Now it’s time to look at a film that’s rather obscure. At the very least I hadn’t heard of this one before and I like to think that I’ve heard of all the big ones. It’s an interesting enough story about Halloween and getting the characters to think more about the meaning behind their costumes. It’s held back a little by the fact that the characters are fairly weak though. It’s a decently good movie but not one that you’ll want to be checking out except if you’re just looking for something new to watch.
The story starts with 4 kids getting ready to go trick or treating. They’re all close friends and this is one of the days they really look forward to. Unfortunately the 5th friend, Pip, doesn’t end up appearing. They head to his house just in time to see him being loaded into an ambulance with a note that he’ll try to meet them later. They don’t buy that because the situation looks serious but then a see-through version of Pip runs into a haunted house. The heroes chase after him and meet a mysterious guy named Moundshroud who is trying to go after Pip for some reason. This guy seems shady but is their only hope in chasing Pip through time. They form a reluctant team to find Pip, but what is really going on here?
Right away I have to say that I wasn’t expecting the team-up so that was an interesting twist. Moundshroud isn’t even pretending to be a good guy, he’s basically just an antagonist that they have to work with because he’s the only one who has the abilities needed to get to Pip. The kids never really think of a plan to take him out with though so they are forced to go with whatever he bargains with. The ending is actually a bit more dire than you may have expected. Yes, a year isn’t too crazy in the grand scheme of things but that was still more than what I would have estimated.
It’s hard to say how much of this was all a part of Moundshroud’s plan. Did he set everything up for the whole film or was he actually panicking to try and catch up to Pip? His abilities seemed rather vague but the guy seemed to have many methods to grab Pip if he really wanted to pull that off. Also Pip gets a lot of credit for being a quick study. Not only did he figure out how to time travel with his pumpkin but he was able to master using a witch’s broom with no instructions. The guy was known as the captain of the friend group and you can definitely see why that was the case. He always has the upper hand and just seems like a fun guy.
It’s too bad we didn’t get to see him as a human for very long though. Or at least as a member of the living I should say. My main issue with the film is that the other 4 kids just weren’t that interesting and I think Pip could have changed that. It’s not like this is an action movie so I wouldn’t be expecting a lot of awesome one liners but Pip would definitely have more confidence. The other 4 just weren’t ready for this adventure.
They’re little kids of course so I won’t be too harsh but you can tell that they were nervous the whole time. The girl was riding a bike the whole time and yet the other could catch her on foot. It shows how none of them had a whole lot of power and probably should have called in the grownups to help with Pip. For the most part the adults never really did much here though, this was really an adventure for the kids. I will give them some respect for going after Pip and surpassing their fears. They may have been scared, but they didn’t let that control them and that is absolutely important.
The animation is pretty good. I tend to enjoy this style so even though it is a bit older, it works well for me. This is far from being a big budget production or anything like that but it is really smooth which is what counts above everything else. The writing is also passable, it is trying to range from being educational to being entertaining. It hits the balance well enough, sort of reminds me of an after school special. It’s also not that long so it’s not like the film ever drags out.
In the film the characters essentially go throughout time to meet up with the people that inspired each costume. The Mummy for example was an easy one as the characters got to go to Egypt and see the burial process. The witch one also showed how apparently geniuses were known as witches. Yeah they had to take some liberties with that one. It’s a fun setup and gives time for each character to get some more screentime.
Tom easily gets the most screentime from the kids. He’s doing his best to fit in for Pip but was never the leader and just doesn’t have that natural confidence. He gets a good heart to heart talk with Pip though and is ultimately a decent character. None of them were bad characters really, they were doing their best to hang in there the whole time no matter how scary it all got.
I think this could have even worked as a fun TV show. You could have the characters basically learning the origins behind each monster design and tradition over the course of a season. Each episode they would get closer to saving Pip. There might be a little repetition there but the setup absolutely feels tailor made for a show.
Overall, This is one of those titles that is pretty harmless all around. I had no serious issues and it felt like the pacing was good. The movie just lacked a real hook to keep things interesting. It’s always a bit harder to review something like that. It never crosses the bar of absolutely being boring though which is why I give it a positive score. It is still a good movie through and through and it’s one that I would recommend to parents who want something fun for their kids. It may not have the same impact to you as a grown up but is still there if you want to watch a non-slasher film about Halloween.
Overall 6/10
