We’ve all been there: set out the Halloween-themed snacks, turn out the lights, get halfway through watching a Halloween movie with your young children only to realize that it’s way too scary for their innocent eyes. This list of family-friendly Halloween movies will help you maintain Halloween spookiness while also giving you a heads up of which movies will make the kids creep into your bed after watching them.
To help you out, we’ve pre-screened each of these movies and rated them on our “Scare-O-Meter.”
Scare-O-Meter Scale
1 Boo: More fun than fright
2 Ghouls: Leave a nightlight on
3 Chills: Extra cuddles may be required
4 Screams: Expect a child in your bed tonight
5 Frights: Save it for when they’re a bit older
1. Spookley the Square Pumpkin
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Poor Spookley is a pumpkin whose shape is square rather than round. He’s teased and taunted by some mean round pumpkins but he receives help from a Scarecrow, his 2 bat side-kicks and 3 very funny spiders.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
Spookley is more lesson about inclusivity, less thrill.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
2. Casper’s Halloween Special
The Hair-Raising Facts:
It’s Halloween Night and Casper the Friendly Ghost leaps at the chance to experience the delights of the night “just like a real boy.” Donning a simple costume, Casper sets out for a night of tricks and treats with some kids who don’t realize that he is a “real” ghost. Out to scare the trick-or-treaters are Hairy Scary and the ghostly gang from the haunted house who feel it is their ghostly duty to scare on Halloween night.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
Casper is a classic movie that children are sure to enjoy. This animated version is a little less spooky, whereas the original may bring questions about death (Casper is the ghost of a child who died).
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
3. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Charlie Brown is invited to a Halloween party, while Linus waits patiently in a pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to arrive.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
Some good old-fashioned Charlie Brown fun like we enjoyed as kids. All fun, no frights.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
4. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Monster Musical
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Count Mickula visits the Creaky Castle to find out what, or who, is making a spooky banging sound.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
We can always count on Mickey and friends to give our kids a safe yet fun Halloween experience.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
5. Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
The Hair-Raising Facts:
George attends the annual Boo Festival, where he hears about the legendary scarecrow who steals hats. George, being George, embarks on a hilarious fun-filled Halloween adventure.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
Your kids won’t get enough of it, and you won’t mind because it’s Curious George.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
6. Room on the Broom
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Based on a children’s book, this is the story of a kind witch who invites animals to join her on her broomstick and in turn they save the witch from a dragon who wants to eat her.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
The part where the dragon tries to eat the witch is a little scary for younger eyes but it’s over quickly.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
7. Toy Story of Terror
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Woody and the gang set out to solve the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Potato Head.
Scare-O-Meter: 3 Chills
While it’s all good fun, it’s probably best for ages 4 and up, or anyone who already loves the Toy Story films.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
8. Coraline
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Coraline finds a secret door in her house that leads to a world that is at first fun, then turns dangerous and she must find her way back home.
Scare-O-Meter: 4 Screams
Although it’s a good film for families, you should leave this one to the older crowd (probably 8 and up).
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
9. Thomas & Friends: Thomas’ Halloween Adventures
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Thomas, Toby and Henry set out to see if there are ghosts on the Island of Sodor.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
Perfect for Halloween or anytime your kids are in for a touch of fright.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
10. Garfield Holiday Celebrations
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Garfield and Odie the dog rummage through Jon’s attic looking for Halloween costumes and think they find real ghosts instead. Bonus: This DVD comes with Garfield Christmas and Garfield Thanksgiving stories too.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
It’s all good Garfield silliness mixed in with a touch of ghoulishness.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
11. WordWorld: A Kooky Spooky Halloween
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Two episodes of WordWorld: A Kooky Spooky Halloween and Sheep’s Halloween Costume. If you haven’t introduced your kids to WordWorld yet, this is a great place to start. It’s a perfect way to keep them entertained while educating them at the same time.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
Full blown entertainment without the worry of scares.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
12. The Book of Life
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Though this movie is technically more about Dia de los Muertos, for all intents and purposes we’ll just call it a Halloween film. It’s about three friends (two boys and a girl) from a small Mexican town whose lives go in different directions but they come back together and battle over who is going to marry the girl.
Scare-O-Meter: 4 Screams
The animation is unlike anything you’ve seen and the story is one of the power of love and friendship. Adults will like this movie possibly more than the kids. There is lots of death talk (we’re talking the Day of the Dead, after all) but not in an alarming, cover-their-ears type of way. Maybe stick to the over 6 crowd.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
13. Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University
The Hair-Raising Facts:
If you haven’t seen Monsters, Inc. or its prequel Monsters University, stop what you’re doing and announce an emergency family movie night. These films aren’t necessarily Halloween per se, but with monsters galore it’ll suffice. Monsters, Inc. is about Mike and Sully, the top scare team at Monsters Incorporated, whose job is to collect screams from children used to power the town of Monstropolis. Monsters University is the story of how Mike and Sully meet.
Scare-O-Meter: 3 Chills
In the midst of belly laughs there are a few times that are a tad scary, but the kids (and you) will quickly return to laughing again.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
14. Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Roo and Lumpy head out to search for the dreaded Gobloon, who’ll turn them into a Jaggedy Lantern if he catches them first, yet will grant them a wish if they catch him.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
Anything Pooh and Friends is so much fun for kids that a little fright just adds to the excitement.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
15. 20 Halloween Stories: Scholastic Storybook Treasures
The Hair-Raising Facts:
20 Scholastic Storybook’s Halloween stories brought to life. It’s not your typical movie, as in the images are not moving like an animated film (it’s more of the actual book being read page by page). But the stories are all classic Scholastic and the kids will be mesmerized.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
Some stories are slightly more scary but all are quite tame. This is certainly more for the kids’ amusement than for the adults.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
16. A Monsterous Holiday
The Hair-Raising Facts:
A young inventor named Andy enlists the help of Frankenstein’s monster for help on an invention for the science fair.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
An all around fun movie for kids and parents alike. Some mature language, but nothing that will make you squirm.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
17. Hotel Transylvania
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Dracula builds a hotel where all his monster friends can come relax without the worry of having humans ruin their fun, but one ordinary guy shows up to the hotel and Dracula tries to get him out before he can ruin the party.
