It is that time of year! It is almost Halloween! Over the past several years it is getting harder and harder to find good Halloween viewing on television to get in the mood. Thankfully, now with the proliferation of video players at home and online viewing, it is easier to get our hands on Halloween themed goodies so we can gorge ourselves on Halloween fare of any variety. Over the next week I will post some of my suggested viewing to get into the Halloween spirit!
5 Days to Halloween: Halloween for the Young, and Young at Heart
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Clearly, the first two choices on this list are not new to a lot of people, but I was shocked and horrified to find out not everyone knew that both Charlie Brown and Garfield have classic Halloween specials. The Peanuts Halloween special now comes out in a Remastered Deluxe Edition. This edition includes two other Charlie Brown specials : It’s Magic, Charlie Brown; and We Need a Blockbuster, Charlie Brown. But to be honest, we all are much more interested in watching Linus as he and Sally wait for the Great Pumpkin to rise from the pumpkin patch, Charlie Brown in the most memorable ghost costume of all time, and Snoopy’s adventures as the WWI fighting ace.
Garfield’s Halloween Adventure
Garfield’s Halloween is the best of all the Garfield specials (which is saying something). Garfield’s holiday specials are an annual tradition. Lucky for you, the Halloween special comes with Garfield’s Thanksgiving and A Garfield Christmas. Garfield and Odie go trick-or-treating and have a memorable adventure complete with that crazy old man, ghost pirates, and great songs. I for one know them all by heart to this day. “What Should I Be” is the best part of the entire special, but that is just one weird librarian’s opinion (although I doubt that I’m alone in this). Dead pirates and candy, candy, candy! What more could anyone want?!
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit
Aardman has been delighting us with Wallace and Gromit for years, but previously only in shorts. The huge undertaking to create a feature length Wallace and Gromit movie was well worth the wait and does not disappoint. Also included on the DVD are great bonus features. Not only are there deleted scenes and activities, but there are also amazing behind the scenes bonuses (including how to make a bunny like from the movie) and another Aardman short called “Stagefright.” Our favorite cheese loving inventor has set up business with his dog, Gromit (the real brains behind the operation), to humanely take care of the rabbit problem before the town’s vegetable competition. But of course something goes terribly wrong and the Curse of the Were-rabbit is unleashed on gardens great and small…it is a vegetarian horror film after all. Also, Wallace has found a new love interest in Lady Tottington — the same woman that the villain of the story has his eye on. Oh, the drama! The suspense! The watermelon!
Count Duckula is a cartoon, vegetarian, vampire, duck: unlike the vampires of *Twilight he actually is a vegetarian. He once was a blood sucking vampire, but when he was brought back to life ketchup was used instead of blood. Now, much to the chagrin of his butler Igor, he is repulsed by blood and violence. Along with Igor and the half-wit (but loving) maid, Nanny, Count Duckula travels through space and time in his teleporting castle. And don’t forget other characters, like Dr. Von Goosewing (Duckula’s Van Helsing of course). The show is silly to say the least. Monty Python fans will certainly appreciate this cult classic. The fact alone that one of the episodes is called “Mutinous Penguins” should really be enough to sell you.
*If you hate or love Twilight, and have a sense of humor about it, you should watch this video. Honestly, it is one of the funniest things I have seen all year.
Tomorrow: 4 Days to Halloween, Halloween on TV
