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Five Amazing But Sadly Forgotten Animated Halloween Specials!

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Let’s just admit it: There aren’t enough Halloween specials.

There’s a reason we revisit It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure every year, and that’s because the pickings are pretty slim. There are tons of Halloween episodes of TV shows, and plenty of movies out there, but Halloween just doesn’t have as many memorable TV specials as Christmas does.

In fact, some of the most interesting Halloween TV specials have been largely forgotten. Some never had an audience and some lost their popularity over time, but they deserve to be rediscovered now before it’s too late.

What follows are our picks for Five Amazing But Forgotten Halloween Specials, whether they’re wonderful, weird, or just so danged head-scratchingly inane we can barely believe they exist.


The Adventures of the Scrabble People in A Pumpkin Full of Nonsense

Every other toy had a cartoon series in the 1980s, so why not Scrabble? Probably because Scrabble is an abstract board game without a plot or characters, but that didn’t stop them from making The Adventures of the Scrabble People in a Pumpkin Full of Nonsense.

This 1985 TV special tells the story of Mr. Scrabble, whose most distinctive characteristic is that he wears a blue shirt, and two kids who are looking through a pumpkin patch on Halloween and find a gigantic pumpkin that’s actually a gateway to a land called “Nonsense.” In this magical land, an evil ruler has outlawed putting letters in order, and now everyone’s miserable because they don’t know which store sells groceries or which building to send their kids to for school.

It has, and this must stressed as much as possible, nothing to do with Halloween. It’s set on Halloween, and Mr. Scrabble’s two young friends are dressed up for the holiday (unlike Mr. Scrabble, who looks like he half-assed a Speed Racer costume at best), but the plot is boiler plate kiddie stuff about why reading is good. It’s a message that might have come across better if the “heroic” Mr. Scrabble wasn’t a colossal a-hole who fat shames women and mocks the illiterate.

But it is, undeniably, a fascinatingly weird attempt to turn the board game Scrabble into an animated Halloween special. It’s hard to believe this danged thing exists at all.


The Devil and Daniel Mouse

It’s hard being a folk musician mouse. The industry is pivoting to hard rock in the late 1970s, nobody wants to hear Jan Mouse’s tunes about peace, love and understanding, and her bandmate and boyfriend Daniel left her in the woods so he could pawn his guitar and buy a tiny bag of food with the proceeds.

Fortunately, the Devil just happens to be wandering around, and he signs Jan to an exclusive contract, using her own blood for ink of course (which is pretty grim for a kids special from 1978). Now she’s the biggest rock star in the world! But the devil finally comes to collect her soul, forcing Daniel to defend her in a trial over her recording deal.

The Devil and Daniel Mouse is a loose adaptation of Stephen Vincent Benet’s The Devil and Daniel Webster, and it’s been gene-spliced with the Barbra Streisand version of A Star is Born. The songs are actually pretty groovy, although the idea that Dan’s sappy climactic ballad is so good it cools the fiery hearts of the hellhound strains credulity, even in an anthropomorphic mouse cartoon.

The most noteworthy part of The Devil and Daniel Mouse, however, is that director Clive Smith took the ideas from this cartoon and evolved them into the 1983 cult classic film Rock & Rule, starring Lou Reed from The Velvet Underground as a mad rock overlord in a post-apocalyptic hellscape, who kidnaps a young anthropomorphic animal singer to use in a satanic ritual. Cool stuff, Rock & Rule.


Gary Larson’s Tales from the Far Side

Lots of newspaper comic strips have had animated holiday specials over the years, some of them good (Garfield’s Halloween Adventure), some of them awful (BC: The First Thanksgiving). But none were weirder than Gary Larson’s Tales from the Far Side, an eclectic assortment of morbid sight gags that spilled right out from the single panel imagination of, well, Gary Larson obviously.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Larson’s distinctive brand of humor was a striking counterpoint to the banality of most of the other daily comic strips. But it didn’t necessarily lend itself to television, in large part because it had no recurring characters and no storyline. It was a hodgepodge of weird ideas and science jokes and non sequiturs that varied from day to day, and for better or worse (a comic strip which also had a Halloween special, come to think of it) that randomness is what got adapted into this animated treat from 1994.

