69 Fun Facts About Disney Halloween

In which Massachusetts town do the Sanderson sisters return from the dead in Hocus Pocus?

Salem, Massachusetts: the Sanderson sisters were hanged there in 1693 and rise again exactly 300 years later, on Halloween night 1993; parts of the film were shot on location in the real town.

What object does Max light to accidentally resurrect the witches in Hocus Pocus?

The Black-Flame Candle raises the witches if a virgin lights it under a full moon on Halloween; newcomer Max, who calls the legend hocus pocus, lights it to show it is nonsense.

Thackery Binx, cursed by the Sandersons in 1693, spends three centuries in what form?

Thackery Binx is turned into an immortal black cat in 1693 after failing to save his sister Emily, and guards the Sanderson cottage for 300 years.

Despite its Halloween setting, Hocus Pocus first reached US cinemas in which month of 1993?

July: Hocus Pocus opened on July 16, 1993, and flopped at the summer box office; years of October television airings later turned it into a Halloween favourite.

Which future Shape of Water star plays the zombie Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus?

Doug Jones, later the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water, plays Billy Butcherson, the lover Winifred poisoned in 1693 and raises from his grave with his mouth still sewn shut.

Which High School Musical director made Hocus Pocus?

Kenny Ortega directed Hocus Pocus, which grew out of a story producer David Kirschner made up for his young daughter; Ortega went on to make High School Musical for Disney Channel in 2006.

Which song do the Sanderson sisters perform on stage at the town Halloween party in Hocus Pocus?

I Put a Spell on You, the Screamin' Jay Hawkins song: Winifred belts it out to bewitch the party's adults, who are left dancing helplessly until dawn.

Hocus Pocus 2 skipped cinemas and premiered where in 2022?

Disney+ premiered Hocus Pocus 2 on September 30, 2022, where it became the service's biggest film premiere in the US to that point; it opens in 1653, as a witch hands young Winifred her spell book.

In Hocus Pocus 2, Becca and Izzy outwit the Sanderson sisters inside a branch of which retail chain?

Walgreens: the girls give the newly revived sisters the slip there, then run to the magic shop and learn that its owner, Gilbert, tricked them into bringing the witches back.

Which Hollywood legend plays Grandma Aggie Cromwell in Halloweentown?

Debbie Reynolds plays Aggie, who is set on starting granddaughter Marnie's witch training because it is the girl's 13th Halloween; Reynolds returned for every film in the series.

The town of Halloweentown was filmed in which US state?

Oregon: the town of St. Helens stood in for Halloweentown in 1998 and has since built its Spirit of Halloweentown festival around the film, with cast members returning as guests.

What civic office does Kalabar, the villain of the first Halloweentown, hold?

Kalabar is the mayor of Halloweentown, played by Robin Thomas; his son Kal returns as the villain of the 2001 sequel, Kalabar's Revenge.

What job does Benny the skeleton hold in Halloweentown?

Taxi driver: Benny the skeleton drives the newly arrived Piper children to their grandmother's house, cracking corny jokes as he goes; Rino Romano supplied his voice.

In Halloweentown II, what is the name of the curse Kal casts on Halloweentown?

Kal's Grey Spell drains Halloweentown of its colour and turns its creatures into dreary, monotonous humans; Daniel Kountz plays Kal in the 2001 sequel.

In Halloweentown High, which fanatical order once wanted to destroy all magic?

The Knights of the Iron Dagger are the legend that makes the council wary; it backs Marnie's exchange programme only after she bets all the Cromwell magic that the plan will work.

Who replaced Kimberly J. Brown as Marnie in Return to Halloweentown?

Sara Paxton took over as Marnie for Return to Halloweentown (2006), which sends her to Witch University; Kimberly J. Brown had played the role in the first three films.

Who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Henry Selick directed the stop-motion feature; Tim Burton, who wrote the story as a poem while working as a Disney animator, produced it, and Disney billed it under his name.

Who provides Jack Skellington's singing voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Danny Elfman, the film's composer, sang all of Jack Skellington's numbers himself, while Chris Sarandon provided Jack's speaking voice.

