Ten Spooky Disney Original Movies in the 90's

 

How many of us can remember Disney releasing some spooky movies in the 90's?

Well at least they were spooky when I was 7 or 8 years old.

I remember getting excited on Friday and Saturday nights to watch the latest Disney original movie.

If you forgot your drink or snacks prior to the movie starting you just waited for that Disney logo to pop up signaling a commercial coming, so you could run to the kitchen and probably the bathroom.

During the month of October, we didn't need to go anywhere but Disney for our spooky movie hankering.

From a town filled with real Halloween characters to a boogie person living under the bed, Disney had it all.

Let's dive into ten of the many Disney movies that gave us chills.

                                   

                      Ernest Scared Stupid 1991

                   

         I must admit I was one of those kids who got a kick out of Ernest and his ridiculous adventures. Ernest Scared Stupid was based around Ernest unleashing an evil troll into a small town on Halloween night. In the crazy world of Ernest, this evil troll goes around turning children into wooden dolls to feast on their energy. Crazy huh?

     Well eventually everything gets fixed, all the kids are kids again. Ernest dances with the troll and gives it a kiss (on its snotty nose) overpowering it with love and causing it to explode, the end. As a child I didn't think this was too scary although I was about 3 when it came out, I'm not even sure I watched the whole movie till I was way older.

          If you ever want to watch a silly Halloween movie that your kids may or may not care for, watch this.

                                  

                                              Hocus Pocus 1993

                      

     This movie is one of my absolute favorites! Born and raised in Massachusetts I was so excited when this movie came out. If you were a Disney kid, then you knew all about the Sanderson sisters. There was Winifred, the oldest of the sisters, no way you could forget her bucktooth and red hair. She was the oldest and most powerful of the three. Then there was Kathy, the middle sister. She could “smell out” children and was a hell of a vacuum rider. Last was the youngest sister, Sarah, she had a siren voice that could draw children to them so they could suck out their souls and stay forever young (I don't know about you, but I had to sing Alphaville for just a second).

  

     Well in the lovely Salem, Massachusetts (wonderful place to visit during October, I'm not being biased) a virgin is needed to light a candle and bring the sisters back from beyond the grave. Maximilian, the virgin, lights the candle and all hell breaks loose. This movie is filled with twist and turns, moms dressed like Madonna, singing witches, old boyfriends with their mouths sewn shut and a hot ghost boy turned to a cat.

  

   It's a movie the whole family can enjoy. Hocus Pocus 2 (released in 2022) is a great sequel to the movie as well. This is definitely a movie for the whole family to enjoy. You’ll be singing I put a spell on you all October!

              

                        The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993

                         

 

   I think it's safe to say that all of us 90's kids know good ol' Tim Burton. From Edward Scissor Hands to The Nightmare Before Christmas. He is known for his cinematic brilliance.

 

   The Nightmare Before Christmas is a movie my kids and I watch every October and December. When this movie first came out it was a tad bit confusing, the title says Christmas but it's coming out in October, hum? Eventually we learned it's a duo. I mean why not, it can be used for Halloween and Christmas, everyone knows that.

    

     From Jack the pumpkin king with his amazing ghost dog, to Sally being in love with oblivious Jack, to the mayor with two faces constantly being put in tuff situations, oh and don’t forget the creepy kids who were very willing to kidnap Santa Claus to bring to Jack. What about the boogieman? It was a strange creature living in, well I guess some hole, singing that snazzy song about wanting to kill good old Saint Nick. Good times!

 

     Now that I'm an adult, sometimes, I go back and watch these movies a lot closer, looking at song lyrics and really paying attention to details. I must admit some of the shit in these movies is not kid friendly, nope, what did Disney implant into us 90's kids? Well, I guess I’m not more fucked up then the rest of you. The Nightmare Before Christmas is a great family watch, even if they do kidnap Santa and bring him to a creepy man thing that wants to kill him, still a great movie.

 

                                       Tower of Terror 1997

                        

 

   This movie in a nutshell was about a disgraced reporter that is investigating an “abandoned” luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared. It is found out that a curse was put on the hotel and all these missing people are, well, dead. The curse gets lifted, everyone ascends to heaven and the Hotel gets restored to all its glory, minus any curses of course.

