The “Halloweentown” trope is used in several movies and TV shows, and it’s instantly recognizable since it’s colorful and youthful. It’s the kind of place where fans want to live, even if they know that horrifying things still happen here.
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According to TV Tropes, the “Halloweentown” trope has “a creepy motif.” What’s fun about Halloweentown is that it can sometimes be terrifying, but other times, it’s used in a more light-hearted story. This is a colorful place with green, red, orange, gray, black, and at times, purple. The setting is familiar to horror fans: a full moon, branches that are definitely unsettling, trees with faces, and fog.
Many Tim Burton films have the Halloweentown trope, from Corpse Bride to A Nightmare Before Christmas. The former involve the Land of the Dead where there are corpses, coffins, maggots, ravens, and spiders. A Nightmare Before Christmas has a town called Halloween Town, according to TV Tropes, and this is one of the best examples. In this Tim Burton movie from 1993, the people who live there are supposed to freak others out, but it’s all in good fun. While there are many horror movies set during other holidays, there’s something so joyful about Halloween that it’s always a good time to set a story on this date.
Of course, the “Halloweentown” trope is most famously used in the Halloweentown film franchise. The first movie, from 1998, sees Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) learning about her family history and the fact that her grandma Aggie Cromwell (Debbie Reynolds) is a witch who lives in this interesting, magical place. In this Disney channel, Marnie becomes a witch when she celebrates her 13th birthday. She visits this strange town and at first, she loves it so much. There are three sequels: Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001), Halloweentown High (2004), and Return to Halloweentown (2006). The fact that there are so many movies with this location proves how much fun it is.
Halloweentown may seem like a fun place to call home, but it has its scary moments, too. The mayor, Kalabar, is mad that Marnie’s mom Gwen (Judith Hoag) didn’t love him and he turns into a demon and terrorizes Marnie and her brother Dylan (Joey Zimmerman). It makes sense that kids (and adults who feel nostalgic for the film franchise today) love this place so much. Like the best horror movie settings, it creates a fascinating atmosphere that is hard to forget about. Everywhere Marnie turns, there are pumpkins and people dress in costumes instead of regular clothing. She isn’t scared, even when she probably should be, as this trope creates a feeling of joy even when there are scary moments and creatures everywhere.
TV Tropes also notes that the beloved TV series The Addams Family uses the Halloweentown trope. Fans love the great couple Morticia and Gomez Addams and fans are looking forward to Jenna Ortega playing Wednesday Adams in the new series. This creepy yet adorable and charming family is such a popular part of pop culture and has endured for so many decades. It all started with the sitcom, which premiered in 1964, and continued on with the 1991 film starring Raul Julia, Angelica Huston, and Christina Ricci.
The Addams Family lives in a world where everything is creepy, black is the best color, and a hand called Thing is a typical and regular pet. This is a purely entertaining place to be in as the family is so much more interesting than more traditional relatives, and it’s enjoyable to see what they get up to. The “Halloweentown” trope is used here because the characters look like they’re wearing costumes that people usually see on October 31st and the whole look of the TV show and film franchise reminds fans of Halloween.
While some tropes are corny and horror fans rarely think that they’re used in an effective or interesting way, it’s hard to get tired of the “Halloweentown” trope. Who doesn’t want to live in a world where there are pumpkins and candy and costumes everywhere? Sure, there are monsters and demons possessing people and evil creatures who are up to no good, but that just makes these stories more entertaining.
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