An excuse to eat Halloween Candy!?

Yes.  Seriously.  Hear me out though!  My husband and I have a HUGE bowl of Halloween candy leftover, because I'm still used to buying it at our old house where we had to buy 2 big bags of it just to last a couple hours.  (Our old street in southwest Virginia was a main through street, close to the high school so people from out in the boonies would park or drop their kids off at the high school and make their way down to our neighborhood.  We were lucky if our candy lasted until 8:00, and this was if we had started giving kids candy that wasn't intended for Halloween but still safe to eat...so some kids walked away from our place with Valentine's hearts.)  Now we live at the end of a nice, quiet cul-de-sac where we have dramatically fewer trick or treaters.  So much so, that we could've been fine with just one big bag of candy.  Because we are still trying to make a dent in this pile...

And for the most part, it's Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish.  (Fortunately/unfortunately my husband and I both like them a little too much.)  But an idea popped into my head Sunday as he and I were getting ready to head out for a 4 mile run together because I was feeling a little peckish but didn't want to eat a huge meal beforehand: Halloween candy for running fuel!

Yes.  I am advocating using leftover Halloween candy as a pre-run, mid-race snack.  Runner's World has recommended using gumdrops as a makeshift energy chew, and gummy bears (#22) for during long runs, races and as a post-run snack if you're not hungry.  Anybody who has run the longer Baltimore Running Festival races have seen the trays of candy corn spectators will give to runners.  Granted, Sour Patch Kids might not be the best idea...but Swedish Fish are pretty similar to gummy bears!  So I downed the packet of 5 fish on the drive to the park and drank a little water.  Normally I eat chews as a fuel source on long runs, and I got lucky in that my system treated the fish the exact same way.  

Little disclaimer here:  If you haven't tried fuel before on a run, DEFINITELY try it before when you know you'll be close to a bathroom.  Running is not always the most glamorous of sports, and testing different running snacks is one of those least glamorous times.  You never quite know how your stomach will react to a new food item while running.  A lot of it is just trial and error, like I mention in an older post about fuel.  

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.7: Halloweentown

Happy Halloween!!!  Hope it's all treats and no tricks.

For the final installment of this round of Halloween specials, it's Halloweentown!  

The movie starts out with the youngest, Sophie, watching trick or treaters, and the oldest child, Marnie, arguing with her mother about going out to a Halloween party.  (Meanwhile the middle child, Dylan, is perfectly happy reading a book.)  

Marnie doesn't understand why their mother won't let them celebrate Halloween, especially since that's when her parents first met.  Suddenly their grandmother comes for a visit and starts inquiring about Marnie being ready to start her witch training.  After a bedtime story about Halloweentown, Marnie eavesdrops on a conversation with her mother and grandmother and finds out that witchcraft runs in her family.  Now Marnie is at the age to start her training to become a witch, and her grandmother needs all the help she can get to figure out why some of her friends have been disappearing.  The kids then follow their grandmother back to Halloweentown and find out the bedtime story and all the creatures in it are real.

Soon after their arrival they are dropped off at their grandmother's house and become determined to help her find out what is going on.  

There are a couple ways to watch this movie.  If you have a cable subscription, you can download the "Watch Disney Channel" app on your smartphone, tablet or Roku, login to your cable company account and the movie is found under the "Disney Channel Original Movie" option.  You can also go here and watch it if you do not have a cable subscription!

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.6: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Nightmare before Christmas is such a good movie.  Is it a Halloween movie?  Is it a Christmas movie?  In my mind, it's both.  (Although the director recently said it's a Halloween movie.)  I've been known to watch it Halloween through Christmas.  (It can make a nice palate cleanser if you're tired of the sugary sweetness of some Christmas specials out there.)  It's definitely a dark comedy, and I remember when it came out in 1993 (I was almost 11 years old) and thought that I would NEVER watch that movie because it was way too scary looking.  I watched it a few years later in high school with my sister and instantly loved it.  It was the first DVD I ever bought and I remember watching it on my PS2 the day I got the game system because that was our first DVD player.  My sister and I got to finally watch it in theaters together when Disney re-released it as a 3D movie.  (It was fantastic.)  

There are so many beautiful scenes in this movie.

This movie reconfirms my love of claymation.  (If you own the DVD, watch the making of featurettes.  The amount of detail is truly awe inspiring!)

If you don't know the story of this movie, it is based on the idea that every holiday has its own town.  

Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown and one day he finds Christmastown and falls in love with the whole idea of Christmas.  

He then recruits Halloweentown's citizens to help take over Christmas just once but from his one glimpse, he doesn't quite "get" it. 

