Halloween Artists Newsletter - March 2008
The HA31 and UHAT Easterween Art Event Now
Going On!
If you're a Halloween fiend and can't get enough spooky good
art, if you think Easter eggs should all be black and orange
or that the St. Patrick's Day leprechaun should have a
pumpkin not a pot full of gold, you'll be happy to
know that our artists are cooking up some egg-cellent
examples of Easter gone wicked with our Easterween event!
HA31 and UHAT artists have whipped up
some wicked good art and collectibles for our Easterween art auctions
on ebay this month!
Search ebay with keywords HA31 - UHAT -
Easter to find our auctions!
Need something for the little ones to do while on Easter
break? Check out this list of 10 haunting yet kid-friendly
choices:
Spooky Movies for the Kids...
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
It just wouldn't be Halloween without watching this
critically acclaimed and popular animated television special
based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. On
Halloween night, Linus van Pelt, Charlie Brown's
security-blanket-toting best friend, eagerly awaits the
arrival of the mysterious Great Pumpkin, who he believes
travels around the world each Halloween giving toys to all
the good children like Santa Claus does at Christmas. The
rest of the gang celebrates Halloween in a more traditional
manner, going door-to-door in search of treats. Everyone
gets candy, except for poor ol' Charlie Brown. After each
stop, he mutters his famous sad line: "I got a rock." Not
rated.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
In this hilarious movie, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and
Sarah Jessica Parker play resurrected witches who wreak
havoc on Salem, Mass., 300 years after they originally were
hanged for practicing witchcraft. The evil and often goofy
trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and claim
immortality, flying about on vacuum cleaners instead of
brooms. But, to do so, they must outwit three
kids and a talking black cat who are onto the witches' evil
plan to suck the life out of the town's children. A spooky
plot, especially coming from Disney, but great fun, with
loads of laughs. Rated PG.
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
One of Ray Bradbury's most popular and intriguing novels of
good and evil comes to life in this spine-tingling picture.
A carnival, led by the evil Mr. Dark, who preys upon the
vanities, delusions and regrets of the townspeople by
granting their wishes, arrives in a small Illinois town. But
the townspeople's wishes are granted at the expense of their
souls. The town's meek librarian becomes Mr. Dark's unlikely
nemesis when his son, Will, and his best friend, Jim
Nightshade, discover the evil secret. Filled with suspense,
this movie will captivate the entire family. Rated PG.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This is a heartfelt tale of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin
King of Halloween Town and all things that go bump in the
night. Bored with the same old tricks and treats, he yearns
for something more fulfilling and, when he discovers the
glorious magic of Christmas Town, Jack decides to bring this
joyful holiday back to Halloween Town. But his dream to fill
Santa's shoes unravels as "sleigh" is confused with "slay"
and "stockings" become "stalkings." A wonder in stop-motion
animation, this film is a masterpiece of art direction, set
design and good old-fashioned storytelling. Rated PG.
Tower of Terror (1997)
Buzzy Crocker is a hard-luck photojournalist whose
unexpected encounter with an old woman leads him to
investigate the unexplained disappearance of five people 60
years earlier. On Halloween night 1939, five partygoers,
including a Shirley Temple-like child star, vanished in the
elevator of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Since then, their
ghosts have remained trapped inside the hotel. Buzzy teams
with his young niece to solve the mystery, save their own
lives and capture the biggest story of the year. Not rated
but suggested for kids age 8 and older. Which came first,
the movie or the ride? The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a
popular free-fall thrill ride, opened at Disney-MGM Studios
in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in 1994 and at Disney's
California Adventure Park in Anaheim in 2004.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
This Disney DVD contains two cartoon shorts based on the
classic tales The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow. The latter telling is great for Halloween,
but the ending will have young children burying their heads
in the couch cushions. Washington Irving's story of a
stuffy, spindly schoolmaster and his attempts to win the
love of the fair Katrina from her brutish suitor was
Disney's 11th animated film. Hearts will be thumping when
Ichabod comes across the fabled Headless Horseman in the
dark forest, and during the film's hair-raising climax. Bing
Crosby supplies the narration, character voices and songs.
Rated G.
Monster House (2006)
The kids will love watching this scary house come to life.
The home is occupied by mean old Mr. Nebbercracker, who
takes any toys that land in his yard. He's protective of his
house, which embodies the spirit of his dead wife. When DJ,
a 12-year-old who lives across the street, sneaks over to
retrieve a basketball, Nebbercracker chases the boy and soon
collapses. An ambulance takes him away, and then the house
starts calling DJ. He and his friends keep watch and try to
convince the sitter that something is up. When they can't
convince her or the police, they develop a plan to stop the
house so that kids trick-or-treating don't get eaten up.
Your kids will tense up while the on-screen kids lurk
through the old house and discover lost toys. Rated PG.
Halloweentown (1998)
This is the first of four Halloweentown movies from Disney,
and frankly it's the best. This one focuses on
Halloween-loving 13-year-old Marnie, who is always at odds
with her mom, Gwen, about going out on Halloween. Gwen fears
Halloween because she's guarding a family secret. Of course,
that secret is revealed shortly after Grandma Aggie, played
by Debbie Reynolds, shows up for a rare visit and shares a
story about Halloweentown. Marnie is intrigued, so she and
her siblings follow Grandma. They land in Halloweentown,
where trolls, witches, werewolves and other Halloween
characters live. They're mesmerized, but soon after they
arrive, an evil force, who gives them a fright, tries to
take over the magical place. Grandma and Mom are frozen by a
spell, so the kids have to save Halloweentown by activating
Merlin's wand and placing it in the big pumpkin in the town
square. Rated PG.
Corpse Bride (2005)
This story follows Victor Van Dort, a nervous groom voiced
by Johnny Depp, who, after a terrible wedding rehearsal,
practices his vows in a cemetery. It just happens he says
them to the Corpse Bride and accidentally ends up married to
her. She takes him to the underworld, where she gives him a
wedding gift - his old dead dog, Scraps. He wants to get
back to his Victoria, but her
parents decide to marry her to a mysterious Lord Barkis
Bittern, who has a connection to the Corpse Bride. Little
kids may be startled by a few moments, but this well-done
stop-motion animated film is a wonderfully produced musical
starring a bunch of skeletons and corpses. Rated PG.
Beetlejuice (1988)
A nice couple die and learn they are ghosts trapped in their
home. Soon a strange New York family moves in and the new
ghosts don't like it, so they try to scare the family out.
After being possessed to sing and dance to Harry Belafonte's
Banana Boat Song, the freakish family and its friends think
it's cool to have ghosts. Then Beetlejuice comes along for
frights and laughs. Rated PG.
Article submitted by Josie of SkeletoninmyCloset and
originally published in the Arizona Republic.
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