Random Spooky Things You Can Watch On Disney (18 items)

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  (#11) The Black Cauldron

  • John Hurt, John Huston, Nigel Hawthorne, John Byner, Phil Fondacaro, Freddie Jones, Brandon Call, Arthur Malet, Wayne Allwine, Peter Renaday, Susan Sheridan, Billie Hayes, Eda Reiss Merin, James Almanzar, Phil Nibbelink, Adele Malis-Morey, Gregory Levinson, Grant Bardsley, Jack Laing, Lindsay Rich, Steve Hale

  The Black Cauldron might not be considered a classic, but it doesn't deserve its reputation as the low point of the post-Walt Disney era, either. Based on Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain fantasy series, the movie follows the evil Horned King who hopes to use the titular black cauldron to raise an army of the undead and rule the world. Opposing him is an everyman pig-keeper named Taran, as well as Princess Eilonwy, a bard named Fflewddur Fflam, and a wild creature named Gurgi. 

  Disney hoped The Black Cauldron would be a Sleeping Beauty for a new generation. An ambitious production, it had a budget of $44 million and was the first Disney film to use computer animation. And thanks to its darker themes was the first Disney animated feature to receive a PG rating. Unfortunately, the uneasy transition into the post-Walt Disney era meant that production would be pushed back several years. New Disney heads Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner also clashed with the animation team on the final cut. As a result, The Black Cauldron would earn only $21 million in domestic gross and didn't get a home video release until 1998. 

  The Black Cauldron still has plenty to enjoy, including exciting action sequences, scary visuals, and likable characters It's a must-watch for fans of spooky fantasy, Disney completionists, and anyone interested in the history of animation. 
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  (#1) The Nightmare Before Christmas

  • Paul Reubens, Catherine O'Hara, Danny Elfman, Greg Proops, Glenn Shadix, Chris Sarandon, William Hickey, Ken Page, Carmen Twillie, Bobbi Page, John Morris, Randy Crenshaw, Daamen J. Krall, David McCharen, Gary Schwartz, Sherwood Ball, Doris Hess, Susan McBride, Kerry Katz, L. Peter Callender, Debi Durst, Judi M. Durand, David Randolph, Edward Ivory, Christina MacGregor, Glenn Walters, Robert Olague, Elena Praskin, Jesse McClurg, Mia Brown, Ann Fraser, Gary Raff, Jennifer Levey, Trampas Warman

  For people who love Tim Burton's signature mix of darkness and whimsy, The Nightmare Before Christmas is probably their favorite film.

  Directed by Henry Selick and produced by Burton, the film is set in Halloween Town and follows Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King, who over the years has grown bored of scaring children. When Jack stumbles through a portal into Christmas Town, he decides to bring the holiday to Halloween Town - no matter what.

  At the time, Roger Ebert called its stop-motion visuals "revolutionary." Featuring Danny Elfman's songs and score, the creepy feature is both a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie filled with chills, laughs, heart, and lovable characters.  
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  (#13) Mr. Boogedy

  • Kristy Swanson, John Astin, David Faustino, Richard Masur, Mimi Kennedy, Benji Gregory

  For certain fans, this movie alone might have been worth the cost of a Disney+ subscription. Mr. Boogedy tells the story of a gag gift salesman who moves his family into a haunted house - there's even a sign out front that says "Not Really Haunted" before a gust of wind blows off the "Not." Sure enough, the family is menaced by Mr. Boogedy, a ghost from colonial times who kidnaps children and takes them to the afterlife. 

  Since it originally aired as a TV movie, Mr. Boogedy's runtime is only 45 minutes. It's definitely more lighthearted than scary (it was originally conceived as an Airplane!-style comedy poking fun at horror tropes and starring Cheech and Chong), the movie is not without its scary moments. 

  Mr. Boogedy has been hard to find, but thanks to Disney+, this classic returns to the small screen. (The 1987 sequel Bride of Boogedy is not currently available on the streaming service, however.)  
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  (#8) Lonesome Ghosts

  • Walt Disney, Pinto Colvig, Billy Bletcher, Clarence Nash

  Decades before Ghostbusters hit theaters, some of your favorite Disney characters tried their hand at ghost hunting.

  In this 1937 eight-minute animated short, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are hired to rid a haunted mansion of its troublesome ghosts. But there's a twist: They were hired by the ghosts themselves, who are bored after scaring away the other visitors.

  The ghosts play a series of annoying pranks on the bumbling ghost-hunters, until Mickey and Co. inadvertently scare the ghosts away. Lonesome Ghosts doesn't just have similarities with the Ghostbusters franchise - according to some sources, but directly inspired the movies. Goofy even says the line, "I ain't scared of no ghost."
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  (#7) Halloweentown

  • Debbie Reynolds, Rino Romano, Kimberly J. Brown, Judith Hoag, Joey Zimmerman, Robin Thomas, Phillip Van Dyke, Emily Roeske

  While Hocus Pocus is hailed as the definitive '90s-era Disney horror comedy about witches, there are those who think Halloweentown deserves the title.

  The film tells the story of 13-year-old Marnie Piper, (Kimberly J. Brown), a girl who doesn't fit in with her peers because she's a bit too into Halloween. On the eve of her thirteenth Halloween, Marnie receives a visit from her great-grandmother Agatha Cromwell, (Debbie Reynolds), a witch. Agatha tells Marnie that she's also a witch, but if she doesn't begin her training, she'll lose her powers forever. Agatha then brings Marnie to Halloweentown, a magical realm populated by monsters, werewolves, and other ghouls who want to live without judgment. 

  While it's definitely more on the kid-friendly end of the spectrum, Halloweentown is still a beloved creepy classic 20 years later. As a girl who's been ostracized because of her love of horror movies, Marnie is an easy protagonist for horror fans to root for.

  On a fun note: The town of St. Helen's, OR, where Halloweentown was filmed, still celebrates an annual Spirit of Halloweentown festival every October. 

  Currently, Disney+ offers all four films in the Halloweentown series, including Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001), Halloweentown High (2004), and Return to Halloweentown (2006). 
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  (#2) Hocus Pocus

  • Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Thora Birch, Penny Marshall, Kathy Najimy, Doug Jones, Garry Marshall, Vinessa Shaw, Sean Murray, Charles Rocket, Jason Marsden, Kathleen Freeman, Norbert Weisser, Stephanie Faracy, Michael McGrady, Larry Bagby, VenetianPrincess, Don Yesso, Omri Katz, Daniel Olsen, Joseph Malone, Peggy Holmes, Leigh Hamilton, Teda Bracci, Taylor Stanley, Karyn Malchus, D.A. Pauley, Jordan Redmond, Devon Reeves, Steve Voboril, Tobias Jelinek, Frank Del Boccio, Ezra Sutton, Jeff Neubauer

  For many people, Halloween season doesn't being until they watch Hocus Pocus. The story follows teenager Max and his little sister, Dani, who move to Salem, MA, and accidentally free three witch sisters. The Sanderson sisters gleefully wreak havoc on the town of Salem, sucking the souls of children in order to stay alive. It's up to Max and Dani to stop them by stealing their book of magic spells. 

  Hocus Pocus isn't really a horror movie, but it's a comedy set during Halloween. The main reason fans keep returning to it is because stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy bring a lightness to the Sanderson sisters that makes them fun. Meanwhile, Omri Katz and Thora Birch turn in solid performances as a brother and sister who are forced to work together to save their town.

  When you add a script full of memorable one-liners, it's easy to see why Hocus Pocus is a creepy Disney favorite.

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