Halloween: Return to Halloweentown

We've now come to the final Halloweentown movie and well,  this movie isn't good. It decided to add in a Chosen One narrative into the final movie. Gets rid of Debbie Reynolds save for two cameos. Kimberly J. Brown is out as Marnie and Gwen has somewhat reverted back to who she was during the original two movies.  Now, in an interview with Seventeen, Brown does address the recasting issue somewhat.  

I was disappointed for the fans. And I guess a little disappointed in general just because I love Marnie and love the series and just would always love to continue to play her. But that was a decision that they made and that's how it went.

She makes it known that she holds no ill will towards Sarah Paxton, who played Marnie in this movie but admits that she wishes that she could have played the role in this movie. Which brings us to the fan reaction towards this movie, many fans prefer to dismiss this entry as it's a little jarring to have someone brand new play Marnie after three movies. And no disrespect to Ms. Paxton but just looking at her and you can tell, that it's someone new. It also doesn't help that the way Marnie acts in this movie doesn't exactly align with how Marnie was portrayed when played by Brown.  Paxton's Marnie for a lack of a better word seems more girly.

Paxton is not bad in the role but after spending three movies with Brown, it is a little disorienting. So, what's the plot of this fourth and final movie?    Halloweentown: The College Years. 

That's the base of it but there are some other things that we should look at within the plot section of this review. I may have jumped the gun a bit during the first review with my Coven comparison as that is essentially what the villains of this movie are.

  

The villains this time around are a group known as the Dominion.   And the way they operate is rather akin to the idea of Covens.

With that outta the way, let's get to the plot.

The Plot

This is going to sound really weird but the plot of the fourth movie is simple yet convoluted.  On the base level, the movie is exploits of Marnie and Dylan attending Witch U in Halloweentown.  And apparently, there was a foretold prophecy that Marnie is the Cromwell that can harness the power of an item known as The Gift. 

  

An item that the Dominion wanted to use to control all creatures of Halloweentown.  And that is how we find that Splendora, a great ancestor of Marnie hated this item as Marnie went back in time to get the key to unlock the Cromwell box that this item was in.  Oh, and in a really dumb move, it's revealed that this ancestor is actually  Aggie.

Uh yeah, Sarah Paxton. I mean no disrespect here but you don't exactly look like a young Debbie Reynolds.  

Marnie getting accepted to this college was all a ruse by this college and the only reason Dylan is there is because that's the only way Gwen felt comfortable with Marnie going to this college.  Which brings me to another issue with this movie.  They turn Dylan into a lapdog almost quite literally for three new characters The Sinister Sisters. And gah, I hate these three. The mean girl characters are my least favorite trope in fiction. I went on a long tangent during my months-long Sabrina reviews about two years ago. But I feel like mean girl characters add nothing of value to the stories that they appear in as they're usually written in a shallow manner that is only meant to A. torment the main character and B. makes said main character look better.   Libby from the '90s TGIF Sabrina sitcom is a perfect example of this. That's partially why I when I wrote my story, Ellie Brendan, I killed that character as she was a mean girl and it was a way of me venting frustrations with that overused trope. 

Oh, and I wasn't kidding when I said Dylan was turned into a dog.  

Hi, Dylan.  Oh, and Marnie for the third movie in a row has a new love interest.  Hi Ethan!  

There is only one reason that this happened and that's because in between the third and fourth movies, Lucas Grabeel was in the Disney Channel mega-hit, High School Musical.  So of course, Disney Channel was going to want to up his status in this movie as it would serve as a reminder and advertisement for this biggest hit. Even though the interaction he showed with Marnie in Halloweentown High never seemed to hint at any romantic feelings.  In that Seventeen interview with Brown, I linked to, she spoke on this matter.  

Honestly, I don't think she ever would have ended up with Ethan because I always thought of Ethan as her student, and he was, in my mind, significantly younger than her. That was an interesting aspect that was kind of glossed over, shall we say, in the last movie

I understand Brown is just an actress and one that sadly wasn't even in this movie but having played Marnie for three movies I trust her word as she had lived with this character since she was 14.  So, I'm going to trust her word a little bit here.   Looking at the basics of the movie, this isn't bad but it's thrown in so many things that get old after a while.  And none of the new supporting characters are even worth talking about as they're as the students from the third movie and that's not a good thing.  I know I didn't exactly go in-depth here but like I said this movie just falls flat a little bit.   Let's move onto characters.


