Halloween looms just ahead, and as the most diehard Disney fans know, the House of Mouse is no stranger to the haunted holiday. As the official launch date of Disney+ was in November of 2019, 2020 will mark the first time that Disney+ has had the opportunity to deliver on the frights and delights of the season.
With the sheer amount of content available between everything Disney+ has to offer it can be somewhat daunting to navigate through yet another set of app menus. The trick is to enjoy the following treat from Game Rant. Below is a list of some of the best Halloween specials currently available to stream on Disney+. While there are also plenty of great movies available as well (hello, 6000th watch of Hocus Pocus) these picks focus solely on television specials.
Trick or treating isn’t in the cards for a lot of Halloween-loving kids this year, but this collection of shows can be the backbone of your at-home Halloween festivities. Quick suggestion for parents with younger ghosts and goblins: let them go “house to house” at each of the rooms in your home. Not as fun as the real thing, but much safer. Just don’t be that house giving out the boxes of raisins. Nobody likes those people.
While recent forays into cinema like Honey Boy delved into the difficulties of Shia LaBeouf’s childhood, Even Stevens still stands as a testament to his raw comedic talent. The Halloween episode of the series (heck, most of the episodes in general) will have you laughing at its clever references and gleeful silliness.
What starts as a pretty typical Halloween day at school for Louis and friends turns sinister. As Ren and Principal Wexler conduct eye exams for the students (“I happen to be a mail-order-certified Optometrist”), Louis plans to pull a prank by unleashing a box of fake eyeballs. His plans are cut short when students begin walking around school with large sunglasses on, drinking milk and repeating the phrase, “Milk is an excellent source of calcium for overall skeletal health.”
The whole thing turns the dial up to 11 for a mad scientist meets Maleficent’s evil castle ending. Viewers are then treated with a light-hearted conclusion that ties up all loose ends nicely while also accounting for the absurdity of the plot.
Hannah Montana was a huge hit for Disney, so it stands to reason that many fans remember the show’s Halloween with fondness. Unfortunately, today’s audiences looking for a strong episode that pays tribute to Halloween are less likely to get the best of both worlds with this one. The episode seems more focused on making cheap shots at people from the South than telling a coherent Halloween story, leaving the whole thing feeling a bit disjointed.
The main story follows Miley as she readies for an A-List Halloween party where she’ll be making an appearance and performing as Hannah Montana. She’s disappointed when her father reveals her twin cousin from the South, Luanne (also played by Miley Cyrus speaking in an over-the-top Southern drawl), is coming to visit. It’s later revealed that Luanne does have a darker side and she threatens to reveal Miley’s secret identity, though by the end of the episode she’s swept aside with no conclusion to her and Miley’s story.
There’s something outrageous and yet utterly impressive how much mileage this show gets out of the premise of “Miley and Hannah look identical but the wig fools everyone!”. It’s probably due in part to the pop and sparkle of the show’s general vibe that it doesn’t quite nail the Halloween side of things. However, there is some fun to be had with Billy Cyrus’ B-plot feud against their neighbor whose costume makes him looks like a Pumpkin-themed version of John Wayne Gacy. Creepy undertones indeed.
There’s a lot to love about the Lizzie McGuire Halloween special. First, there’s the excellent costumes and decorations, some genuine laughs, and a mostly-successful attempt to include influences from Dia De Los Muertos. There are a few convenient plot holes as well, but they don’t detract from the fun of the episode.
It all starts when Lizzie’s parents inform her that this year her brother Matt will be attending her school’s Halloween Carnival instead of going Trick-Or-Treating. Matt’s best friend Lanny is present for the discussion of these plans, but is not seen for the rest of the episode (it’s also never touched on why Matt is the only kid his age at this carnival later and Lanny doesn’t join him but shhhhhh just enjoy the ride).
By the end of the episode you realize that the scariest thing of all is Lizzie’s sense of entitlement, as she uses Dia De Los Muertos and her friends as tools in her revenge plot against resident Mean Girl Kate. In terms of exploring another culture’s holiday, this is certainly nowhere near the level of something like Pixar’s Coco. Coco is also available on Disney+ though, so maybe watch that after this episode as well to balance it out.