Gary Larson’s Tales from the Far Side is a mostly silent animated special with sketches involving a farmer who creates a “Bride of Cow-enstein” in his barn, an airplane full of insects (the bees are in buzz-ness class), and aliens who disguised themselves as cowboys in the 19th century. Fascinating, morbid and very funny, this Halloween special was quickly forgotten by most, but it did yield a sequel, Tales from the Far Side II, which only aired in the United Kingdom.


The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters

Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. were the force behind some of the most iconic animated holiday specials ever produced, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, but they notoriously never made a Halloween special. Except they kinda, sorta, maybe did.

A spiritual follow-up to the 1967 stop-motion feature film Mad Monster Party?, the cel-animated The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters tells the story of the Frankenstein Monster’s wedding party. Dr. Frankenstein has made him a bride, and now Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man and the Gill Man are spending the weekend in a fancy hotel and – naturally – wrecking the place in the build-up to Frank’s big night.

This hour-long TV special is lovingly animated, with striking character designs and exciting movement, and plays like a precursor to the charming Hotel Transylvania series. The plot is thin to a massive fault, and the Invisible Man’s verbally abusive relationship with his wife is cringe-worthy, but it’s an impressive animated special. If it had only taken place on Halloween instead of Friday the 13th it might be considered a holiday classic, but it did originally air in late September so let’s just say it kinda, sorta, maybe counts.


Witch’s Night Out

The best known Halloween special on our list is still, sadly, not as well known as it should be. Witch’s Night Out stars comedy superstars Gilda Radner, Catherine O’Hara and Dan Aykroyd in a delightfully monstrous animated adventure about a witch who feels unappreciated, and two young children who wish they were scarier on Halloween. A bargain is struck, the children are turned into real-life monsters, but they quickly realize that there’s a downside to being scary after the townsfolk turn on them all.

With a catchy electronic theme song and a distinctive, angular and colorful animation style, Witch’s Night Out really pops off the screen. It’s imaginative and engaging and the conclusion, where everyone in town gets to be monsters for the evening, is a perfect capper for a Halloween special. So many Christmas specials are about the importance of embracing the spirit of the season. Not enough Halloween specials put forth the effort to consider why we love his holiday, and instead are content to rely on monster iconography instead. Witch’s Night Out is one of the better exceptions, telling a pleasing story about the holiday and what it means to people while also engaging in the supernatural.

Witch’s Night Out was part of the regular Halloween TV rotation for quite a few years, but then all but disappeared at the turn of the century. It’s currently on DVD along with an assortment of other Halloween shows, and can be found on multiple streaming services, but it largely seems to have fallen out of the pop consciousness.

So let’s resurrect it now, along with all these other amazing – or at least amazingly weird – Halloween treats!

William Bibbiani writes film criticism in Los Angeles, with bylines at The Wrap, Bloody Disgusting and IGN. He co-hosts three weekly podcasts: Critically Acclaimed (new movie reviews), The Two-Shot (double features of the best/worst movies ever made) and Canceled Too Soon (TV shows that lasted only one season or less). Member LAOFCS, former Movie Trivia Schmoedown World Champion, proud co-parent of two annoying cats.

Editorials

Six Shot-on-VHS Horror Movies to Watch After ‘Frogman’

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Frogman VHS

Nostalgia is a funny thing. From the unexpected resurgence of vinyl to modern-day flip phones, it’s pretty clear that the technical limitations of the past can often inspire the stylish trends of the future. One of my favorite examples of this is the ongoing analog horror craze, as I find it fascinating how many of the genre’s major creators appear to have been born after the decline of VHS tapes and eerie PSAs.

It’s almost like there’s a subconscious understanding that some stories are best told through fuzzy visuals and heavily compressed audio, which is why I appreciate flicks like Anthony Cousins’s Found Footage throwback Frogman, a cryptozoology-inspired scary movie that dares to incorporate lo-fi aesthetics into its storytelling during a time when most studios encourage filmmakers to make their projects look as generically slick and polished as possible. And if you also enjoyed Frogman and are on the lookout for more VHS-based gems, Bloody-Disgusting has got you covered, as we’ve come up with a list highlighting six shot-on-VHS classics for your viewing pleasure.