Characters

Main Character


Marnie played by Sarah Paxton

I'll keep beating this point home, I have nothing against Paxton in this movie she did her best with the material that she was given but this just didn't feel like Marnie.   Yes, Marnie had her more girlish moments in the first three movies but the first scene in this movie has her picking out clothes via magic and that feels like something that Marnie, as played by Brown, wouldn't do.  Brown's Marnie didn't care about that kind of stuff.  And didn't seem so easily flustered as Paxton's Marnie is. Maybe, that's because of the new rule stipulated at Witch U thanks to Marnie's action from the third movie that magic is now restricted.  Again, I don't wanna rag on Paxton too much as Brown does point this out in that interview.

I know Sarah [Paxton, who took over the role of Marnie in the fourth movie], and she and I have grown up together and she's awesome. But yeah, I just appreciated the support for sure.

Considering the relationship that Brown speaks of here, I hate being hard on Paxton but her take on Marnie left me wanting. 



Supporting Characters


Dylan played by Joey Zimmerman

Dylan's character felt like he took a major downgrade in this movie as it seemed like the only thing he had to do was aimlessly follow around The Sinister Sisters and do whatever they asked of him.  And not be his own character. 


Ethan played by Lucas Grabeel

I'll admit that there is chemistry between Paxton and Grabeel but it still feels like a tonal shift to all the sudden has Ethan be the new lovest interest.  And it certainly felt calculated on Disney Channel's part to up his character to love interest status. 



Gwen played by Judith Hoag

In the last movie, Gwen was okay with magic but now she seems to have reverted back to who she was in the original two movies and isn't a fan of magic but has to use it as a means of keeping in touch with her daughter. 




Professor Periwinkle played by Millicent Martin

This character is quirky and that's her only defining characteristic.  Besides being the obvious stand-in for Aggie.  The movie even points this out, when Dylan says that she's a dead ringer for grandma. Thanks, movie, I wouldn't have guessed that this character was meant to fill in for one of the best characters that wasn't in this movie.


Villains


The Sinister Sisters played by Kate Cockrell, Kellie Cockrell, & Kristy Wu

Gah, these characters sure do exist and I wish they didn't They're just mean girl characters and there is nothing more to them than that.  They serve as lackeys to the Dominion and that's about it. Two of them don't have any free thought of their own.


The Dominion played by Kenone Young, Leslie Wing, & Scott Stevenson

I don't hate these characters as villains as I prefer having magical baddies but man this is the largest downgrade.  It really says something when the first two movies had the best villains in the franchise and the villains in the final movie don't feel like a threat at all.   They were trying to continue with the racism/prejudice angle that was set up in the last movie but it doesn't feel like they went far enough with it.


My Final Thoughts



Skip this movie. It's not worth checking out. Just stick with the trilogy of the first three movies.  For being the final entry in this series, this is such a letdown.  Quite a shame that the series had to go out on such a whimper.   Peace! 

Can We Talk about The Trailer for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

I present to you, without context, my reaction to the trailer for the Disney+ series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.  

Now,  I could just leave it there as those gifs sum it up but ugh, this trailer irked me to no degree.   Let's start with the obvious issue here.  That title is atrocious, it's just such a dumb a title.  Oh, I'm sorry, you need to watch the trailer to understand my other frustrations. 





This trailer is just mean-spirited and nasty.  It's trying to be hip, edgy and "mature" but that's not what HSM ever was.  HSM was cheesy silly fluff that had heart.  Sure, a lot of people thought they were dorky and dumb but those movies meant a lot to me growing up.  They were my gateway into loving musicals and to see a trailer for a series that is using the name of the series be this way is just heartbreaking.  I have discussed at length, how fans shouldn't attack creators or those involved with projects attached to a franchise they love.   And I'm not trying to be a bad fan here but this broke my heart.  It's using the High School Musical label while mocking High School Musical.   That leads me to ask, who is this for?


It's years too late to convert people that don't like the movies and this trailer could turn off people like me that loved the movies. They take a dig at the sequels in this trailer. 

