A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated on Jul. 22, 2025
Disney Halloween movies with Mickey Mouse, Maleficent and all your favorite Disney characters offer up loads of fun without too much fright
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
Bette Midler shines as the lead witch in this cult hit from 1993Â that audiences continue to adore. Spike the popcorn bowl with candy and settle in for family-friendly, over-the-top, silly-spooky fun and frolic. This movie could provide some inspiration if you’re looking for family Halloween costumes.
In this magical sequel to the classic Hocus Pocus, the wicked Sanderson sisters are back—and spookier than ever. When they’re accidentally resurrected in modern-day Salem, it’s up to three high school students to stop the witches before they unleash chaos on the town once again.
Set in the vibrant chaos of 1970s London, this origin story follows a young Estella—played by Emma Stone—as she transforms into the stylishly sinister Cruella de Vil. Fueled by fashion, rebellion and revenge, it’s a wickedly fun ride through the punk rock scene.
This spooky Disney Channel classic centers around a teenage girl falsely blamed for a string of strange pranks. With the help of her little brother and an eccentric imaginary friend, she discovers the true culprit: the boogeyman himself.
Need ghostbusters with flair? In this 2023 Disney Halloween movie, a single mom and her son enlist a team of quirky, maybe-not-so-professional spiritual experts to rid their home of some extremely clingy supernatural squatters. Laughs and chills are guaranteed.
This modern musical twist on beloved fairy tales features Meryl Streep as a powerful witch. Follow a baker and his wife as they journey through a magical forest to reverse a curse that’s keeping them from starting a family. Expect enchantment, unexpected crossovers and dazzling songs.
Settle in for some retro witchery and whimsy with this 1971 musical that features both animated characters and live-action adventure. Angela Lansbury stars as an apprentice witch who, along with a group of kids, saves the day while adventuring on a magical flying bed. Hey, it’s comfier than a broomstick!
Get ready for an evil cauldron a-brew with malevolent tendencies in this animated legend first released in 1985. Superb cartoon art design buoys this medieval fairy tale about a teenaged farm boy who partners with a princess and a fantastical dog to take on ghoulies and dark forces. If you have very little ones, beware of the PG-rated intensity!
Eddie Murphy serves up good-natured thrills and chills in this comedy based on the ever-popular Disney attraction. Prepare for giggles, ghosts and kid-level Halloween jokes. It’s the perfect fare when you like your Disney Halloween movies jam-packed with extreme silliness.
Debbie Reynolds stars as a sorceress grandma—the good kind—in this late-’90s classic that spawned a franchise. Grandma shows up to train the grandkids in witchery, but Mom’s not having it. Kids will be kids, though, and they follow Gram back to Halloweentown, the otherworldly zone beyond. Like most of the offerings on this list, you’ll find this classic Halloween movie on Disney Plus, along with its sequels.
Teenaged hottie zombies frolic with regular high schoolers in this zippy musical that makes monster life wholesome and happy. These Disney zombies no longer eat brains, so a romance ensues between a cheerleader and a zombiefied footballer that’s perfect for Hallow-tween entertainment.
It’s time for prom—or Prawn, as it’s known in Disney’s teenaged zombie landscape—and werewolves are here to crash the party in this popular sequel. Prepare for dark myths, Wolfen teenyboppers and sweetheart zombies who burst into song and dance.
The lithe and lanky Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington, accidentally disrupts Christmas while trying to make it better. Stunning stop-motion animation gives this classic Disney musical visual flair and Gothic whimsy.
Double creature-feature time! First, watch Tim Burton’s 1984 live-action short about a kid who “frankensteins” his pet pooch back to life. Then, check out the feature-length animated remake released in 2012. Both versions of Frankenweenie feature stunning expressionistic visuals in gorgeous, moody black and white. Have you read the classic novel this story is based on? It was written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley back in 1816, and it’s one of the greatest books by female authors you should have read by now.
This is one of those Disney Halloween movies that’s short in length (just 21 terror-filled minutes of charm), but big on vocal star power. Carl Weathers, Kate McKinnon, Timothy Dalton and others join Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the voices of toys who are in for some horror-inspired high jinks set at an eerie roadside motel. To infinity and beyond the veil!
Heffalumps and Woozles are very confusels, and also very cute, so you’ll definitely want to choosel Disney Halloween movies with Pooh, Tigger and the whole Hundred Acre Wood gang. In this one, they’re dealing with the “Gobloon” and facing their fears around trick-or-treating. If you’re in the mood for a little sweetness, you’ll love Winnie the Pooh’s best quotes, like, “A hug is always the right size.” Awwwww.
The best Disney Halloween movies capture the spooky magic of the scary season, and two segments in the animated masterpiece Fantasia fit the bill. In “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” you’ll find lovable Mickey in an expressionistic fantasia of magic gone awry. Nest, settle in for the final sequence “Night on Bald Mountain” for gloriously ghoulish visuals of shadows and darkness as the dead rise. Bonus: Both feature some seriously stunning classical music, so your little ones will be exposed to tons of culture in the process.