As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite analog thrillers if you think we missed a particularly spooky one. I’d also like to give a shout-out to Bloody-Disgusting’s own long-running V/H/S series, which won’t be included here for obvious reasons.

Now, onto the list…


6. Zero Day (2003)

School shootings are one of the scariest realities of the modern world, but the complicated political elements behind these tragedies mean that most genre filmmakers don’t even try to tell stories about them. There are a few exceptions, however, and one of the most notable is Ben Coccio’s Zero Day, a deeply uncomfortable Found Footage character study that explores just how far ill-intentioned teenagers might go to prove a point.

Inspired by the real-world Columbine Basement Tapes, in which the mass-murderers kept a record of their plans and motivations, Coccio’s film follows a fictional video diary where troubled friends Andre and Calvin discuss their homicidal intentions. Another case where the gritty visuals make the story hit even harder, I’d recommend this one for discerning fans of True Crime media.


5. August Underground (2001)

Out of all the movies on this list, Fred Vogel’s August Underground is simultaneously one of the most fascinating and the hardest to recommend. A simulated snuff film following the exploits of a degenerate serial killer and his deranged filmmaker friend, the low production value and amateurish visuals make this shot-on-video experience even more uncomfortable as you begin to question if it really is just a movie.

And while Vogel would go on to expand on this controversial production with a series of slightly more agreeable sequels that boasted improved visuals, none of the follow-ups can quite compare to the raw thrills of the original. Just make sure that you don’t accidentally pick this one for family movie night if you dare to give it a watch.


4. WNUF Halloween Special (2013)

Frogman VHS list

The only entry on this list produced after the decline of VHS-based media, this 2013 classic still holds up as a convincing masterclass in authentic period-piece horror. A simulated recording of a public access show gone terribly wrong, the WNUF Halloween Special should be on everyone’s spooky season watchlist – though I’d argue that it’s best enjoyed as a background conversation piece during Halloween parties.

From the hilarious yet extremely believable retro advertisements to the not-so-subtle hints of the satanic panic motivating the story, this is a delightful experience even if you weren’t alive back when this kind of TV was still on the air.

And if you like this one, don’t forget to check out the Out There Halloween Mega Tape, which was made by the same director.


3. The McPherson Tape (1989)

Originally made popular by bootleg copies circulating the underground VHS trading scene, there’s no discussing shot-on-video horror without bringing up one of the grandaddies of modern-day Found Footage, the legendary McPherson Tape. Also known as UFO Abduction, this homemade thriller follows a birthday party gone wrong as the Van Heese family is visited by extraterrestrials.

While the flick works better as a terrifying hoax rather than a proper movie due to its odd pacing and general lack of traditional story structure, it’s still a must-watch for Found Footage fans. Just be sure to track down the gritty original, not the 1998 remake, Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County.


2. Ghostwatch (1992)

Frogman VHS movies

The term “made-for-TV” used to carry some seriously negative connotations in the world of film, with most audiences assuming that this kind of classification meant that they were about to watch low-budget schlock unsuitable for the big screen. However, there were plenty of clever filmmakers that managed to turn the limitations of broadcast television into storytelling tools, and a great example of this is Stephen Volk’s excellent mockumentary, Ghostwatch.

Starring real TV host Sir Michael Parkinson and borrowing details from the infamous Enfield Poltergeist case, this controversial TV special attempted to do for hauntings what Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds radio adaptation did for aliens. And while we’ve seen scarier Found Footage ghost stories in the decades since Ghostwatch premiered, I’d argue that the chilling authenticity behind the production makes it well worth revisiting in 2024.


1. America’s Deadliest Home Video (1993)

Jack Perez’s pioneer POV thriller may not be that well known these days, but this obscure little gem is actually responsible for many Found Footage tropes that we now take for granted. Telling the story of an amateur cameraman who finds himself being kidnapped by a group of criminals during a road trip, this video diary from hell still holds up as a horrific example of grounded Found Footage.

While some questionable acting and convenient story beats sometimes break the carefully crafted immersion, America’s Deadliest Home Video stands out by not only being one of the first of its kind, but also by embracing its amateurish roots instead of being embarrassed by them.


Frogman, which actually was released on VHS, is now available on VOD outlets.

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