I've seen the movie thirty-seven times, and the first fifteen minutes of both sequels

HSM fans that like the first movie also like the sequels.  This feels like all those caustic critics that were dumping on HSM when that was popular but now, it's an official Disney show doing that and it feels like Disney is telling HSM fans, they're wrong for liking the sequels.   Look,  I know how dumb it is but all three HSM movies are my favorite Disney Channel movies and to see this trailer take a dig at someone that likes the sequels comes across as some HSM elitist going...

Oh, you like those movies? Really, the first one is the only one that matters

Yes, I do and I think they're better than the original movie.  You don't need to crap on the sequels to show that you love the original movie.  It's just...

That! Because as a fan, it comes across as telling me that my feelings are wrong for liking something this trailer feels the need to make fun of.  Yes, I know I'm being overdramatic but do you know how often I've heard these movies be put down and now to see something that is using the franchise's name do that, is well, I won't say a stab in the heart as that's a bit much but I was hoping for better than that.   So, what's the premise of this show. I could use the Wiki description, which isn't that bad.

The series follows "a group of students at East High who stage a performance of High School Musical for their winter theater production, only to realize that there is as much drama that happens offstage as there is onstage

Sounds cute but let's use the line that opens the trailer.

When I heard the high school where High School Musical was shot had never staged a production of High School Musical: The Musical, I was shocked, inspired and triggered as a Millenial  

Ha Ha,  a joke about Millenials being triggered by the littlest thing.  Look, I'm not one to say that people can't make trigger jokes but that joke is just so cliched and personally, I'm not a fan of triggered jokes.  Because those can be serious things.

A trauma trigger is a psychological stimulus that prompts recall of a previous traumatic experience. The stimulus itself need not be frightening or traumatic and may be only indirectly or superficially reminiscent of an earlier traumatic incident, such as a scent or a piece of clothing.

The website HealthyPlace has a blog from last year that goes into more detail about why trigger jokes can upset people. 

When it comes to mental health issues, triggers can manifest in various ways for various illnesses. The long and the short of it is that mental health triggers are cues or things that set off certain reactions, typically negative, for people with mental illnesses

Now obviously,  I am not one-hundred percent the same as what this quote is referring to.  However, I know what it feels to like to deal with these things.  I get overstimulated and sometimes loud noises and large groups of people can yes, trigger me and cause me to shut down internally.  So again...

This trailer isn't just undermining fans of the movies but also people that have to live with these things every single day.  Maybe, I'm proving the point of those that believe my generation to be too soft right but I care and have always cared.  That joke makes it seem like I'm wrong for caring.


I haven't even touched on the fact that this doesn't involve any of the characters from the movies I loved, which is annoying but is honestly the least of my problems with bigger things like that line.  Yeah, maybe I'm an SJW snowflake but that is just so disappointing.

We get other examples of how "mature", this show thinks it is. 

Drama teacher: Ryan right? (looking at student)

Other student: I think he'd rather Sharpay

Drama teacher: That is so fresh

Yeah..., if this show is going where I think it's going.

I don't trust Disney to tackle this subject with the tact and respect it deserves but instead turn it into the outdated man in a dress joke that society is trying to move past.  This video from Matt Baume about the time, when RuPaul guest-starred on a sitcom starring LL Cool J goes into more detail about this dangerous mindset.

In the early 90s, drag had a problem -- namely, that a lot of people had no idea what drag was, thanks to decades of misrepresentation on TV and movies.  In decades past, if you did see a man wearing a dress, it was likely (meant) to (be) played as a punch line. -- for example, in Some Like it Hot, or Tootsie. The joke, such as it was, was that it was humiliating for a man to stoop so low as to dress as a woman -- which isn’t so much a joke as just misogyny.  And on the rare occasions when you did see actual drag, it was often bizarrely misrepresented.

Look, I know some people may think those older movies meant no harm and that may have been the case at the time they were released but there is a reason that Matt Baume and many other outspoken members of the LGTBQ+ community are highlighting the problematic issues.  They aren't saying that you can't enjoy those movies but asking that you acknowledge how they could make these people feel as though they don't matter and that they are less for how they choose to live their lives.


I know for some, the gut reaction might be to say that they're wrong and the movies didn't mean that.  Here's the thing, I believe that but the feelings of the people that feel this way matter a deal more to me because for some in this community, they are still fighting to be noticed.


