Best Halloween Movies for Kids

Halloween is fast approaching, and that means it’s time to start thinking about what movies you’ll be watching. Sure, there are plenty of spooky films out there—but do they have a place in your home? If you’re looking for something more mellow (and less scary) this Halloween season, look no further than some of our favorite family-friendly Halloween movies.

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The Nightmare Before Christmas

The Nightmare Before Christmas is a classic Halloween movie that you can watch with your kids. It’s about Jack Skellington, a skeleton who lives in Halloween Town. He decides to bring Christmas to his town, but everything goes wrong! This is a Disney movie and it has singing in it too. It was directed by Tim Burton and made by stop motion animation (meaning the characters move).

Casper

Casper is a 1995 American fantasy comedy film directed by Brad Silberling, written by Paul Guay and Michael J. Wilson and starring Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. The plot follows a young girl who develops a friendship with the ghost of her uncle after he dies in an accident.

The film was released on June 16, 1995 to mixed reviews from critics; many praised the cast’s performances but criticized its story as being too similar to those found in other films such as Casper (1995) or James and the Giant Peach (1996). Despite this reception it was nominated for several awards including one Academy Award nomination at the 68th Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects.

Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie is a 1984 American stop-motion animated horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a remake of the live action short film of the same name, also directed by Burton and released in 1982. The film stars Barret Oliver, Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern and Winona Ryder in her feature film debut. In addition to being inspired by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, it was also influenced by the works of Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is a classic Halloween movie. It’s about witches and Halloween, but it also has a talking cat who helps the protagonist get through some scary situations. The boy in the movie is named Max, but his sister is called Dani because she can’t pronounce her name correctly when she was little. The dog’s owner’s sister ends up being good at magic—and bad at hiding her true identity from Max and Dani!

Hotel Transylvania

This is a kids movie about Dracula and his friends trying to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.
It isn’t scary, so you don’t have to worry about your kid getting nightmares or anything like that.
It’s funny, though, because it’s a spoof of vampire movies like Nosferatu and Silence of the Lambs (and it makes fun of other things too).

The Book of Life

The Book of Life is a film about a boy named Manolo who goes on a quest to save his true love, Maria. The movie is animated and has no scary parts, so it’s great for kids to watch.

If your child enjoys this movie, they can look out for other films by the same production company (Reel FX).