whether it's horror or suspense or humor. Sound effects help. So does music, but all music must be original (get your sister to play trombone off-camera - that'll be plenty scary). The use of non-original music will disqualify an entry.
Acting: Sometimes really bad acting can make for a really good scary movie.
Originality: Someone jumping out and yelling "Boo!" has been done before. Play with the idea of a "scary movie." Mess with it. Mix it up. Have fun with it. If your movie has a little something unique in it that makes it stand out from the others, you'll be in good shape. Unexpected plot twists (remember 'The Sixth Sense'?) are always good.
*Be careful. Remember this is acting - this is pretend. No stunts or situations that could be harmful to any person or animal allowed.
How to enter:
Anyone under the age of 18 who will appear in the video must have permission from his/her parent or legal guardian. Entries may be submitted in VHS or DVD format only. Any other format will be disqualified. Entries must be no longer than 3 minutes. To submit your entry, print your first and last name, street address, city, state and ZIP code, daytime telephone number, date of birth, and AOL screen name on a piece of paper. A minor (for these purposes, a person under 18 years of age) submitting an entry must include his/her parent's/legal guardian's name and daytime telephone number on the piece of paper.
Mail the above information, along with your video submission, to:
AOL "Make Your Own Scary Movie" Contest c/o AOL, 22265 Pacific Blvd., Dulles, VA 20166.
Entries must be received by October 12, 2005. Five (5) finalists will be determined according to the judging criteria set forth above on or about October 20, 2005. Finalists will be notified on or about October 20, 2005. From Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 ("voting period"), AOL members may vote for the best video from among the five (5) finalists posted on the AOL voting gallery site (Keyword:Scary Movie Contest).
yes Victor, "Patrick" was the mother's boyfriend also - here Dawn and I are cracking up and Lily says, turning up her nose, "That mummy is kind of, well, fake."
That's interesting AOL Red
"Under Wraps" may go down as one of the greatest hokey spook flicks ever. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!
The Mom Dating a Vampire movie last night wasn't cozy or cutesy at all: the rich guy from The Nanny was a 100% evil vampire with his sights set on Carolyn Rhea, and with her three kids out to save her. A fair amount of actual peril and suspense - thumbs up from the Lily-meter. She doesn't go for that silly stuff.
When i was little i wanted to be in a move . Well all i ever been in was plays, and also they were long plays. But all of those things are going to change.
it's Witches Week on Disney Channel - Hocus Pocus was much scarier and more "adult" than their other films, so of course our 5 year-old loved it. Holloweentown was more in line with their usual "spooky but not really scary" fare, but entertaining nonetheless
have now seen the Halloweentown trilogy: i like the characters, relationships and ambiance quite a bit, but the plots are pretty creaky
hi whats up brb(be right back lover) daiquan
i like disneychannel more than nickelodeon. Who agrees with me?
hey people. I'm Hilary Duff. Don't tell anyone else that comes on, though. I am in my room taking a break from my music tour
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i love all the disney movies.but i have one question how did everything end up at gorts house
espesialy in the mortal world.and also how old was sophie in 1 and then in 2.
questions fron the hollweentown movies.
by shelby
WELL Shelby I am not an exlent speller and I am no expert but I think Sophie was about 5 or 6 years in move 1. But in move 2 I think she was 6 or 7 years old.
Ihope that will answer your queston Shelby.
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Iwant a Hannh M CD PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE











It would have been great to have a Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark type of special too. Remember those shows? I was afraid...