"And they call him Sandy CLAWWWWSSSSS"

It's Christmas, but a very dark version of Christmas.  The toys end up scaring all of the kids and all the recipients go into high alert.  (Honestly, this kid is my favorite.  The reaction is just priceless.)

Even without audio, I totally hear the kid's screams.

It can be really dark at times, but it really is a great movie if you look at it for its artistic and stylistic value.  (If you're a Tim Burton fan, this one is an absolute must watch.)

Here's the opening number from a post I found on YouTube.  If you like this, definitely track down the whole movie on Netflix or buy it on Amazon!

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.5: Doug's Halloween Adventure

Doug was a fantastic cartoon that was on in the 90s.  It starred Doug Funny, his dog (Porkchop), his best friend Skeeter (short for Mosquito), Roger (the school bully) and his love interest, Patty Mayonnaise.  Even though the kids were shown with odd colored skin (Skeeter is blue!) they showed them in relatable situations, like learning to speak up when your friend is in trouble.  The show started out on Nickelodeon with Rugrats and Ren and Stimpy, but as the golden age of NickToons died down it moved to Disney and had a slight retooling.

In this episode, Doug and Skeeter dress up to go to an amusement park to visit a haunted house called Bloodstone Manor on Halloween.  When they are next in line to enter the ride the park closes and the door to the building mysteriously opens.  Roger encourages them to enter and Doug and Skeeter follows them.  The ride later stops partway through and when Doug and Skeeter leave the car to find the way out, Roger disappears.  Spookiness ensues, and Doug and Skeeter end up turning the tables on Roger who really wanted to prank them.  This is a great cartoon to introduce someone to the series and you don't need to know any backstory to enjoy it.

I managed to find it on Hulu, but if you want to own the special you can buy it on Amazon or iTunes.

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.4: Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

This has to be one of my favorite interpretations of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  For as long as I can remember I've loved the story and found it absolutely fascinating--is the horseman real?  Was it somebody just getting payback on the newcomer who was moving in on his girlfriend?  Were Brom and Ichabod truly in love with Katrina, or were they just interested in her inheritance from her rich father?  The story itself has characters named after actual people--Katrina Van Tassel, Brom Bones and even Ichabod Crane were all real people, and Katrina and Brom are both buried in Tarrytown, New York.  Every year the local running group in Sleepy Hollow has a 10k that takes you past the Old Dutch Church, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, and the famous Headless Horseman Bridge and even have someone dressed as the headless horseman riding a horse through the race.  (Naturally, costumes are encouraged and the homes and businesses get in on the fun and decorate for the holiday and the race!)

The Disney version of this tale doesn't have any dialogue since it is narrated and has songs sung by the legendary Bing Crosby and remains the only Disney cartoon where the villain wins in the end.  The story itself follows the same basic outline as the story written by Washington Irving--Ichabod Crane comes to town as the new schoolmaster, meets Katrina and falls head over heels in love with the young heiress.  What he doesn't know is that Brom Bones already has his eye on her, and they become competitors for her attention.  Brom pulls a few pranks on Ichabod, but Ichabod manages to gain Katrina and other women's attention because of his smooth social skills.  The three go to Katrina's family Halloween party and Brom tells the story about the headless horseman who goes after people if they're out after dark and you're only safe after crossing a certain bridge in town.  Ichabod Crane then goes missing after the party (a scene which was SO demanding on animators that many of them quit) and it's suspected that he has become the horseman's latest victim.  

I was unable to find a copy of this video on YouTube, but for now it is available by somebody's upload to DailyMotion.  It is also for sale on DVD and Blu-Ray as part of its original pairing with the Wind in the Willows.

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.3: Claymation Comedy of Horrors

Now for part 3 of the second round of my Halloween special series of posts:  Claymation Comedy of Horrors!!  I remember seeing this one pop up on the Disney Channel lineup years ago and it peaked my interest because I was (and still am) fascinated by the art of claymation, and loved the style of Will Vinton's anthropomorphic characters.  

The storyline of this special involves Wilshire Pig and Sheldon the snail trying to find the lab of Dr Frankenswine and his legendary monster.  Their journey takes them to a mysterious castle that has been taken over by the undead for a convention where they're in (mild) danger being the only mortals in the entire building.  Wilshire and Sheldon check into the event as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde who have been booked to do a demonstration on raising the dead, and it goes horribly, hilariously wrong.  They then get chased through the castle and come across the secret laboratory and the monster they've been searching for only to find out it wasn't what they expected.  

