Halloweentown (film series)

Halloweentown is a series of four fantasy films released as Disney Channel Original Movies: Halloweentown (1998), Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001), Halloweentown High (2004), and Return to Halloweentown (2006).

Background
Halloweentown proposes that fantasy beings such as warlocks, vampires, werewolves, mummies, ghosts, trolls, ogres, zombies, pumpkin heads (a race of people with jack-o'-lanterns for heads), skeletons, goblins, and humanoids with varying numbers of heads, limbs, and sensory organs are real, but have separated themselves from Earth's history to escape humans' fear and persecution. These characters created their own community, "Halloweentown", a thousand years ago in an alternate universe.

Travel between Halloweentown and the ordinary, historical world (which Halloweentown residents call "The Mortal World") is only possible with magical aid, and only at regulated times (on Halloween), until the portal seals at midnight. In the second film, they permanently open the portal between the Mortal World and Halloweentown, and events of the third film breach the gap even more.

It is stated that many of the traditions of Halloween in the Mortal World are parallels based on regular traditions in Halloweentown. An example of this is how mortals wear costumes that mimic the creatures of Halloweentown, and are often depicted as being more frightening than they are naturally. In Halloweentown, the residents dress up every day, and most are much friendlier than humans generally depict them.

Although magic is present in many of the details of daily life of Halloweentown, it appears that only a limited number of persons actually practice or control magic. These people are mainly human, and are called witches (female) and warlocks (male). These beings appear human, but possess some sort of biological extra-sensory ability that allows them to harness magic unlike their "mortal" counterparts. Magic is also hereditary in their families.

The Halloweentown films concern episodes in the lives of the Cromwell–Piper family. The family matriarch, Agatha Cromwell, has been a pillar of Halloweentown society for centuries. Her daughter, Gwen Piper, married a mortal and chose to leave Halloweentown for a life in the Mortal World. At the time of the films, she is apparently widowed. She has decided to raise her three children (Marnie, Dylan and Sophie) apart from magic, and thus rejects contact with Halloweentown and the influence of her mother.

Halloweentown (1998)
In the first film, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown), her brother Dylan (Joey Zimmerman), and her sister Sophie (Emily Roeske) discover they come from a family of witches.

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
Two years after the first film, an angry warlock named Kal (Daniel Kountz) has stolen a magic spell book and plans to turn everyone into the costume they're wearing at midnight on Halloween.

Halloweentown High (2004)
Two years after the second film, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) organizes a student exchange program between her mortal school and Halloweentown High. The first students to participate in this program are a witch named Cassie (Eliana Reyes), a warlock named Ethan Dalloway (Lucas Grabeel), a troll named Natalie (Olesya Rulin), and an ogre named Chester (Clayton Taylor).

Return to Halloweentown (2006)
In the fourth film, Marnie Piper (Sara Paxton) arrives at the Halloweentown University, known to everyone as Witch U. The teachers have been waiting for her arrival to fulfill a prophecy.

Future
In October 2017, producer Sheri Singer expressed interest in doing a fifth film, but would need Disney to sign off. Actress Kimberly J. Brown had previously expressed interest in reprising her role as Marnie Piper should a fifth film ever materialize. In a 2020 interview with E!, Phillip Van Dyke expressed interest in returning for another film if the rest of the cast also returned.

Tales From Halloweentown: The Witch's Amulet (2007)
In 2007, Disney produced the book Tales From Halloween: The Witch's Amulet, heavily based upon the fourth installment in the franchise, Return to Halloweentown. Set during summer break at Witch University, the plot follows Marnie becoming a Resident Advisor by keeping an eye on her young sister, Sophie, who is enrolled in the University's junior sorcery school. At Witch University, Dylan is working as a lab assistant to Professor La Biel, a powerful warlock who is developing a youth serum. When La Biel steals The Gift, an amulet that gives its wearer ultimate power over hearts and minds, it's up to Marnie to stop the cunning warlock before her entire family falls into La Biel's spell. The ending of the book leaves plenty of room for a sequel.

Halloweentown: As Told by Chibi (2020)
Halloweentown: As Told by Chibi, released on October 4, 2020, continued the trend started by Big Hero 6: The Series of creating spin-off shorts such as Big Chibi 6 The Shorts. This was followed by other series such as Amphibia and Phineas and Ferb, which also had their own versions known as Chibi Tiny Tales. Each of these shorts offers a simplified retelling of their respective stories.

Halloweentown: Haircut (2020)
Halloweentown: Haircut was released on October 11, 2020. The plot revolves around Marnie, who wants to use magic to cut her hair. However, her grandmother, Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell, has a different plan in mind.

Halloweentown: First Date Fright (2020)
Halloweentown: First Date Fright was released on October 18, 2020. The plot revolves around Marnie's first date in the world of Halloweentown. However, the magical dishes served at the dinner are too much for her to handle.