Halloween Tree

Oh Halloween Tree. How I have missed you. This rather obscure Halloween film, created and narrated by Ray Bradbury, is a woefully underused and less recognized film in this current age of new and flashy Halloween films/shorts based off bigger name characters from companies such as Dreamworks.

With this being said, Halloween Tree is a somewhat dark tale about a group of four friends who have to try and save their friend, Pip, from the hook nosed Mr. Moundshroud, while also learning about the spirit of the Holiday and what their costumes mean. While Halloween Tree is a bit dark at times, it's also surprisingly educational in the degree that each of the children learn about their costume choice. We travel with the characters to Egypt and learn about mummies, get a lesson in witches who lived in England, learn of monstrous gargoyles who decorate Notre Dame, and finally learn of skeletons and how we can overcome our fear of Death.

A quick bit on the animation. Initially I thought "Well, it's fairly average for the time it was made." and, yet, now that I think about it more, I actually really enjoy the films animation and how it looks. There's almost a storybook feel to it, which might be helped by the fact that this was a version of the film that wasn't made pristine clear for dvd/blu. The Halloween tree itself, with all of it's jack-o-lanterns is really great to look at, and one of my favorite pieces of animation from the film, as well my favorite background. Another great bit to note is the kite made of circus posters that seem to come to life.

The use of Ray Bradbury narrating is kept sprinkled all through the film and at no point is he overused. Our opening starts off with some great prose by our narrator, and from here the film only gets better. Despite shedding a lot of light on various customs from around the world, regarding Halloween, it never comes across as a boring history lesson. The entertainment stays consistent which is what serves the story so well. I was surprised by the ending, having forgotten it, and it was a tad bittersweet.

If you ever get the chance, I would happily suggest that everyone checks out this gem of a film. While it may not be five star material, it is still a lot of fun and well worth a watch or two, and is certainly going to be a staple of my Halloween viewing for years to come.

4/5