Animated Halloween specials were, and still are, a huge part of my Halloween experience. If you know me you know my preference for viewing goes to animation above all else, pretty much without exception. I still watch cartoons religiously and my favorite all-time programs are all animated. So naturally, I'm starting off my required Halloween viewing list(s) with some great animated Halloween specials and short films. I'll stick to a short (unordered) list here to keep this post from spiraling out of control, and because there will totally be more lists as the season goes on.
Inspired in part by the Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 5, part by the fact that Halloween is the best holiday ever, here is my required animated Halloween viewing list. I'm not sure I'd call these material for a "Perfect Marathon," but this is the stuff you have to watch to get into the Halloween Spirit, especially if you are a kid at heart.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I'm not sure I really have to explain this one, though I have to admit I'm one of a very small minority of people (so it seems) that never really loved Charlie Brown cartoons. I think I was just too young to hit the popularity of Charlie Brown when it was brought back in the late 70s and early 80s. (I just barely remember the Jetsons revival if I'm honest; I was born in 1984 fwiw.)
While the main story really doesn't go anywhere, I love the scenes of the kids going trick-or-treating. I also love Charlie Brown's costume; some kind of ghost with like twenty eyes. It's hilarious and a perfect encapsulation of what it is to be a kid. Also there's quality odd-ball Snoopy action.
Garfield's Halloween Adventure
You can't go wrong with caaaandy candy candy candy! It's super 80s but that's what makes it so wonderful. Garfield goes on a surprisingly scary Halloween adventure with his on-again-off-again buddy Odie. Originally aired on 30 October, 1985 on CBS, the animated TV special won a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Animated Program". This is high-quality Halloween entertainment, folks.
The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad
Admittedly my first exposure to "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" came from DTV's Monster Hits (below), and my obsession with the odd, little-publicized Disney release has followed me my whole life. "The Wind and the Willows" and "Ichabod Crane" (based on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow") were put together into an hour-ish long "animated package film" in 1949. Bing Crosby introduces the "Ichabod Crane" segment, and the moment of the Headless Horseman's attack is truly terrifying. My favorite segment is the scene with Brom Bones singing of the legendary Headless Horseman to spook Crane and get him to leave the village. I think what I love the most is that there is no real protagonist here; Brom Bones is arrogant and too sure of himself, Ichabod Crane is selfish, gluttonous, and has ill-intentions in winning the heart of Katrina. Since you don't really feel much of a stake in anyone virtuous, the fact that the horseman and his attack is as horrible as it appears is really a testament to the great animation and music throughout the story.
Disney's DTV Monster Hits
I'm pretty sure I've talked about this before on the blog, but this is absolutely quintessential Halloween viewing for me every year. It actually has a clip of the Ichabod Crane clip I put above, condensed into a really terrifying little clip of Ichabod meeting his untimely demise. Ugh, I love how unabashedly scary and creepy cartoons were allowed to be back in the 1940s and 50s when there was basically no standard set for censorship and all animated stuff was just kind of shrugged off as kiddish, allowing animators to do all sorts of weird and fun stuff.
When I was a kid and Disney was still an upper-tier cable channel, one of my aunties would record stuff off of TV for me on VHS tapes for me to take home and watch. This was one of those recordings. It originally aired are in October 1987, and was designed to emulate MTV music videos with its combination of contemporary hits (plus a few classics) and almost montage-style animation cut together to fit the music. A few personal favorite moments include Ichabod and the Headless Horseman, Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash" combined with the 1929 Mickey Mouse "Haunted House" short, Daryl Hall's "Dreamtime" combined with Fantasia, "Heffalumps & Woozles" being creepy as hell on its own, and just the fact that Disney recognized how scary so many moments of their films and animated shorts are to include them unedited.
Ah, the good old days when Disney was adventurous and cool.
As I was working on this list, Matt from Dinosaur Dracula posted about Disney's SCARY TALES which hits on some of my favorite bits from DTV Monster Hits, like the "Haunted House" short.
Did I miss any of your favorite animated Halloween shorts or films? Share them below!
Inspired in part by the Purple Stuff Podcast Episode 5, part by the fact that Halloween is the best holiday ever, here is my required animated Halloween viewing list. I'm not sure I'd call these material for a "Perfect Marathon," but this is the stuff you have to watch to get into the Halloween Spirit, especially if you are a kid at heart.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I'm not sure I really have to explain this one, though I have to admit I'm one of a very small minority of people (so it seems) that never really loved Charlie Brown cartoons. I think I was just too young to hit the popularity of Charlie Brown when it was brought back in the late 70s and early 80s. (I just barely remember the Jetsons revival if I'm honest; I was born in 1984 fwiw.)
While the main story really doesn't go anywhere, I love the scenes of the kids going trick-or-treating. I also love Charlie Brown's costume; some kind of ghost with like twenty eyes. It's hilarious and a perfect encapsulation of what it is to be a kid. Also there's quality odd-ball Snoopy action.
Garfield's Halloween Adventure
You can't go wrong with caaaandy candy candy candy! It's super 80s but that's what makes it so wonderful. Garfield goes on a surprisingly scary Halloween adventure with his on-again-off-again buddy Odie. Originally aired on 30 October, 1985 on CBS, the animated TV special won a Primetime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Animated Program". This is high-quality Halloween entertainment, folks.
The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad
Admittedly my first exposure to "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" came from DTV's Monster Hits (below), and my obsession with the odd, little-publicized Disney release has followed me my whole life. "The Wind and the Willows" and "Ichabod Crane" (based on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow") were put together into an hour-ish long "animated package film" in 1949. Bing Crosby introduces the "Ichabod Crane" segment, and the moment of the Headless Horseman's attack is truly terrifying. My favorite segment is the scene with Brom Bones singing of the legendary Headless Horseman to spook Crane and get him to leave the village. I think what I love the most is that there is no real protagonist here; Brom Bones is arrogant and too sure of himself, Ichabod Crane is selfish, gluttonous, and has ill-intentions in winning the heart of Katrina. Since you don't really feel much of a stake in anyone virtuous, the fact that the horseman and his attack is as horrible as it appears is really a testament to the great animation and music throughout the story.
Disney's DTV Monster Hits
I'm pretty sure I've talked about this before on the blog, but this is absolutely quintessential Halloween viewing for me every year. It actually has a clip of the Ichabod Crane clip I put above, condensed into a really terrifying little clip of Ichabod meeting his untimely demise. Ugh, I love how unabashedly scary and creepy cartoons were allowed to be back in the 1940s and 50s when there was basically no standard set for censorship and all animated stuff was just kind of shrugged off as kiddish, allowing animators to do all sorts of weird and fun stuff.
When I was a kid and Disney was still an upper-tier cable channel, one of my aunties would record stuff off of TV for me on VHS tapes for me to take home and watch. This was one of those recordings. It originally aired are in October 1987, and was designed to emulate MTV music videos with its combination of contemporary hits (plus a few classics) and almost montage-style animation cut together to fit the music. A few personal favorite moments include Ichabod and the Headless Horseman, Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash" combined with the 1929 Mickey Mouse "Haunted House" short, Daryl Hall's "Dreamtime" combined with Fantasia, "Heffalumps & Woozles" being creepy as hell on its own, and just the fact that Disney recognized how scary so many moments of their films and animated shorts are to include them unedited.
Ah, the good old days when Disney was adventurous and cool.
As I was working on this list, Matt from Dinosaur Dracula posted about Disney's SCARY TALES which hits on some of my favorite bits from DTV Monster Hits, like the "Haunted House" short.
Did I miss any of your favorite animated Halloween shorts or films? Share them below!
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