Halloween For Kids

It's Halloween, and The Plaza's most notorious poltergeist is coming out to play. But when Eloise is accused of trying to scare the guests and the staff at the stately hotel, she realizes that the only hope of clearing her name lies in solving the mystery of a frightening phantom. Everyone in The Plaza knows the name Diamond Jim Johnson, but few believe that he has really returned from the dead to haunt them as the legends claim. While Eloise does her best to convince everyone that Diamond Jim's ghost is currently drifting through the hallways of The Plaza, no one believes her. Later, in order to reverse Diamond Jim's curse and save the hotel from some very real monsters, Eloise draws on her own supernatural powers of investigation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The latest arrival at the Hundred Acre Woods celebrates Halloween with Winnie the Pooh (voice of Jim Cummings) and his friends in this direct-to-video animated adventure. Lumpy the Heffalump (voice of Kyle Stanger) is looking forward to trick-or-treating with his pal Roo (voice of Nikita Hopkins) until Tigger (voice of Jim Cummings) tells them all about the Gobloon, a creature which can turn unsuspecting victims into Jaggedy Lanterns. However, Tigger also tells them that if they can capture the critter, it will grant them a wish, so Roo and Lumpy gather their courage and try to catch the monster. Meanwhile, Pooh is tempted by his friends' stash of Halloween candy, but his eyes prove bigger than his stomach when he eats it all. Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie was the follow-up to the theatrical feature Pooh's Heffalump Movie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sesame Street: A Magical Halloween Adventure involves the furry red muppet Elmo and his friends learning about various aspects of Halloween after he ends up on an unusual hayride after a mishap on the part of Mumford the Magician. Sabrina the Teenage Witch co-star Caroline Rhea appears as the magical Gilda. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Join Elmo and friends for a haunting Halloween adventure as they visit the Count's castle. Telly, Baby Bear, Ernie, and Bert will keep kids laughing with their silly jokes, songs, and surprises. Songs performed include Bones (Inside of You), Transylvania 1-2-3-4-5, We Are All Monsters, Frazzle, and The Batty Bat. Great Halloween entertainment for ages two to five. ~ Heather M. Fierst, Rovi

Grab the kids, turn off the lights, and join in the fun on the spookiest night of the year. Originally an ABC After School Special, Witches in Stitches is an animated Halloween video for young children. The 30-minute program features three wacky witches who embark on one hilarious adventure after another with a cast of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. ~ Kathleen Wildasin, Rovi

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy romp around like coked-up versions of The Three Stooges in the frantic Disney romp Hocus Pocus. The film begins in 1693 where three witches -- Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy) -- are preparing a potion that will grant them immortality and eternal youth. But before they finish mixing their cocktail, the people of Salem capture them and execute them for practicing witchcraft. Before their deaths, they vow to return to Salem 300 years hence on Halloween to exact their revenge. Three hundred years later, a skeptical, newly transplanted Californian, Max (Omri Katz), explores the ruins of the legendary witches' house and dares the witches to manifest themselves. Disregarding the warnings of his sister Dani (Thora Birch) and girlfriend Allison (Vinessa Shaw), Max lights the Candle of Black Flame. With that, the witches reappear to wreak havoc on the town. The kids take off with the witches' spellbook and a musty tome of hexes and recipes. The sorceresses, who will die by the morning light if they don't recite the incantation for immortality, have to get the books by whatever means they can. So, Winifred, Sarah, and Mary hop on their broomsticks for a chase through Halloween night. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rudy and his new pal Devray get the fright of their lives while playing Halloween pranks on the elderly as the rest of the kids set their sights on Searchlight Johnson and Mudfoot Brown. Little do the kids realize that the little old lady who lives in the house by the cemetery has finally gotten her fill of their moonlit mischief, and she's about to give them a frightening taste of their own medicine. Later, the kids come together and attempt to decide what to do about their friends who went out trick-or-treating and never came back. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a two-part Walt Disney cartoon feature based on a pair of well known stories. The first half of the film is an adaptation of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, all about gawky 17th century schoolteacher Ichabod Crane and his love for the beautiful Katrina. The girl's vengeful ex-beau Brom Bones decides to scare Ichabod out of Sleepy Hollow by filling the impressionable teacher's brain with stories about the ghostly Headless Horseman--who of course makes an appearance that very night! The second half of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is based on the "Toad of Toad Hall" stories from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind and the Willows. The aristocratic but childish Mr. Toad loves motorcars, but his affection leads him to a jail term when he is accused of stealing an automobile. It's up to Toad's faithful friends to break Toad out of jail and expose the real crooks. One of Disney's better "omnibus" cartoon features, Ichabod and Mr. Toad is enhanced by the narrative skills of Bing Crosby in the Ichabod segment and Basil Rathbone in the Mr. Toad sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi