Movie Info:
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: David Joyner, Greg Proops, Finty Williams, Judi Dench, Michael Angelis, Martin Clunes, Jane Horrocks
Rating: G
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $8.49
As Halloween approaches, it will be the goal of parents to offer their kids some good Halloween themed television shows and movies to watch to get them in the mood. As a child, the quintessential Halloween movie was It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. As an adult that has not changed one bit, but there are some other shows out there that are worth watching.
Halloween Spooktacular is a collection of animated shorts from seven television shows. Kids will get to enjoy episodes of Barney, Angelina Ballerina, Bob the Builder, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Kipper, and Fifi and the Flowertots. Five of these shows are labeled as an actual part of the DVD and two of them are listed as special features. You can hear more about my thoughts on that in the sections below.
The benefit to a DVD like this is that most kids know some or all of these shows already. It also appears that Lionsgate made an effort to see that both girls and boys would have shows that they prefer. So, if you only have a son you might skip through some of these, then again, he might like all of the shows. Ultimately it will just depend on your child and their likes and interests.
This isn’t bad as far as Halloween themed DVDs go. It’s going to suit younger kids more than anything and it will have a limited lifespan because of that. As the kids grow, they aren’t going to continue to go back to this like they would something like Alvin and the Chipmunks or Garfield. Most of the episodes are themed in Halloween, but as they are suited for younger children the themes are mild at best. What you end up with is something that most toddlers will enjoy and that parents will sit through for the sake of their kids.
The Halloween Spooktacular Plot
Rather than attempt to give you small amounts of information about each episode and have you sifting around for information, I have listed each episode and the plot of each below.
Barney
It’s Halloween night in this Barney episode. Everyone is dressed up and ready for some fun. Barney is dressed as a king, Riff is a one man band, and Baby Bop is a pirate. Young Ramone also wants to go as a pirate. However, Ramone has a problem with shyness and he’s nervous about going on all those stops saying, “Trick or Treat.”
Baby Bop offers to go along with him. She even teaches him how to say that phrase that makes him so nervous. Whether you like Barney or not you have to feel bad for Ramone when he loses all the candy in his bag due to a hole that was hiding at the bottom of the bag. Baby Bop comes to the rescue again, offering Ramone all of the candy that he has, knowing that Barney and the gang will share their candy with him.
I have yet to meet a small child that doesn’t like Barney. I know it can be hard for some parents to watch, but it has to be some sort of plus that there is only one episode here. I have a hard time sitting through an entire DVD, at times, but this one episode offers some good lessons, and the kids love it.
Bob the Builder
In this episode Bob the Builder and friends have a lot of work to get done. This time the goal is to refurbish the watermill in the town so that flour can be produced again. After inspecting the mill, Bob learns that there are bats living in the roof. Dizzy is thrilled to hear this and wants to see the bats. Bob learns that the bats will be okay while they work on the mill as long as there isn’t too much noise. It’s just too bad that Dizzy keeps making tons of noise because she is so excited. Bob goes out of his way to make sure that Dizzy gets to see her bats when he puts together a sleepover to make sure that she doesn’t miss the bats when they come out at night.
This isn’t really a Halloween episode, but I suppose you could say that the bats tie in by Halloween association. It’s sure to please your little Bob fan in the house. I didn’t mind the episode, though it was not my favorite either.
Angelina Ballerina
This show was completely new to me, but I can see where girls would love it. This episode has Angelina and her friend Alice having a camp-out in Angelina’s backyard. Trouble ensues when Sammy Watts tries to scare the girls by pretending to be the ghost of the Old Red Whiskers. The girls panic after seeing the “ghost”. Angelina ends up trampling through Mrs. Hodgepodge’s prize-winning cauliflower and everything is a big mess. The girls want to make it up to Mrs. Hodgepodge so they bake her an apology cake, but disaster ensues on this front, as well.
I was pleasantly surprised by Angelina Ballerina. The episode was cute and funny, but it offered a lesson, as well. I appreciated how the adults gave the children punishment, but made sure to forgive them as soon as the punishment had been carried out. My biggest problem is that this isn’t specifically about Halloween, again it’s more Halloween-themed.
Fireman Sam
My nephew absolutely adores Fireman Sam so I was excited to see this episode. In this episode, Dilys Price, the owner of Pontypandy’s grocery store appears to have her hands full with her son, Norman. Norman likes to get into trouble. As Halloween approaches he decides that he wants to be a vampire for the holiday. Dilys isn’t so sure she wants him scaring people like he has done in the past, but Norman pays no attention to her, as usual. Norman also prepares the huge pumpkin that goes in the store window every Halloween. However, he forgets to listen to Fireman Elvis and doesn’t blow out the candle before heading outside. He slams the door, which knocks the candle over, and sets his mom’s store on fire with her inside! Luckily, the firefighters are right there to save the day.
This episode is great because it’s about Halloween, it teaches kids an important lesson, and the characters are interesting enough to be pleasing to adults that are watching. If you’ve never watched Fireman Sam before this might lead to you seeking out his other DVDs.
Thomas & Friends
Thomas and Emily are ordered to head over to the scrapyard at night and pick up a load of steel that needs to be delivered by morning. The only problem is that it’s Halloween and Thomas was really looking forward to seeing the kids all dressed up. Percy warns of how scary the scrapyard can be, but the two fearless steam engines pay Percy no mind. However, when they get to the scrapyard they realize how scary it is. Of course, with Harry and Bert, two diesel engines, hiding and making scary noises, the scrapyard seems much worse than it is. All this excitement explodes when a tarp falls on Emily and everyone ends up thinking that she is a ghost.
Thomas fans will absolutely adore this cute, Halloween episode of Thomas & Friends. This was definitely one of my favorite episodes. It’s cute, easy to sit through and enjoy, and the kids love it. The kids may notice that this is by far the scariest on the disc, though it’s not too scary for the young kids.
Kipper
Kipper is one of the listed bonus features, though as it is on par with everything else I have decided to include it here with the other episodes. This time around, Kipper receives an invitation from Tiger to a costume party. He looks high and low through his things to find something to wear, but when nothing works out he decides to rent a costume. He doesn’t find the right look, so he is forced to create his own costume, opting for Super Dog, complete with cape. Much to Kipper’s shock it is not him that wins the top prize at the costume party.
This is another Halloween-themed, but not really Halloween episodes. It’s relatable because it’s a costume party, but there isn’t much Halloween about it otherwise. That being said, it’s not a bad episode. It’s entertaining and the characters are cute to watch.
Fifi and the Flowertots
The last episode is listed as another bonus, but for the same reason as above, I’ve decided to list it here. Fifi is half-flower and half-child. One day she is taking care of her garden when she sees some butterflies that are attempting to eat her beans. She thinks a scarecrow will keep those butterflies away, but she isn’t sure of how to make one. After talking to some friends, Primrose offers her some old clothing and Fifi makes a scarecrow. The scarecrow doesn’t work though and Primrose is not very happy that Fifi used her clothes for a scarecrow.
This was probably one of my least favorite episodes on the disc. First it had the least to do with Halloween. I get that scarecrows are associated with Halloween, but this is reaching a little, if not a lot. Had I known what this was going to be like, I would have just wanted to skip it altogether. While the other episodes are at least loosely associated with Halloween, this was just the lone episode that felt it was added for nothing.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
The visual quality of Halloween Spooktacular offers an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in full screen video. While each episode offers a slightly different quality, they are all decent. All of the episodes offer bright colors and they are all clear for the most part. I did not notice too many issues with compression errors. All in all, it was a good transfer.
The audio comes in Dolby Digital mono, which works for something of this sort. The levels are good, which means that volume toggling won’t be necessary. There are some moments that aren’t real dynamic, but for a children’s show such as this things work just fine.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
The bonuses for Halloween Spooktacular walk a fine line. The two final animated shorts on the disc are labeled as episodes. However, I don’t really feel they qualify as they are running along the same vein as the other shorts on the disc. It seems more like the studio decided to call them bonus features in order to have something sitting in this section. Other than the two non-bonuses, there is nothing else added to this section. As for those episodes, I have added them to the plot up above.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
The biggest drawback to Halloween Spooktacular is that not all of the episodes have something to do with Halloween. The episodes are all kid friendly though and they will provide a good time for the kids. The Halloween episodes and the various associated themes end up providing a fair experience for kids looking for something to bring in the holiday with though. You might want to rent this one first, but if you are already certain the kids like these shows it’s a safe bet that you will want to own it.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Lionsgate, Halloween, Animated, Cartoon, Kids, Barney, Spooktacular, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder
Written by Ashtyn Evans - Visit Website
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Ashtyn lives in her home state of Michigan with her life partner, Dominick, her 14 year old son, and her baby, the Shih-Tzu, Oliver Twist. Ashtyn is in college, going for a degree in Psychology. She plans to get her Ph.D and work as a therapist in the field of human sexuality. Ashtyn is an experienced and talented chef. She also excels at writing and has worked as a professional writer for the past five years. Ashtyn enjoys spending time with her son and four year old nephew, watching movies, listening to music, and writing works of fiction.
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