Disney first released The Nightmare Before Christmas under which of its labels, rather than its own name?

Touchstone Pictures, Disney's label for more mature films, carried the 1993 release; its director recalled the studio finding it too dark and scary for kids, and Disney put its own name on the 2006 3-D reissue.

In The Nightmare Before Christmas, what is the name of Jack Skellington's ghost dog?

Zero is Jack's ghost dog; his glowing jack-o'-lantern nose is a Halloween answer to Rudolph's, so Jack puts him at the head of the sleigh team on Christmas Eve.

The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first animated film nominated for which Academy Award?

Best Visual Effects: the 1993 stop-motion feature was the first animated film nominated in that category, losing to Jurassic Park at the 1994 ceremony.

Which Pee-wee's Playhouse cast member voices Lock, one of Oogie Boogie's trick-or-treaters?

Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman himself, voices Lock; with Shock and Barrel he kidnaps Santa Claus for Jack and delivers him to Oogie Boogie instead.

Which pair of twin sisters star as the reunited witches in Twitches?

Tia and Tamera Mowry, the Sister, Sister twins, play Alex and Camryn, witches separated at birth who first meet on their 21st birthday and learn that only they can save their home realm.

In Twitches, the twins are born on Halloween night in which magical dimension?

Coventry is the magical realm where the twins are born; when the Darkness attacks, their protectors hide the babies on Earth, where they grow up apart as Alex and Camryn.

In Coco, Miguel's dog Dante is which breed?

Dante is a Xoloitzcuintle, the hairless Mexican dog tied to the underworld since Aztec times; in the Land of the Dead he proves to be an alebrije and sprouts wings.

Which song from Coco won the Academy Award for Best Original Song?

Remember Me, by Frozen songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, won the 2018 Oscar; in the film, Ernesto's showy hit turns out to be a lullaby Héctor sang to his daughter Coco.

After banning music, Miguel's great-great-grandmother Imelda starts what family trade in Coco?

Shoemaking: left to raise her daughter Coco alone, Imelda taught herself to make shoes and handed the trade down the family, which is why Miguel is expected at the workbench, not on stage.

Tim Burton's 2012 Frankenweenie, like his 1984 short, was shot in which unusual format?

Black and white: the 1984 short was a homage to the horror films of the 1930s, above all Frankenstein, and the 2012 stop-motion remake kept its look.

In the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion, Eddie Murphy's Jim Evers has what job?

Jim Evers is a workaholic real estate agent who drags his family off on a detour to chase the sale of the Gracey mansion, where a storm strands them among the ghosts; Rob Minkoff directed.

Which actress voices the crystal-ball head Madame Leota in the 2003 Haunted Mansion film?

Jennifer Tilly voices Madame Leota, the spirit in the crystal ball; Terence Stamp plays Ramsley, the butler who turns out to be behind the mansion's tragedy.

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion stood empty for six years before opening in which land?

New Orleans Square: the mansion's shell was built by 1963, but the 1964 World's Fair and indecision over what to put inside kept guests out until August 9, 1969.

According to the Ghost Host, how many "happy haunts" live in the Haunted Mansion?

The Ghost Host says 999 happy haunts live in the mansion, yet there is room for a thousand: a standing invitation for one of the riders to stay on and make up the number.

What are the ride vehicles of the Haunted Mansion called?

Doom Buggies: the mansion was planned as a walk-through until Imagineers saw the crowds would jam, and the endless chain of Omnimover cars solved the problem.

The Haunted Mansion's Stretching Room at Disneyland is secretly what?

The Disneyland Stretching Room is an elevator that lowers guests beneath the railroad berm to a show building outside it; the Florida version stretches its ceiling upward instead.

Which voice actor narrates the Haunted Mansion as the Ghost Host?

Paul Frees narrates as the Ghost Host; the broken singing bust that guests often take for Walt Disney is really Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger.

What is Disneyland Paris's reimagined version of the Haunted Mansion called?

