The greatest Halloween movie of all-time does not involve psychotic murderers stalking unsuspecting teenagers who only want to fornicate nor hand-held cameras that capture a witch or a mischievous demon haunting a small number of people.
Halloween is a holiday for children. There's nothing funner as a kid than dressing up in a costume and going out with friends to get some free candy. Parents love taking their son or daughter out for their first Halloween.
The greatest Halloween movie of all-time is a 17 year old cartoon movie known as The Halloween Tree.
The great Ray Bradbury wrote it and Hanna Barbera turned the story into a movie. The story follows four friends on Halloween night. The group are set to trick-or-treat and have a whole bunch of Halloween fun until they arrive at Pipkin's house--their friend. As they arrive, Pipkin's taken away in an ambulance. After the ambulance leaves, Pipkin suddenly runs by and the friends begin to chase him. His friends chase him to an ominous looking house with a gigantic tree in the front yard--the halloween tree. The owner of the house is called Moundshroud--a character with a skinny, gangly body and the face of a skinny pumpkin. His voice is gravely and he is in possession of Pip's soul. A pumpkin sitting atop the tree bears the likeness of Pip--a representation of his soul. Throughout the movie, Pip (his ghost/spirit) runs through the various time periods with his pumpkin, away from Moundshroud--the figure of death in the story.
His four friends (Tom, Wally, Ralph and Jenny) have no choice but to follow Mr. Moundshroud in his quest for Pip because they want to save Pip. Tom, Wally, Ralph and Jenny are all dressed in costumes. Tom is skeleton. Ralph is a gargoyle. Wally is a mummy. Jenny is a witch. Moundshroud wants the children to understand the history behind their costumes and takes them on a journey through time to educate them (and to follow Pip). Moundshroud takes the four kids into ancient Egypt to learn about the book of the Dead and the process of mummification. The four kids travel to medieval Europe to learn about the origins of witches and the surrounding myths. Moundshroud takes them to the unfinished Notre Dame cathedral to teach Ralph about the belief in gargoyles and demons as warriors against evil spirits. The last destination is Mexico to learn about the day of the dead, the celebration of life in midst of death. The friends find Pip in a tomb--too late to save him.
The friends won't let Moundshroud take their friend and so they offer a year of their lives to save their friend from death. It's one of the moving endings of all-time. Moundshroud wonders if the kids understand what they'll give up for their friend and they do. They want to save Pip's life. With the deal made, they race to Pip's house to find him awake after returning from the hospital. Pip tells them that he was close to being gone and his friends have tears in their eyes as they talk to good ol' Pipkin. Pip tells them about a dream he had that involved each one of his friends, and his friends simple smile up at him because the dream happened.
The story is about friendship as well as the magic and meaning of Halloween. Each episode reviewed during the month long re-watch used Halloween as a back-drop. None focused on the history of All Hallow's Eve. The classic horror movies that air each October don't focus on the history of Halloween. The Halloween Tree stands alone as the great Halloween movie of all-time.
Leonard Nimoy voiced the great Moundshroud. Ray Bradbury narrated the film. And, for your viewing pleasure, here it is:
SCREENPLAY OF THE DAY
Halloween--Written By John Carpenter and Debra Hill--http://www.horrorlair.com/scripts/halloween_script.txt
THE FUNNYORDIE.COM CLIP OF THE WEEK
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/79984f2712/halloween-hijinx-from-colin-mcglinchey
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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