Scare-O-Meter: 3 Chills
It’s a super funny movie (after all, it’s Adam Sandler) and it’ll keep the attention of younger kids but they won’t get some of the adult humor.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
18. Monster House
The Hair-Raising Facts:
12 year old DJ, and his friends set out to prove that their elderly neighbor is responsible for his wife’s disappearance. Any toy or person who touches the grass of his neighbor’s house is “eaten” by the house.
Scare-O-Meter: 5 Frights
Unless they are made of stone or over the age of 9, your kids will wake you up for sure. It’s a super spooky ride that gets scarier as the movie goes on and there is tension throughout. There are also more mature themes throughout, such as death, kissing, and beer drinking.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
19. Scared Shrekless
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Donkey holds a contest to see who can tell the scariest story that will spook Shrek.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
This may be scary for some little ones, especially the last tale. However, overall it is a fun and funny Halloween special.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
20. The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, longs to spread the joy of Christmas rather than the spookiness of Halloween.
Scare-O-Meter: 3 Chills
The animation is more gothic in nature and some scenes are not fit for younger eyes, nor will the overall theme be understood. This film is great for the 8 and up crowd, and their parents will enjoy it just as much.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
21. Penguins of Madagascar: I Was a Penguin Zombie
The Hair-Raising Facts:
The penguins come face to face with zombies, robots, spooky noises and a whole lot of frightening fun. This DVD has 8 Penguins episodes and “I Was a Penguin Zombie” is only one of those.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
All fun with a hint of scare. Safe for all ages.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
22. Monsters vs. Aliens
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Monsters who have been held in captivity are released to save the earth from aliens.
Scare-O-Meter: 3 Chills
Funny, silly and good lessons throughout, most notably that not all monsters are big and scary, some are just big. However, there’s a touch of potty mouth (“Boys, set the terror level to Code Brown cause I need to change my pants” is said by “The President of the United States, for example).
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
23. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Treat
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Mickey and the gang are invited to Pete’s costume party but they have to make it to Trick-or-Treat tower before the moon is full.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is always a fun treat for the younger audience without fear of having to cover their eyes.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
24. Halloweentown
The Hair-Raising Facts:
A 13 year old girl is trained to use her witch powers by her grandmother while in a portal called Halloweentown. It’s non-animated so it more than likely won’t keep the attention of the younger crowd.
Scare-O-Meter: 4 Screams
Being that it’s not an animated film, it makes it seem more real. Better for the 6 and up crew.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
25. ParaNorman
The Hair-Raising Facts:
This is the story of Norman, a boy who must use his paranormal abilities to speak to the dead in order to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
Scare-O-Meter: 4 Screams
While there is a good message not to be judgmental of others as well as a strong anti-bullying stance, ParaNorman is for a more mature audience, say 8 and up. There are some scarier scenes such as half a dog because it had been hit by a car.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
26. Spooky Buddies
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Talking puppies go to a spooky mansion where something mysterious is going on. A friendly ghost helps them save the world from an evil warlock.
Scare-O-Meter: 4 Screams
While the puppies are undeniably cute, this film is not appropriate for younger audiences as there are quite a few instances of mature language, not to mention scary moments too. Most suited for ages 7 and up.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
27. Sesame Street – Elmo Says Boo
The Hair-Raising Facts:
Elmo visits The Count’s spooky castle with his friends in tow.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
This Halloween special is perfect for little ones. Not only will they love the fun songs and learn numbers (it is The Count’s castle, after all) watching it will prepare them for Halloween decorations and help ease some of the fear that comes along with trick-or-treating.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
28. Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular
The Hair-Raising Facts:
When Hannah goes trick-or-treating with older kids, they leave her in a spooky basement. She is rescued by her scary godmother and whisked away to the best Halloween party ever.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
It manages to capture the fun of Halloween with just a tiny bit of scare. Overall fun for all ages.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
29. The Witches
The Hair-Raising Facts:
A nine year old boy must foil the plan of a society of witches to turn the world’s children into mice. It won’t be easy because they’ve already transformed him into one.
Scare-O-Meter: 5 Frights
Best for ages 9 and up. There are scenes that seem quite real, which is exasperated by the movie not being animated. It’s a very fun movie, just not for the younger ones.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
30. Alvin & the Chipmunks: Halloween Collection
The Hair-Raising Facts:
When Alvin wants to be accepted into the monster club, he has to learn that being a good friend is more cool than being a monster.
Scare-O-Meter: 2 Ghouls
There are several Halloween themed episodes on this DVD and some parts may be a little scary, but for the most part it’s old-school Alvin and his fun hijinks. It will definitely keep kids of all ages entertained.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
31. Mad Monster Party
The Hair-Raising Facts:
If your family loves the original versions of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, then this will be a huge hit. Frankenstein is retiring as the head of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters and must choose his replacement.
Scare-O-Meter: 1 Boo
Pure Halloween fun mixed with nostalgia for the parents.
Click (to purchase) If You Dare:
Now that we’ve taken the guesswork out of your Halloween movie selection, you’ll be able to munch on your favorite Halloween snacks, sip some hot cocoa and snuggle with your little ones, knowing what to expect when the movie ends.
Photo Credits: Personal Creations
