11 Best Disney Halloween Movies to Watch With Your Family

Watching movies with strong seasonal overtones is one of the best ways to set the proper mood for any time of year, and spooky season is no exception.

From nostalgic cult classics to literary adaptations and musicals rife with the supernatural, Disney knows how to do creepy (and campy) on-screen.

Here are eleven Disney films that do it even better than the rest.

Halloweentown

This millennial-loved classic is the first in a fun series of Disney channel original movies that are more treat than trick. They tell the story of a family split between the mortal world and the mythical world of Halloweentown where ghosts and ghouls reign supreme. The story features strong female leads and a great performance by Debbie Reynolds as the grandmother witch. We love the original, but Halloweentown High is also a great watch.

The Skeleton Dance

The very first of Disney's Silly Symphonies, this delightful 1929 short cartoon features four sprightly skeletons who rise from their graves to dance and play music, using their bones (among other found creatures and objects) as instruments. Filled with black cats, wide-eyed owls, and all sorts of haunted graveyard imagery, this monochromatic charmer is perfect for Halloween viewing, especially when you might not have time to commit to a longer selection.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

An animated anthology film comprised of two adaptations of famous literary works—The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving—The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a perennial Halloween favorite.

Although Toad does see some dreary days within the arc of his story, his segment is largely a jaunty contrast to the much spookier Sleepy Hollow portion of the feature. Washington Irving's gothic American tale of the Hudson River Valley's legendary ghost, the Headless Horseman, is the stuff Halloween is made of, and while Disney's version contains a legitimately frightening scene or two, Bing Crosby's cheery narration and memorable song keep it not-so-scary.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

This unassuming classic Disney musical, starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson, is like Mary Poppins…if she were a witch with magic spells, enchanted trinkets, spooky incantations, and a black cat named Cosmic Creepers. Set during World War II, the dimly-lit scenes in England have quite an eerie feel to them, and the bright animated sequence on the Isle of Naboombu works well as a fantastical interlude to the serious business of combatting the Germans during the Blitz.

Into the Woods

A vengeful witch's curse brings together a slew of fairytale characters in Disney's on-screen adaptation of the successful Broadway musical, and what could be a more appropriate setting for stirring up the Halloween spirit than a mystical wood? This one is also home to a big bad wolf (played by Johnny Depp), a tower housing the captive Rapunzel, and the giant at the top of the beanstalk. An A-list cast—including Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, James Cordon, and Chris Pine—some notable singing performances, and a sprinkle of comedy make Into the Woods an enjoyable watch, despite its sobering conclusion.

Trick Or Treat

Some iconic images are synonymous with Halloween, and for fans of vintage Disney fare, Donald Duck's costumed nephews marching down the sidewalk to the tune of “Trick or Treat for Halloween” is one of them. Instead of giving Huey, Duey, and Louie treats when they come knocking at his door, Donald decides to play some nasty pranks on them. Witch Hazel sees the discouraged kids sitting on a curb and offers to use her magic to help them teach their uncle a lesson. With a simple morality lesson about generosity at its core, this 1952 animated short is a fun glimpse of Halloweens gone by.

Coco

Coco is a rich, beautiful Pixar original about family love and connection, with music at its heart. The events in the film take place during Dia de Muertos, and the creators take care to portray the importance of the holiday in Mexican culture. When Miguel steals a guitar from the mausoleum of his presumed great-great grandfather to compete in a local talent competition against his family's wishes, he becomes cursed. As a result, Miguel can no longer be seen by the living world, but his deceased relatives, who are visiting for Dia de Muertos, can see and interact with him. Their skeletal appearance and the vibrant Land of the Dead make this poignant Oscar award winner a great watch for Halloween as well. Mamá Imelda's soulful rendition of “La Llorona” doesn't hurt either.

Hocus Pocus 2

After 29 years, Disney released the much-hyped sequel to its 1993 cult classic turned massively popular Halloween fan favorite.

Hocus Pocus 2 reunites Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as a farcical trio of witches determined to live forever on a diet of young souls. With a highly atmospheric intro detailing the backstory of the three Sanderson sisters growing up as outcasts in colonial Salem, two karaoke-worthy songs performed by the original lead actors, and a dose of 2022 fish-out-of-water humor, it's an entertaining return to form, even if it does lose a bit of momentum toward the end.

Hocus Pocus

I was eleven when I first watched Max and Dani Dennison break into a Salem museum to impress Max's crush and inadvertently awaken three villainous but comedically endearing 17th-century witches. It was campy and cheesy in that '90s sort of way, but the New England fall setting, characters, and story stayed with me over the years, and I was always a bit surprised to learn that others had never heard of it.

Then, during the early aughts, something peculiar happened, and this lesser-known box-office flop started to gain a cult following as millennials came of age and rediscovered it with a strong sense of nostalgia. Disney capitalized on its cult status by featuring it heavily in their Halloween repertoire, and now the Sanderson sisters headline the Hocus Pocus Villains Spelltacular for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom every year.

Muppets Haunted Mansion

What do you get when you combine a beloved Disney attraction with the punny antics of the Muppets? An instant Halloween favorite! In this 52-minute pandemic-era special, daredevil Gonzo receives an invitation challenging him to spend Halloween night inside the Haunted Mansion with its 999 happy haunts. The Muppet recipe of celebrity cameos, clever lyrical wordplay, and pop culture references works as it does for any story, and as always, if there's a Muppet version of a movie, it's guaranteed to be the best one.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton's wildly imaginative stop-motion animation masterpiece pulls elements from both Halloween and the titular holiday, and the debate over which holiday it encapsulates most lives on, with many of the mind that it's both a Halloween and a Christmas movie. However, other than Jack Skellington's initial foray into the town of perpetual good cheer, the Christmas we see unfold on-screen is one tinged with the macabre. When his identity crisis finally resolves, Jack embraces and revels in his role as “the pumpkin king.” Burton's dark creative genius and Danny Elfman's iconic soundtrack make The Nightmare Before Christmas a must-watch every Halloween.

If you visit Disneyland at Christmas, you can experience the Nightmare Before Christmas holiday overlay at The Haunted Mansion! It's an elaborate one-of-a-kind makeover that's a treat to see during spooky season or Christmas time.

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