Phantom Manor sits in Disneyland Paris's Frontierland with a Western ghost-town storyline; Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor, opened in 2013, has no ghosts at all.

Which edible centrepiece fills the ballroom table in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay?

Gingerbread house: the resort's bakers build it from real gingerbread, and a new design takes over the ballroom table each year the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay returns.

Disney's Tower of Terror, where five people vanish from a hotel on Halloween night 1939, is themed to which TV series?

The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling appears on a television in the hotel library to tell how lightning struck on October 31, 1939, before riders take the thirteen-story drop themselves.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separate-ticket event at which Walt Disney World park?

Magic Kingdom premiered Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party as a single night on October 31, 1995; it later expanded to many separately ticketed evenings, with trick-or-treating around the park.

Which character appears just before Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade at the Not-So-Scary party?

The Headless Horseman gallops down the parade route ahead of the floats, a nod to Disney's 1949 Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Oogie Boogie Bash, launched in 2019, is held at which park?

Oogie Boogie Bash debuted at Disney California Adventure in 2019, when Mickey's Halloween Party moved across from Disneyland Park and took the Nightmare Before Christmas villain's name.

In the 1937 short Lonesome Ghosts, who phones ghost exterminators Mickey, Donald and Goofy with a job?

The ghosts themselves: four bored spooks who have scared everyone else away call the Ajax Ghost Exterminators just to have someone to prank, then flee when the flour-covered trio looks ghostlier than they do.

In the 1952 short Trick or Treat, who helps Huey, Dewey and Louie get revenge on Donald?

Witch Hazel, voiced by June Foray, brews a potion to help the nephews; Foray went on to voice a second, unrelated Witch Hazel for Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes.

In the 1952 Donald Duck short Trick or Treat, what does Donald drop into his nephews' bags instead of candy?

Donald drops firecrackers into the nephews' bags, then yanks a string that dumps a bucket of water on them; a watching witch promptly takes the boys' side.

Which crooner narrates and sings Disney's 1949 Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment?

Bing Crosby narrates and sings the Sleepy Hollow half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949), which ends with schoolmaster Ichabod Crane vanishing on his way home on Halloween night.

In which Fantasia sequence does the demon Chernabog summon restless spirits?

Night on Bald Mountain: the film's narrator sets it on Walpurgis Night, 'the equivalent of our own Halloween'; Bela Lugosi posed for Chernabog, but animator Bill Tytla preferred director Wilfred Jackson's poses.

In Sleeping Beauty, which good fairy softens Maleficent's death curse into a deep sleep?

Merryweather, the blue fairy, had not yet given her gift, so she softens Maleficent's curse: Aurora will not die but sleep until woken by true love's kiss.

Ursula's look in The Little Mermaid was largely modelled on which drag performer?

Divine, the John Waters drag star, inspired Ursula's make-up, jewellery and build; the animators also gave her six tentacles rather than an octopus's eight to save on animation costs.

How did Lucille La Verne change her Evil Queen voice for the hag in Snow White?

She removed her false teeth: Lucille La Verne voiced both the regal Queen and the cackling hag in 1937, and when asked how she had changed her voice so completely, admitted the teeth had come out.

Which actor voices the fast-talking, flame-haired Hades, brother of Zeus, in Disney's Hercules?

James Woods won the part after John Lithgow was let go, and his rapid-fire, used-car-salesman delivery replaced a Hades first written as slow and quietly menacing.

Which Disney villain first appeared in a 1956 children's novel by the English writer Dodie Smith?

Cruella de Vil debuted in Dodie Smith's The Hundred and One Dalmatians, where she is married to a furrier who keeps his stock at home so she can wear it, a husband Disney's 1961 film leaves out.

Which actor voices Dr. Facilier, the Shadow Man, in The Princess and the Frog?

Keith David voices Dr. Facilier, who turns Prince Naveen into a frog and is finally dragged off by his own 'friends on the other side' when Tiana smashes his talisman.

The Black Cauldron, home of the Horned King, was the first Disney animated feature to receive which rating?