Bringing this back to this trailer and that line, I can see what they're going for but that scene felt as though, it was framed as a joke. Not like the examples of decades past that Matt Baume listed but still in a way, that is framed as a joke.  And that is disconcerting as people that partake in this lifestyle shouldn't be treated as a joke.  We're all human and the least we can do is show people that are different from the quote-unquote norm, a little human decency.  Or to put it another way.






It's just so frustrating to see a franchise that I love and meant a lot to me being used in this way.  Look, I know it wasn't exactly popular back in the day to say that you liked these movies but I never hid my shame in enjoying these movies.  As they knew what they were, they were cute little fluffy movies that yes, were cliche but had heart and oozed genuineness.  Because they weren't ashamed of being those cute little fluffy movies.  Sure, by the time of the third movie, the stakes got higher but the films never forgot what they were. From everything I can see from this trailer,  it wants to cash in on the nostalgia fans have for HSM, while also mocking HSM.  Which, why?  Again, I know it's really silly to get upset about a trailer and for most people, they don't even care about this show but I wanted to talk about my issues with this trailer because as a fan, this doesn't feel like the Wildcat spirit and as a human being, I was left with a nasty taste in my mouth after watching the trailer.  As though, someone took this franchise I love and doused with the nastiest things they could find.   It's Sharpay all grown up if she hadn't learned her lesson by the end of the last movie.  And no-one wants that.

I know not everyone is going to have the same reaction and I know some think I'm blowing this out of the water but this trailer left me with such a visceral reaction that I haven't felt in some time. I was at one time looking forward to this project as it seemed intriguing but now, I wish Disney had let the HSM franchise remain dormant.  Peace! 

A Look at Disney Gets Tangled: You're Kidding Me

The last couple of  Tangled articles have been rather heavy from looking at how one can't suppress their sadness in Happiness Is... Counting down the Top 6 Saddest Tangled Moments and looking at a tie-in book that tackled very important political issues.

 



I've hinted at this review throughout the other Tangled articles saying that I'd look at something a bit more lighthearted with this episode. A bit ironic considering that this episode falls in the middle of the show's darkest arc set at The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow.

The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow is an inn made completely out of seashells that Rapunzel & co take shelter in after quite a bad rainstorm.  Oh, and it's haunted and the innkeeper, Matthews is trying to keep Rapunzel trapped within the Inn as he is a servant of the show's bigger bad, Zhan Tiri.  How does he attempt this? Well, there was the first night where he had evil reflections attack the main characters and the last episode in this arc involved trapping Rapunzel in her mind.

 



So, what was Matthews' plan in this episode? To turn Rapunzel into a child and keep her trapped as a young girl in the Inn.  It didn't work as instead, Rapunzel's friends were turned into the young kids.  And this episode is less about her friends as children. This is an old cliche that nearly every cartoon has done.  The Justice League Unlimited episode, Kid Stuff comes to mind as a popular example of this trope being used in a beloved cartoon.

So, if this episode isn't exclusively about the exploits of Rapunzel's friends as little kids, what is it about?

Parenting.  This episode made me realize something, Disney fans have a fascination with seeing characters they love as parents.  Sure, there are things like Ariel and Melody.

However, that's one of the only onscreen examples of a Disney character being a parent that has some prominence save for Simba with Kira and Kion. (Unless you count Descendants.  And I'm still trying to wrap my head around the revelation from the third movie in that series, that Hades and Maleficent were married.)  If you Google any random Disney character as parent and child, you'll get a lot of fan art of said character as a parent. Here take a look at this piece titled Walk With Daddy from Deviantart user, Lokotei.


Why is there such a fascination with seeing these characters as parents? Well,  I think part of it may come from the love that fans have for these characters.  And we'd like to imagine how they'd be as most of them were young teenagers in their stories.  And this also ties into my belief that stories can usually be a moment in a character's life and those moments show where they are in that moment of their life. Getting to see them as parents, if done well could show the audience how these characters have matured and grown.


Now obviously, this episode is a bit different in that regard as Rapunzel and Eugene are not parents to children that call them Mom or Dad but rather, their adult friends that were turned into little kids. Still, this episode does give us a glimpse into how my favorite Disney couple might operate if they ever have children. With this introduction outta the way, let's move onto the plot.