Here's the special in its entirety for you to watch!  Please keep in mind that I do not own the rights to this movie, I am simply posting what I found on YouTube.  It is also available for purchase (along with two other Will Vinton holiday specials) on DVD on Amazon.  

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.2: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

This next special really does not need any introduction.  It's just that well known.  "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is the second Peanuts holiday special, but the third overall (the first being "A Charlie Brown Christmas" followed by "You're Elected, Charlie Brown.")  This special is also the first time Snoopy has his own moment to show that he doesn't need to speak in order to be the star everybody now knows him to be.  (source)
Some other fun facts include:

• Kathy Steinberg (the actress who played Sally) was rushed to the studio to record her part because of a loose front tooth that would have given her a lisp.  She lost it the day after finishing her part. (source)
• Some lines had to be spliced together, like Sally's famous line "YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!"  For example, Steinberg couldn't say "restitution" so they had to splice it together so she says "RES-TI-TU-TION! (source)
• This was the first time we see Lucy trick Charlie Brown into kicking the football. (source)

The special is currently for sale on Amazon and iTunes, but for now I could not find it streaming.  But here's a short clip from the beginning of the classic show.

Halloween Special Roundup Part 2.1: The Halloween that Almost Wasn't

I had a ton of fun doing this last year and since I'm resting up from the Marine Corps Marathon 10k again, I thought I would do it again!  (Race Recap to come soon, promise!)
Here are the specials I covered last year:
Witch's Night Out
Frankenweenie (1984)
Disney's Halloween Treat
Raggedy Ann and Andy in the Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile
Halloween is Grinch Night
The Worst Witch
Garfield's Halloween Adventure

Unfortunately a few of the movies have been removed from YouTube since the original posting, mostly due to copyright violations.  I've replaced some with trailers for the movies, but it's still worth a read for the nostalgia.

Ahh, the Halloween that Almost Wasn't (or How Dracula Saved the World, as it's known on VHS.)  So kitschy!  It definitely shows it's age, but the story itself is timeless (I know I say that a lot about the movies I have nostalgia for, but in a lot of the cases it's true!)  

The story starts with Dracula watching the news to hear a rumor that Halloween might be cancelled, and it turns out to have been started by Winnie the Witch.  The movie stars classic movie monsters:  Dracula (played by Judd Hirsch), a witch named Winnie, Igor, Wolf Man, a zombie named Zabaar, a mummy, and Frankenstein's monster.  They're all up in arms over the rumor because all the monsters need to work together to make Halloween happen.  While we see how the monsters react to the rumor along with two children and their parents watching the same newscast.  The kids are upset when they see on the news and track down the monsters.  They plead with Winnie to let Halloween happen by telling her how important the holiday is to them.

I've posted the movie below!  Please keep in mind that I do not own the rights to this movie, I am simply posting what I found on YouTube.

Halloween Special #7: Garfield's Halloween Adventure

I had to save one of the best for last! It was a hard decision coming up with just 7 specials to talk about, but there is always next year.

I grew up loving Garfield even before he had a Saturday morning cartoon show.  My Mom used to read the Garfield comic to me in its heyday, and I can remember she also would tape the specials that would come on tv since they were on past my bedtime.  Many of the specials also had comic books released, which my Mom fully used to her advantage to get me to read.  They were super easy, kept my attention and the specials were mostly based off the books so it was easy to figure out what was going on even before I could read fluently.  This is one special where you can introduce kids to Garfield because you don't need to know any backstory.  However, with this one there are some pirate ghosts that can be scary for young viewers (Jim Davis wanted it to at least scare 4 year olds) so use your discretion.  Other than that, this is another safe Halloween special that can be great for the whole family.  It's also worth noting that this special won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program in 1986 (the other nominee being Garfield in Paradise, another great special.)

The movie starts out with Garfield having fallen asleep in front of the television and being woken up by Binky the Clown (a running joke throughout the cartoons, since he's very loud) who announces that it's Halloween and kids have to get in shape to be able to get lots of candy.  After falling back asleep, Garfield then has breakfast and decides what to be for Halloween with his buddy, Odie.  After dinner they go out trick or treating and Garfield shows Odie there's nothing to be afraid of, or is there?  The duo come to a body of water and a boat sitting at a dock, and Garfield thinks surely the people there have tons of candy and no trick or treaters!  Due to Odie's stupidity, they drift along to a house down river.  The house is inhabited by a little old man who tells them a ghost story where the ghosts promised to come back that very night.  Frightened, they decide its time to go and find out that the man has taken their boat and their candy!  Garfield and Odie have no choice but to hide from the ghosts.  Want to find out what happens?  Watch below!