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody is one of the few Disney Channel series that led almost all of its young stars onto further success in their careers. Ashley Tisdale went on to High School Musical stardom. Brenda Song was in The Social Network. The Sprouse twins got a second Disney series on a cruise ship, and Cole Sprouse is Jughead on Riverdale for crying out loud. With such a talented cast, it makes sense that The Suite Life has a sweet Halloween special.
Taking influence from stories like The Shining and the humor of Scooby Doo, Zack and Cody set out to learn if the rumors of a haunted suite within the Tipton hotel are true. Popping in at various points to help them along is Mr. Moseby, who reveals he had a run-in with the ghost some years ago and accidentally ran straight into a door, recalling that, “Fortunately, my voluminous fro saved me from a concussion.”
There’s even an unofficial Luigi’s Mansion reference thanks to the hotel maintenance man, Arwin, who brings out his self-made ghost tracking vacuum device halfway through. The bellhop Esteban leads the group in a séance and gives a great performance channeling the ghost of the suite (though he puts up with a lot of crap from these kids and, quite frankly, deserves better). This hotel Halloween special is one worth checking out late for.
Want that good good, OG Disney? Looking for that pure, unfiltered magic this Halloween season? There’s a 9 minute short from 1952 that can be located under the Halloween section of Disney+ that ticks every box anyone could hope for (and no vault can stop fans from accessing it!). Trick or Treat stars Huey, Dewey, and Louie as well as Donald Duck and is a non-stop delight in the way that nascent Disney films like Snow White or series like Looney Toons are.
The entire proceeding has that classic element of danger that’s best known in shows like Tom and Jerry where the actions depicted are surprisingly violent for cute characters. To start, Huey, Dewey, and Louie arrive to trick or treat at their Uncle Donald’s house. Donald takes this opportunity to place lit firecrackers in their candy bags. Upon their candy exploding out of existence, Donald then throws water on his nephews. Seeing how sad the boys are the Witch Hazel decides to step in and try to speak to Donald. He throws water in her face as well (that motherducker).
The remaining 6 minutes or so is dedicated to Donald receiving his comeuppance. The Witch Hazel unleashes a bevy of spells (there’s a cactus involved) and what follows for Donald would be classified as a beating were it not for the delightful animations and musical hits replacing the sound effects of each hit. This is a blast from the past in the best way possible, definitely give it a watch this Halloween.
Not only is this particular Halloween special of Boy Meets World a hilarious riff on movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, it’s also quite possibly the greatest episode of the series ever made. The laugh-a-minute pace never lets up until the very end when it pivots into a moment of actual character growth for Shawn.
What starts as a typical day of school turns to an argument over seating arrangements around the newly broken up Cory and Topanga (don’t worry, they don’t stay broken up forever). Mr. Feeny sentences his students to after school detention, and that’s where things start to get creepy. Feeny leaves the classroom and the students begin to think he abandoned them there (“He can’t do that. That’s against the Geneva Detention Convention!”). There’s a Janitor named Giggles (yes, really) that keeps walking by with a squeaky cart, and after the lights turn out fellow classmate Kenny is found murdered with a school pencil through his forehead, drawing a line as his body slides to the floor (“We’ll always remember he was this tall…” and “They killed Kenny!” are standout lines).
There’s even a guest spot from Jennifer Love Hewitt, renamed Jennifer Love Fefferman (her friends call her Feffy) who tries to survive with the series regulars as they evade a masked killer while locked inside John Adams High. Still not convinced to check this out? If nothing else, people need to hear the outrageous murder song, “There’s a knife, here’s a gun, they’ll be fun for everyone! Death is on the menu toniiiiiight!”. This is a type of family friendly horror that only the 90’s could get away with.
Honorable Mentions
- That’s So Raven – Don’t Have a Cow (S2 E2)
- Kim Possible – October 31st (S1 E14)
- Girl Meets World – Girl Meets World Of Terror 1 (S1 E11)
- Phil of the Future – Halloween (S1 E15)
- The Proud Family – A Hero for Halloween (S2 E2)
Disney+ is currently available to download now on streaming devices.
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