The Plot


Well, I gave you the basic premise up above as it's about Rapunzel & Eugene acting as parents/guardians to their de-aged friends.  But okay, there's a bit more to it than this.  The characters wake up after the events of the previous episode, only to find the door missing.  And on the way to find an exit, they come across the Inn's nursery and indulge in their more childish sides by playing with the toys. Cassandra, the stoic one of the group thinks this is silly until she spots a spinning top and this catches her eye as she had just like a kid and it was her favorite toy.

She spins it and it turns her Lance, and Shorty into little kids.  And Shorty is turned into a baby as Matthews reveals to Rapunzel & Eugene, that the older you are, the younger the top makes you.  Oh, and Rapunzel & Eugene only have one hour to find the top and spin it to turn their friends back into adults.  Which isn't easy as Cass and Lance are not easy to deal with as kids. Especially, Cass, she's a rambunctious little brat that doesn't listen to anyone.  And will do, what she wants and has no respect for authority.

Which ties into how Rapunzel acts as a mom.  I love Rapunzel, she's my favorite Disney character but man, did she let little Cass walk all over her and get away with doing whatever she wanted.  She believes that kids should be heard and be allowed to be a part of the conservation.  Which, considering Rapunzel's history with mother figures,  yeah I get it.  For the first years of her life, she had an awful mother figure that didn't love her and would always put her down.

I find it a bit interesting that Gothel is never brought up in this episode as part of me has to think that the way Gothel treated Rapunzel would influence Blondie in how she treated a daughter/daughter like figure.  In that, she would not be as cruel and uncaring towards her child and shower them with love.  Which, I think could be part of the issue with Rapunzel's style of parenting shown in this episode, she doesn't want to be the mean and scary and mother that Gothel was but that could make her too soft as a mom.

Eugene, on the other hand, thinks a parent should take charge and let the kid know that the parent is the one that makes all the decisions.  Which is funny as he's paired up with a de-aged version of his best friend, Lance.  And Lance as a little kid turns out to be one of those kids that has a million questions that just start to banal and inane after a while.

I find it so fascinating that Eugene would be the more strict and stern parent as, by this point in the series, we knew nothing about Eugene's parentage and wouldn't until the season finale.  And considering, that as Flynn, he wasn't the most responsible guy, it seems so fascinating that he'd be the one that would have the attitude of parents should take charge.  I have to wonder if his time as Flynn influenced this line of thinking.  Eventually,  they find the top and it's near three vicious dogs. Young Cass thinks that she can be brave and get it on her own.  Yeah, Rapunzel isn't about to let that happen.  Oh and this is when Rapunzel turns into the mom that is fed up with everything.  Y'know, like those moms that just have it with their kids, when they throw a tantrum in the grocery store.  It's kicked off with Young Cass saying this.

Eugene was right. You do let us walk all over you. You guys are going to be disasters as parents.

Yeah, at that point Rapunzel was just fed up with the situation and what she was hearing and turned into a mom that was tired of her kid acting out.  (Yeah, I know it's not really her kid but again, the episode is about parenting.)  And we get this interaction between Rapunzel and Young Cassandra.

Rapunzel: Okay listen up, young lady! Playtime is over! You get your rear-end outta this kennel right now! And walk on those tiptoes.

Young Cassandra: But...
Rapunzel: No buts! Out! Tiptoes, now!
Young Cassandra: Yes, m' am.

When I heard Rapunzel use the phrase, "young lady", I had a moment of just thinking, "Damn, Rapunzel is really doing it and this is a side I never thought I'd see of her."

Eugene realizes that he should let Lance be a part of the decision making and listen to him and what, he wants to do.

Eugene: ...kids need to feel like they're being heard. Okay, Lance, what do you want to do? Huh, buddy? I'm listening.
Young Lance: I dunno.  Play chase?
Eugene: I was hoping you'd say that.

Rapunzel saves her friends from the dogs by using the top to turn the dogs into puppies and uses it again to turn her friends back into grown-ups. 

There's a cute moment at the end, where Rapunzel and Eugene discuss how they'll be as parents.  Where Rapunzel & Eugene come to an agreement that a mixture of their style of parenting could work if they ever have kids. And this line sums it up.