2015 Edit:  U.S. Copyright Office strikes again!  This is another that's been removed due to copyright violations, including its related videos.  However, it is available for digital purchase on Amazon!

Halloween Special #6: The Worst Witch

The Worst Witch is another classic in my book, and it tells a great story with a good message at its heart.  This one was actually originally a children's book that was the start of a series written by Jill Murphy (and is available in paperback and kindle <editions!)  I personally have never read any of the books out of fear of the movie being forever ruined since I saw the movie first (enough that I can pretty much recite it word for word.)  But I at least have had a sample sent to my kindle just for my own curiosity.

The stars are some of the 80s staples:  Charlotte Rae (from Facts of Life), Diana Rigg (from the Great Muppet Caper), Fairuza Balk (from the Craft and Waterboy), and of course, Tim Curry as the Grand Wizard (which has to be his best role ever!)

The movie focuses on Fairuza Balk's character, Mildred Hubble, who has just started witch's school and it isn't going well.  She's very clumsy and wonders if she is cut out to be a witch.  Fortunately, her sidekick Maud helps keep her in good spirits and assures her that it's just her first year and things will get easier.  The movie starts out by showing an exam where the students have to create a laughter potion, and it is less than successful for Mildred and Maud and their teacher, Miss Hardbroom sends Mildred to Miss Cackle's office to be punished for failing their exam.  Soon the students find out that the Grand Wizard has chosen their school for their Halloween celebration.  The school is busy with preparations for the arrival of the Grand Wizard, including trying out for the broomstick display.  Mildred manages to get on the team, but between trying out and getting on the team her broomstick gets broken.  Mildred's archenemy, Ethel, offers up her broom which she curses to ruin the display for everybody and Mildred gets blamed for it.  She is threatened to be expelled, so the next morning she decides to run away but makes a startling discovery.

To me, the movie's message is to do your best despite what others may think.  You may even surprise yourself!  Definitely a family friendly movie, although there may need to be some explanation in regards to the school being an all girls academy.

To find out what happens, watch the movie I've posted below!  (I do not own the rights to it or the video I posted above.  I am simply posting what I have found on YouTube.)

Halloween Special #5: Halloween is Grinch Night

"It's a wonderful night for eye brows!"

Love.  Love.  LOVE this movie.  It's definitely one of Dr. Seuss's more obscure movies, and is considered to some to be a prequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  (However, I am unsure of where it fits in the timeline because of a fairly large plot point at the end.)  This special won a Primetime Emmy in 1978 for Outstanding Animated Program, and once you see it you can see why.  The story is so creative, and the animation is fantastic.  The sequence in the Grinch's wagon is beautiful and very Seussian (but may be frightening to some younger children.)

So we start in Whoville, a quiet little town where families are outside and life is carrying on as usual.  Soon though the weather starts to change, signaling the possible return of the Grinch sending everybody inside for cover.  The movie focuses on Euchariah, a brave little Who boy who ducks out during the storm to use the outhouse and gets blown away.  He then has to find his way home, and comes across the Grinch.  Euchariah knows the best thing he can do now to save the town from the Grinch is to stall for time, so when the Grinch essentially calls him a wimp he dares the Grinch to scare him with his best monsters in the wagon.

To find out what happens, watch the embedded video below!  (Which I do not own the rights to, I have simply found this on YouTube.)

Halloween Special #4: Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile

So onto Halloween Special #4:  Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile!

I grew up watching a few Raggedy Ann and Andy specials:  the musical (which I rediscovered a few months ago and seriously questioned why I used to think it was so great) and the Great Santa Claus Caper.  This one was one of my favorites, although watching it now I still wonder:  "What on earth were these creators thinking?!"  Still a great cartoon for kids, and is definitely family friendly.

The story opens on a pumpkin lamenting the fact that it's Halloween and no little child has picked him for their very own.  Then Raggedy Ann and Andy notice a little boy (Ralph) next door whose Aunt Agatha won't let him go out trick or treating or even allow him to have a pumpkin for the holiday.  The dolls along with their dog, Arthur, set out to find a pumpkin for their neighbor.  Enter:  The Pumpkin that Couldn't Smile.  Ann and Andy set out to bring the two together, and convince Agatha to let him go trick or treating and have a pumpkin.  (She tries to make up for it "Tomorrow we'll go to the museum and look at the rocks!"  I took a geology class in college that I loved, but Agatha's enthusiasm even made me sarcastically think "yay....")  

To see what happens, watch the movie below!  As always, I do not own the rights to this movie.  I am simply posting what I am able to find on YouTube.

