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!
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