If we ever decide to have kids, assertiveness, compassion, and a whole lotta love.

If we ever do decide to have kids, assertiveness, compassion And a whole lot of love.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=tangled-the-series-2017&episode=s02e18

If we ever do decide to have kids, assertiveness, compassion And a whole lot of love.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=tangled-the-series-2017&episode=s02e18I

In all, a fun episode that almost seemed targeted at the older audience that watches Tangled to show that being a parent is hard work and also as I said, delves into a curiosity that a lot of Disney fans seem to have.  Personally, I know I'd be excited to see Rapunzel and Eugene as actual parents and I know two orphan thieves, they could adopt that Eugene has already fathered somewhat.

Characters


Going to be doing this a bit differently as I feel that, I should look at the adult/child pairings that were presented in this episode as those felt very deliberate.  Pascal and Shorty were in this episode and poor Pascal was trampled and almost squeezed to death by the kids and Shorty as a baby had almost as much to do as Shorty as an adult. Nothing, at least Baby Shorty was less annoying.

Rapunzel & Young Cassandra voiced by Mandy Moore & Cassie Glow

Rapunzel as a mother figure was someone that came across as wanting the kid to be her friend.  And that is who Rapunzel is, even with adults. However, the issue there is that Young Cassandra is a kid that would wreck the place if you let her.  And I like this juxtaposition as it shows that Rapunzel can't always be the sweethearted person that she is and if she wants to be a parent, she'll have to lay down some ground rules for the child to follow. I think this is perhaps best encapsulated with an exhausted Rapunzel, where Young Cass decides that floor is lava and decides to swing from tables and chandeliers in the Inn.  This does lead to a rather funny moment of Rapunzel looking like, she is just ready to give up and have someone take this child away from her.

Interestingly, the IDW miniseries, Hair-Raising Adventures featured a story that placed Rapunzel in a similar situation with a young princess that was mind-controlling all her citizens because she wanted her way all the time and Rapunzel had to teach this princess, that you can't always get that.

It's similar enough for me to point this out but different enough for the story to stand on its own.



Eugene & Young Lance voiced by Zachary Levi & Blake Moore

Eugene's parenting style was interesting as it seemed to contrast what we have been told of, Eugene before this episode as it didn't seem like he'd be the stern father type, that would need to understand that you have to listen to the kids.  And that did work with the type of story that the episode was telling with his character but I just think that Rapunzel was the more interesting parental figure in the episode.


My Final Thoughts


An all-around fun episode that gives the audience a glimpse into how Rapunzel and Eugene would operate as parents if they ever have kids. This is one of my favorite episodes from the series for that reason with a lot of cute and silly moments that show that even though, they'll face hurdles, my favorite Disney couple will be good parents.  

Halloween: Halloweentown High

Earlier in the month, I looked at the first two Halloweentown movies and enjoyed them as they focused heavily on the theme of family that we saw with a few of the earlier reviews from the month.  That's not so much the case here.  This is perhaps the most lighthearted entry in this franchise that we will be covering. And we'll,  I'm okay with that but it doesn't feel like a Halloweentown movie.  There are elements there but this is the only movie in this series to never go to Halloweentown.  Which is severely disappointing.  Also, this is the last movie to have Kimberly J. Brown as Marnie as she would be replaced in the fourth and final installment in this series.  This was actually meant to be the last film in the Halloweentown trilogy but Disney Channel aired one last one in 2006 and when we get to that one, I'll explain why that one really felt like an afterthought.  Also, enjoy Aggie in this one, if you watch it as Debbie Reynolds only makes a cameo appearance in the last movie.  Oh, and this is also the last movie in which Sophie appears. And this is what her contribution amounts to.

Sitting on a couch doing as much work as an extra.  So, that's quite annoying as while she was just a little kid in the first two movies, Kalabar's Revenge gave her a meaningful role and showed that as a witch, she could hold her own alongside her grandmother and big sister.  Ah well.  

The Plot


This movie feels off compared to the previous two movies. That might be because as I stated it doesn't take place in Halloweentown and the closest that we get to this is the Halloweentown Council.

Uh, no, they're not all witches.  Some of them look like this.