Halloween Special #3: Disney's Halloween Treat

This is one of my all time favorites.  There are actually two versions floating around out there, one of which is hosted by a talking pumpkin, the other by the magic mirror from Snow White.  Both are for the most part the same.  

The special shows clips from different films that have a spooky theme.  The opening itself shows scenes from one of my favorite rides at the Magic Kingdom, the Haunted Mansion, and clips to expect during the show.  It also shows many classic Disney cartoons showing Mickey, Donald and Goofy.  

This is one special that is timeless, and I wish Disney would revive it.  It shows clips from many obscure and recognizable movies (like Sword in the Stone, the Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, Sleeping Beauty and 101 Dalmatians to name a few) as well as the cartoon shorts that made the classic Disney characters famous.  The special has yet to find its way to DVD, and old VHS versions can go for quite a bit, assuming you can find it!

As always, I do not own the rights to this movie.  I am simply linking to a version of the special that I found on YouTube.

You can watch the movie HERE!

Halloween Special #2: Frankenweenie (1984)

So while I was writing my last post about Witch's Night Out, I came across some information about Frankenweenie I thought was really interesting that I could cover in more than just a couple sentences.  So, for my next Halloween special post I'm going to talk about the original Frankenweenie released in 1984 and directed by Tim Burton.

Frankenweenie is not your typical kid's Halloween special (or at least I classify it as distinctly Halloween because of the Frankenstein elements.)  The run time is only It's about a young boy named Victor who is an aspiring filmmaker, and his usual actor is his dog, Sparky.  Very early on (considering how the movie is a 30 minute short) while Victor is playing with Sparky, the dog is hit by a car and dies.  Naturally, Victor is heartbroken and brings Sparky back to life a la .  Then Victor and his parents have to re-introduce Sparky to the neighbors so they aren't scared, but naturally they are.  Sparky eventually wins the trust back of the neighbors by performing a heroic act.

The behind the scenes story of the original short is sort of interesting.  Tim Burton directed this film while he worked for Disney (he actually worked on the Fox and the Hound, the Black Cauldron, and Tron.) While he was there he also created a short called Vincent (about a little boy who wants to be just like Vincent Price.)

The film was originally planned to be released with a re-release of Pinocchio.  When Disney test screened Burton's film, children were upset and the MPAA gave the movie a PG rating. (Which is obvious why, it's very dark considering how the dog dies in the first 5 minutes!)  Soon afterwards, Burton was fired and the movie was shelved.  It would not see the light of day until Burton became famous in the early 90s for other films (including Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Batman and Beetlejuice) and Nightmare Before Christmas was released on VHS, albeit a censored version.  The uncensored version finally was released on the DVD version of Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993, where it has been available on every re-release of the DVD (and the release of the stop motion animation version of Frankenweenie.)

2015 Edit:  This is yet another movie that has been removed due to copyright violations.  So instead here's the trailer!

Halloween Special #1: Witch's Night Out

So in the spirit of Halloween, I'm going to start a series of obscure Halloween Special reviews.  First on the list?  Witch's Night Out!

This is a special the Disney channel used to play every year when I was a kid, back when it was a premium channel that you had to pay extra for on your cable bill.  They used to play a bunch of older (even for back then!) specials that were made by other companies.  This includes:  Witch's Night Out, Halloween is Grinch Night, Raggedy Ann and Andy in the Pumpkin that Couldn't Smile, and the Worst Witch.  They also had The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (which was part of the Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), Frankweenie (the original Tim Burton directed version released in 1984), and a collection of clips and cartoons called Disney's Halloween Treat.

The cartoon itself is VERY 70s, and is stylized as such.  It stars some familiar names like Gilda Radnor as the witch, and Catherine O'Hara as Malicious.  The cartoon is still family friendly and I feel the story is timeless.

The special starts with two children, Small and Tender, talking about how they want to scare everybody on Halloween with their costumes.  They find out that their costumes are not so scary, and go home disappointed.  Meanwhile the grown up start to plan a Halloween party at an old house that they think is abandoned.  Soon the witch who lives in the abandoned house makes herself known when she hears the pleading of Small and Tender to their babysitter, Bazooey, to be a real wolfman and a ghost.  The witch passes herself off as a Fairy Godmother and changes them into their favorite monster.  They then all show up at the Halloween party and scare everybody.  

Edit:  I just found out this special is now available on DVD for the first time ever!!!  If you're interested in a hard copy to enjoy forever, click here.

2015 Edit:  So, this special has magically disappeared (see what I did there?) all because of the DVD release.