Halloweentown High

Halloweentown High (also known as Halloweentown III) is a 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie that premiered on Disney Channel on October 8, 2004 for the holiday of Halloween. It drew 6.1 million viewers for its premiere.[1] It is the third installment in the Halloweentown series.

Halloweentown High
DVD cover
Based onCharacters
by Paul Bernbaum and Jon Cooksey & Ali Matheson
Written byPaul Bernbaum
Daniel Berendsen
Directed byMark A.Z. Dippé
StarringDebbie Reynolds
Kimberly J. Brown
Joey Zimmerman
Judith Hoag
Emily Roeske
Lucas Grabeel
Olesya Rulin
Theme music composerKenneth Burgomaster
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Producer(s)Sheri Singer
Steve White
CinematographyRob Neal
Running time82 minutes
Production company(s)Just Singer Entertainment
Release
Original networkDisney Channel
Original releaseOctober 8, 2004 (2004-10-08)
Chronology
Preceded byHalloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
Followed byReturn to Halloweentown
External links
Website

This film was initially intended to be the final entry of the Halloweentown series. However, a fourth film titled Return to Halloweentown was released in 2006, with Sara Paxton replacing Kimberly J. Brown as Marnie.

Plot

Two years after the previous movie, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) prepares to begin a new school year. She asks the Halloweentown Council to work toward openness between Halloweentown and the mortal world. She proposes bringing a group of Halloweentown students to her own high school in the mortal world. The Council is initially apprehensive, mostly due to the legend of the Knights of the Iron Dagger: a fanatical knighthood who wanted to destroy all things magical. The Halloweentown High Council, however, agrees to accept the plan after Marnie mistakenly bets "all the Cromwell magic" that her plan will work. If she does not prove she is right by midnight on Halloween, then her entire family will lose their magical abilities. Marnie, regretting what she said to the Council, wants to cancel the program she has made, but her grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) opposes, saying that they have nothing to fear.

The Halloweentown students arrive and are magically given human appearances to disguise their true non-human natures. School begins with Marnie acting as a tour guide for the exchange group, claiming they are from Canada. Aggie substitute teaches so she can be available in case of need. Cody (Finn Wittrock), a new student, shows a romantic interest in Marnie.

While Aggie proves unable to teach any subject effectively, the Halloweentown students keep to themselves, hiding in the refuge that Aggie magically creates for them in a remote student locker. Marnie gradually encourages the students to join sports teams, school activities, and to make new friends.

Marnie's progress is interrupted by a warning that appears to be from the Knights of the Iron Dagger, then by a magical incident at the mall that results in the Halloweentown students assuming their natural appearances in public. This is followed by a break-in at the secret magical locker and the disappearance of Cassie (Eliana Reyes).

Meanwhile, Marnie's developing relationship with Cody parallels an unexpected romance beginning between Aggie and the school's principal Phil Flannigan (Clifton Davis). Aggie suspects Cody of being the cause of the trouble and tries to convince Marnie to halt their relationship, but Marnie in turn suspects Flannigan. They eventually discover that Flannigan is the Knight in question; he was told prior to the students' arrival that he was the last of the Order.

Edgar Dalloway (Michael Flynn), head of the Witches' Council and father of one of the students, is the real root of their problems. He wants to keep Halloweentown isolated from the mortal world, and used Flannigan to ensure the failure of Marnie's project. This, he hoped, would cause a negative reaction in Halloweentown and keep the portal between Halloweentown and the mortal world closed.

The Halloweentown students use the school's Halloween carnival to improve mortal attitudes toward magical folk. Their haunted house depicts the ordinary lives of creatures that have typically been seen as monsters in the mortal world, including displays like the "Monster Tea Party" and ogres "picnicking in their natural setting", which winds up boring the carnival goers. Meanwhile, Marnie's mother Gwen (Judith Hoag) uses a Witch's Glass to hunt down Cassie.

At the school carnival, Dalloway launches magical attacks against the mortal students by bringing the inanimate monsters in the haunted house to life. The ensuing panic spirals beyond Marnie's and Aggie's ability to contain the monsters. Flannigan incites a mob to corner the Halloweentown students. Cody shames the crowd, the students reveal themselves, and the crowd accepts them for who they are. Flannigan also renounces being a knight and accepts Aggie.

Dalloway claims the Cromwell magic and explains that his son Ethan (Lucas Grabeel) helped with most of the things that happened, but Gwen has shown the evening's events to the Halloweentown High Council. They return the Cromwell magic, Gwen returns with the imprisoned student, and the Council imprisons Dalloway in another Witch's Glass taking his disagreement with them as a form of resignation.

The portal between Halloweentown and the mortal world opens inside the haunted house, and crowds of children from Halloweentown cross over to enjoy the carnival together with children of the mortal world. Marnie flies off for a romantic broom ride with Cody. While flying over the carnival, they kiss.

Cast
  • Debbie Reynolds as Agatha “Aggie” Cromwell
  • Kimberly J. Brown as Marnie Piper
  • Joey Zimmerman as Dylan Piper
  • Emily Roeske as Sophie Piper
  • Judith Hoag as Gwen Piper
  • Lucas Grabeel as Ethan Dalloway
  • Michael Flynn as Edgar Dalloway, a Halloweentown High Council member who plans to make sure Marnie fails.
  • Finn Wittrock as Cody, a boy who becomes Marnie's love interest.
  • Eliana Reyes as Cassie, a witch who is captured by Edgar.
  • Clifton Davis as Principal Phil Flannigan, the principal who is the last of the Knights of the Iron Dagger.
  • Todd Michael Schwartzman as Pete, a werewolf
  • Jesse Harward as Chester, a blue-skinned monster who is the result of a union between a male ogre and a female forest giant.
    • Clayton Taylor as Chester's human disguise
  • Olesya Rulin as Natalie, a pink troll who is Dylan's love interest.
  • Bob Lanoue as Bobby, a gremlin
  • Jeff Olson as the six-armed member of the Halloweentown High Council
  • Frank Gerrish as the pumpkinhead member of the Halloweentown High Council
  • Mowava Pryor as the vampire member of the Halloweentown High Council
  • Aaron Justesen as the mummy member of the Halloweentown High Council
  • Frank Welker as special vocal effects
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See also

References
  1. Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn (November 14, 2004). "When 'No Sex' Really Sells". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2016-08-15. Over those five showings, Halloweentown High delivered 22.6 million viewers, including 6.1 million for its premiere.
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