They summon Marnie, who we see was fuming at the beginning as she thought that they were going to be mad about her keeping the portal between worlds open.  Turns out, they're fine with that but they are more concerned with the proposal that our young witch made about bringing a group of Halloweentown students to the mortal world.  This is all due to something that they fear known as the Knights of the Iron Dagger.  A group of knights that wished to destroy all things magical.

I dunno, this idea is a little odd to me.  Now, this is labeled as a fantasy series.  Fair enough and I guess that one could argue that this is an urban fantasy series.  Think something like Once Upon a Time or Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  But this installment is odd as the first two had characters from our world traveling to the fantastical world but now, they're bringing fantastical creatures to the human world.   Something just feels lost there,  it kinda feels like one of those movie adaptions of a cartoon where the characters enter the human world.

Granted, it's better than something like that but having a human antagonist (or so we think) go after Halloweentown residents just doesn't feel as threatening.  Which fair as the two examples I listed above had human antagonists at one point in their history but at least with OUAT, they were the least threatening villains in the series.

I wish that this didn't bug me as much as it but magical villains are just more interesting. Which, we do get one of those as the main antagonists but the Knights are built up so much throughout the film, that you are led to think they're the main villains.  Okay, so what's the main idea here?  Well, the story is about integration and how we as a society should everyone despite their differences.   That's not a bad idea and I get it but it is still a little disappointing that the Halloweentown kids have to hide behind human disguises.  I get it and this brings up another large issue, these Halloweentown kids are meant to be the big focus of the third movie but they really don't have much personality that allows them to stand out on their own.

These students aren't bad and we do get some interesting insight into their life during a trip to a mall when they see a Halloween display and are offended at how their kind is depicted. Which is a good way of showing how these characters want to be accepted for who they actually are.  However, our young characters are constantly being attacked by the Knights. Starting with a warning of a giant dagger at the high school and then a cloud of purple smoke removing their human disguises at the mall.    Oh, and while this is going on, Aggie has taken up a teaching job at the high school but is unable to effectively teach any of the classes that she's assigned to. This was done as a means of having Aggie keep an eye on the Halloweentown students but it really felt like a waste of both Debbie Reynolds and this character.   If you'll recall from my review of the second movie, I mentioned one of the greatest elements there was the love between Marnie and Aggie as you could feel a real grandmother/granddaughter relationship between the two.  This movie takes that away and has Marnie and Aggie constantly bickering as they assume that both the love interests for one another is the Knight.  Indeed, Marnie has a new love interest here, a young man named Cody and he's alright (though he won't be in the fourth movie and Marnie will yet again, have a new love interest). And for the first time in this series, Aggie has a love interest, the principal of the high school. And it turns out, that he's the Knight.

He's found out when Aggie discovers this ring in his office, thanks in large part to her new bag that acts like a reptile.

It turns out, however, that the head of Halloweentown Council, Edgar Dalloway, and father of one of the students was the one that informed Phil (the principal of his lineage).

 Principal Phil Flanagan:For centuries, my family has been keeping a vigil, a vigil to ensure that our world remains pure of the magical. I'm the last remaining descendant of a noble order.
Dalloway:Please. You wouldn't have even known that the Knights of the Iron Dagger existed if I hadn't found you and told you!
Principal Phil Flanagan:But I'm still a knight, right?

And his son, Ethan had helped with most of the events but we see that it wasn't exactly willing on his part.  At a Halloween carnival, that the movie had been building up to, a Haunted House that the Halloweentown kids had put together as a way of teaching the mortal world about their culture but they are less than impressed. Dalloway comes and attacks the mortals by bringing the fake monsters to life as he wanted to keep Halloweentown isolated from the mortal world.  It doesn't exactly work as in a moment that doesn't feel completely earned, Cody shames the humans for turning on Marnie and the Halloweentown students.  Dalloway takes the Cromwell magic but Gwen, who had been a mission on her own, showed what Dalloway had been up to to the Council and the Cromwell ladies take their magic back. 