The first animated adventure in this classic double feature follows road-rager Mr. Toad, but the second short is set on the eve of the annual Halloween frolic. The story adapts Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and features none other than the (eek!) Halloween monster, the Headless Horseman. Who is this crazed cowboy gone bad, anyway?
Add some pop Gothic villainy to Halloween with this tween-dream musical about bad apple kiddos. What are you like as a teenager when your mom is an evil queen? This flick has the answer. Let out your little one’s dark side by having them wear a DIY costume of Mal on the big day.
Dazzling animation brings the Land of the Dead to life with color, depth and vision in this Disney Pixar delight about a child’s dreams of becoming a musician. Screen it for kids during Halloween season for skeleton aesthetics that make the macabre enchanting and emotionally rich.
One haunted mansion. Three brainy, bubbly teens. Pop songs. Halloween season. Oh, and monsters. It’s the perfect recipe for Disney Halloween movies filled with watchable bops and fun. Kids face fears, save parents and learn about true friends.
A young Fairuza Balk plays Dorothy in this strange redux of the familiar Wizard of Oz story. This version adds more Halloween flair with the charming Jack Pumpkinhead character as one of Dorothy’s sidekicks who’s in for some spooky mishaps. Surreal visuals and dreamscape set pieces offer truly striking visuals that were nominated for an Academy Award.
In this family movie, Cleo feels invisible, totally overshadowed by her perfect older sister Molly. When Cleo accidentally makes Molly invisible (science homework gone awry!), she takes her place at school since Molly absolutely can’t miss. How does the duo pull this off? Well, it’s Halloween, so with Cleo in costume, no one can tell the difference between the two sisters. Wholesome high jinks ensue.
When Maleficent is on screen, whether animated with Gothic wonder or glaring with actress Angelina Jolie’s epic bone structure, the villainous sorceress is a sight to behold. She’s quintessentially witchy, watchable and Halloween-y. Watch this shadow-filled sequel for full-on Halloween-mood indulgence.
An animated Maleficent steals all her scenes in this classic fairy tale that makes evil things pretty magnificent. Forest utopias give way to darkness and dragons, and it’s one of the charming Disney Halloween movies that offers a safe way to indulge everyone’s dark side.
Your littlest trick-or-treaters will adore these live-action talking pooches. The puppy gang is back for haunted-house adventures that get a little ghostly just in time for Howl-o-ween.
If your kids are on the hunt for wholesome and hokey vampire hunters, Disney Channel’s Van Helsing story from 2000 does the trick. Mom’s out on a date with a sus Dracula type, and her grounded kids break protocol to try and save her.
This 2002 Disney Channel movie features an “afterlife weigh station” and a small-town Halloween fest. The cast includes Kathy Najimy, Eric Idle and Kat Dennings as a ghost-friendly teen with a kid brother in tow for otherworldly adventure.
Debbie Reynolds is back again as Grandma Aggie, a good witch who needs the grandkids to come back to Halloweentown to fight evil. The grandkids accidentally leave open the portal between the two worlds and Halloweentown turns gray and dull while the mortal zone gets monstrous. Can they fix their mistake and save both worlds? Since this is a Disney movie, you can guess the answer, but you’ll love watching how it all plays out.
The third installment in the franchise offers even more witchy adventure when Halloweentown inhabitants arrive for school with regular humans. The magical citizens look like normal teens to blend in, but when their true identities get revealed, the portals between the two worlds might close forever. As with the other movies in this popular series, this one mixes magic with lessons around acceptance—something that parents will particularly love.
Tia and Tamera Mowry of Sister Sister sitcom fame star as twin sister witches, or twitches, in this Disney Channel original movie. Separated at birth for their own safety, the duo rediscover each other right before their Halloween birthday, unleashing their true heritage of power and magic. It’s a cute and fun Disney Halloween movie—not as scary as any Ouija board stories.
The twin witches return in this sequel and are tasked again with using their powers to vanquish evil. Tia and Tamera bring their usual spark and charisma to this comedy that intermixes a magical dimension with regular life on Earth as the twitches fulfill their mystical destiny.
Give kids a taste of what made the 1980s rad with this haunted-house story starring Kristy Swanson as a big sister facing off with the titular hooded meanie. Watch for totally tubular special effects! Make it a double feature of ’80s cheese with the sequel, Bride of Boogedy, with Eugene Levy as the boogedy villain.
The popular Disney Channel series gets the full movie treatment, which makes for a great Disney Halloween movie to gratify every kid’s secret (or not-so-secret) desire for magical powers. In this story, Alex (Selena Gomez) gets mad that her parents grounded her off magic and wishes they never met. The spell works! The only problem is that now, she might get erased from existence.
Audiences learned about the magical Halloweentown in the popular Debbie Reynolds original that spawned a franchise. In this fourth entry, the young Marnie heads to Witch University, a college filled with creature coeds. Marnie is not allowed to hone her magic and embarks on an adventure in which she learns to wield her power responsibly.
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
