The house is decorated inside and out, the costumes are ready to wear, and the party menu is planned. You’re resisting the urge to buy candy for at least a few more days to ensure you’ll actually have some to hand to trick-or-treaters who come to your door. Is there anything else you can do to get ready for Halloween?
Maybe so. Streaming services like Disney+ have a variety of seasonal classics as well as new releases you can watch any day of the week, with a spook factor suitable for every member of the family. So, turn down the lights and cuddle up. These Halloween pet movies will put you in a festive mood.
What to watch on Halloween
Hocus Pocus
This 1993 film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson Sisters is a Disney favorite. As spooky as these three witches try to be, their antics are laugh-out-loud funny, especially for older children and teens.
But the star of the show might just be Thackery Binx, a 17th-century boy who is transformed into an immortal black cat at the beginning of the film. With the help of animatronics, Binx teams up three centuries later on Halloween with a trio of youngsters who are valiantly trying to keep the Sanderson Sisters from becoming permanent members of the community.
Spook factor: The film is on The Hollywood Reporter‘s list of 18 kid-friendly movies; however, its contents may be too scary for children younger than 10.
Spooky Buddies
If your kids love the Air Buddies franchise, chances are good they’ll love Spooky Buddies, too. Originally released on DVD in 2011, Spooky Buddies follows the adventures of B-dawg, Butterball, Rosebud, Buddha, and Mudbud as they go on a Halloween adventure in Fernfield.
When B-dawg accidentally releases Warwick the Warlock and the Halloween Hound from a spell cast in 1937, the team spends the rest of the movie trying to reverse the spell.
Spook factor: This one-hour-and-28-minute movie is rated G, but it might be too scary for children younger than 6.
Frankenweenie
Every kid (or kid at heart) who has lost a pet will be able to relate to Victor and the heartbreak he experiences when his beloved dog, Sparky, dies. But when Victor, a science nerd, performs an experiment that jolts Sparky back to life, it comes with a set of monstrous consequences.
Tim Burton directs this award-winning 3D stop-motion animated science fiction horror movie featuring the voices of Martin Short, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara.
Spook factor: The film isn’t recommended for children 9 years of age and younger; parental guidance is suggested for those ages 9–12.
How to watch
All three of these movies are available on Disney+, a subscription streaming service that features old classics and new releases from Disney, as well as Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Subscriptions are $7.99/month or $79.99/year with unlimited streaming capabilities on your TV, computer, mobile, tablet, and game consoles.
There’s nothing spooky about that, especially since Halloween officially kicks off the start of the holiday season. Once you finish watching this list of pet movies on Disney+ for Halloween, your entertainment options will be festively positioned for the remainder of the year.