I just don't know.  This is not a bad movie and I can see what it's going for but I don't think it ever comes fully together.   I may have my issues with the darker tone of Kalabar's Revenge but that still felt like a Halloweentown movie,  this here felt like it could be any old Disney Channel movie.  And well, that's an issue somewhat as Halloweentown is one of the older DCOM film franchises with the original being the fourth Disney Chanel Original Movie and for a time, these movies were Halloween staples for the channel.  This movie almost felt like, it took out everything people liked about Halloweentown and didn't offer anything new or if it did, it didn't dig deep enough into it.





With that outta the way, let's look at the characters.



Characters


Main Character


Marnie played by Kimberly J. Brown

Marnie was pretty good as usual.  However, there is one thing that bugged me and it can be seen with the clip that YouTube uses as the trailer clip for this movie.






Marnie is still a level one witch.  That feels really odd as the second movie came out in 2001 and this one in 2004.  That feels a bit odd as the second movie seemingly implied that Marnie was going to stay behind in Halloweentown with Aggie to continue her training and that movie established one year in the mortal world equates to a century in Halloweentown.   So, shouldn't Marnie's training be a bit more advanced than it is?   Ah well, she's still fun.



Supporting Characters


Aggie played by Debbie Reynolds

Man, I really wish this wasn't Reynolds last outing as Aggie.  Firstly,  she is good as always with a quirky personality that we've seen all throughout the series but as I mentioned in the plot section, the heart of the relationship between Aggie and Marnie felt missing as this movie took this wonderful relationship and instead had grandmother and granddaughter sniping at one another.  And that is just so disappointing, considering the previous two films showed us how much these two love one another.   And here, the sniping and suspecting of one another's love interest really seemed to undermine the relationship that we've seen.


Gwen played by Judith Hoag


Gwen felt the most off compared to how she was characterized in the first two movies as someone that had embraced magic as part of her life but didn't exactly feel the need to use it because she preferred being a human.  Yet, this movie has her using magic more than any other time, we've seen thus far including for simple things such as using marshmallow spiders to put in a cup of Cocoa for Marnie.   And Gwen even asks a question along the line of...

"What did I ever have against magic in the first place?" 

Not the exact wording but this does sum up, Gwen's character and the, well not misunderstanding of Gwen's character as the writer of the first Halloweentown returned to write this installment but still, the abundance of magic use by Gwen really felt like it went against the character that was set up in the previous movies. 



Dylan played by Joey Zimmerman

Oh yeah, that.  It's from when Dylan made a comment about one of the Halloweentown students and was left up there all night. I may not have been the biggest fan of Dylan in the last two movies but he doesn't have a whole lot to do here, other than possibly have a crush on a troll girl but in a shallow moment is turned off from how she really looks but they agree to be friends in the end.


Cody played by Finn Wittrock

Well, this character sure did exist. There were some cute moments, where he tried to go on a date with Marnie but there really isn't much else to his character other than that.   And they must've known that as he was dropped from the fourth movie altogether. 


Notice, how I haven't said much of anything about the students from Halloweentown in the character section.  That's because like I said, sadly none of them stand out on their own.  The most interesting thing that can be said about any of these characters is that after this movie, two of these actors would go and appear in Disney Channel's biggest cash cow of the time, High School Musical. 

 



So, there's that and the one on the left actually looks like this as she's the pink troll I mentioned.

So, that's cool but I really wish that the rest of the students had something more to them.




Villains

Phil Flanagan played by Clifton Davis 

I really did like Phil and was hoping to see him and Aggie get together.  Finding out, that he was the Knight was disappointing but he had a quick change of heart as he realized what he was doing was wrong.  It's a bit weird to say this but he almost felt too nice to be a bad guy.  And I think this can tie into what I mentioned about humans being less interesting threats than those of magical threats that heroes can go up against.


Edgar Dalloway played by Michael Flynn

Again, not a bad character but from Kalabar to Kal to him is a major stepdown as Kalabar and Kal posed real threats that could be felt all throughout their respective movies.  I get that, as the head of the Council, he had to keep up a veneer of professionalism amongst the Council as he couldn't let his plan get out. But even then,   there was no real menace to this character.


My Final Thoughts


This just didn't feel like a Halloweentown movie and that may be in part because it doesn't take place in Halloweentown.  And that ties into a larger issue, there's nothing Halloween about this movie and this being from a film series of Halloween movies, that's an issue.  This one feels like it took so many missteps that I can't suggest it.  Join me next time as we close out our look at this film series as I look at...

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