PG: The Black Cauldron (1985) was the first Disney animated feature with that rating, even after new studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg had its scariest undead-army scenes cut and delayed the release.

Under Wraps, in which three kids befriend a mummy named Harold, holds what distinction?

Under Wraps (1997) was the first film billed as a Disney Channel Original Movie; its kids must get the mummy back to his sarcophagus before midnight on Halloween or he will turn to dust.

Which Disney Channel movie was dropped from the channel's October reruns after parents complained?

Don't Look Under the Bed (1999) left Disney Channel's October lineup after parents complained it was too scary; in it, imaginary friend Larry Houdini helps Frances prove the Boogeyman is framing her.

Who plays the Ghost Host in Muppets Haunted Mansion, the Muppets' first Halloween special?

Will Arnett plays the Ghost Host in the 2021 special, in which Gonzo and Pepe must survive a night in the mansion while Taraji P. Henson's ghost bride sets her sights on Pepe.

The Skeleton Dance, with skeletons played like xylophones, was the first entry in which Disney series?

The Skeleton Dance (1929) launched the Silly Symphonies after composer Carl Stalling suggested to Walt Disney a second cartoon series built around music rather than a star character.

In Mickey's House of Villains, which villain leads the takeover of the House of Mouse on Halloween night?

Jafar leads the villains' takeover; Mickey, in his Sorcerer's Apprentice robes, ends it by trapping Jafar in a magic lamp in the 2002 direct-to-video film.

In Toy Story of Terror!, who or what has been stealing toys from guests at the Sleep Well motel?

An iguana: Mr. Jones, the pet of motel manager Ron, is trained to snatch guests' toys so that Ron can sell them online; Carl Weathers voices Combat Carl in the 2013 ABC special.

Gravity Falls celebrates Halloween a second time each year under what name?

Summerween: the townsfolk carve jack-o'-melons instead of pumpkins, and a creature called the Summerween Trickster threatens to eat the twins unless they meet his candy quota.

In Hocus Pocus, from which West Coast city has Max Dennison recently moved to Massachusetts?

Max Dennison has just moved from Los Angeles, which he misses; he reluctantly takes his sister Dani trick-or-treating and meets classmate Allison Watts, his crush.

Which three actresses play the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus?

Midler, Parker and Najimy - Bette, Sarah Jessica and Kathy - all returned as the Sanderson sisters 29 years later for Hocus Pocus 2.

In Halloweentown, how do Marnie and Dylan follow Aggie home?

By magical bus: Marnie and Dylan sneak aboard behind Aggie, and little Sophie stows away too, so all three Piper children land in Halloweentown.

In a 2012 Disney Channel Halloween movie, Olivia Holt's Skylar learns on Halloween Eve that she is a fifth-generation what?

A monster hunter: Skylar learns the family secret in Girl vs. Monster after she defies her parents' order to stay home and accidentally unleashes the monster Deimata.

Which Hollywood veteran plays Movie Mason in Phantom of the Megaplex?

Mickey Rooney plays Movie Mason, whose family opened the old cinema the megaplex replaced, so he still turns up every day convinced he works there.

Which Monty Python member stars in The Scream Team, a 2002 Disney Channel Halloween movie?

Eric Idle plays Coffin Ed, one of a bumbling trio of ghosts who help two siblings free their late grandfather's soul from an angry spirit.

Which actress plays crystal-ball medium Madame Leota in the 2023 Haunted Mansion film?

Jamie Lee Curtis plays Leota, trapped inside her own crystal ball, which the heroes find locked in a trunk in the mansion's attic.

In Coco, what is the name of the Mexican town where Miguel and the Rivera family live?

Santa Cecilia shares its name with the patron saint of musicians, a wry home for the Riveras, whose family has banned music for generations.

In Frankenweenie, what breed of dog is Victor's beloved Sparky?

A bull terrier: Sparky is killed by a car while chasing a home-run ball, and Victor revives him with lightning after a science lesson on electricity and dead frogs.