  

   This was such a fun spooky movie. I always wanted to go to Disney World as a kid (even now as an adult) and one of the places I wanted to go was the Tower of Terror, so when I got to see this movie, I was so excited. Plus, I was a strange kid who was very much (and still am) into the paranormal. This movie also had a great cast: Steve Guttenberg, Nia Peeples, Melora Hardin and an incredibly young Kirsten Dunst. I’d have to say that’s a great reason right there to watch this movie.

    

    Overall, I would say this is a good movie to watch with the family, some stuff might be a little more adult-ish for kids under 10 (like the whole idea of a murder curse) but as the parent you can make that call on what’s best for your child to watch. Still, it's less creepy than some kids in masks wanting to kill Santa, just saying.

                                   

                                        Under Wraps 1997

                                     

 

   Under Wraps was a decent movie. My kids watch the 2021 remake and loved it. They watch the 1997 version and left halfway through the movie. My kids don't have great taste at all, like me. This was one movie I quite enjoyed when I was younger.

   

    Marshall, Amy, and Gilbert (best friends) end up in a "dead" man’s basement (we learn later the man wasn't dead he staged his death to get out of some tax fraud charges. Wow, who knew we learn a lot more about tax fraud as adults. Just saying thanks Chrisley’s for showing us what path to avoid). So, these kids happen to find a real Egyptian mummy in this guy's baseman, yep just chillin’ there. Just so happens that under the most perfect circumstances (involving a ring and the moon) the mummy is brought to life. At first these kids are scared shitless, but they learn that Harold (that’s what they name him) the Mummy is actually a pretty cool dude. The whole movie is spent with them dodging the supposed “dead” guy and keeping him away from people that might realize he’s a real mummy. It all leads to Harold being reunited with the love of his life and being put back to rest.

  

   Like most Disney Original Movies, it had excitement, struggle, and a solution. I personally liked the 1997 version but as I said, my kids preferred the newer version but what do they know. Try watching both and see which you like better.

                                            

                                       Halloween Town 1998

                                    

 

  I absolutely loved Halloween Town. I wanted to be Marnie so bad! I think Disney did a great job with this one. It was so popular that Disney made three more after the first one. : Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge in 2001, Halloweentown High in 2004 and Return to Halloweentown in 2006.

   

    In Halloween Town we met Marnie (a bratty teen), Gwen (her mom), Dylan (her annoying little brother), Sophie (her cute little sister) and Aggie (their awesome grandmother). Can I just say this movie was perfect for me and my siblings, we honestly thought we could be them. I was the oldest and I had a younger brother and sister and at the time we were close to the same ages and in the same order, see perfect.

    

    Anyways, we learn that Aggie is a witch and so is her daughter, so guess who else are witches and a warlock? You guessed it, my siblings and me! Just kidding, it was Marnie and her siblings but plot twist they have no idea. They also don’t know their mother was born in a place called Halloween Town. Grandma drops more hints than a woman trying to get her man to propose after 5 years. The kids overhear grammy and mom talking and end up following Aggie to Halloween Town. Crazy shit happens while they are there but, they help their grandmother get things under control and save the day.

   This is a great movie to watch while cuddling with the kids on a cold October Saturday. My kids love all four of the Halloween Town movies. I have seen all four as well and I think my favs are one and four (Halloween Town and Halloweentown High).

                                 

                                 Don't Look Under the Bed 1999

                                         

 

   This was another one of my favorite Disney Original movies. I really like it because of one particular line from the movie, “I’m not a boogeyman, I’m a boogie peeerson” (with a British accent of course). For those of you who were too busy not watching this awesome movie it was a tad bit scary because of the costumes, well at least for me it was, but it was such a fun movie to watch. It was like playing detective in a spooky setting.

    

    This Disney original movie follows Frances, a teenager who stops believing in her imaginary friend once her brother Darwin gets very sick. Eventually strange things start happening and everyone believes it’s Frances. She meets a boy named Larry Houdini who tells her he is an imaginary friend (her brothers to be exact) but she doesn’t believe him. I mean come on, his name is Larry Houdini, which sounds like a real person to me. Once she realizes only children can see him, she believes him. Long story short, they team up to capture the "boogieman" who is causing all these problems and who also kidnaps her brother. She ends up learning the boogie person is actually her old imaginary friend Zoe. They fix everything and things go back to normal.

     

    Crazy to me that in these movies the parents are always so oblivious. My kids make one loud noise and I’m right there to find out what the hell is going on, but that’s just me. I guess Disney taught me what not to do. Interesting side note. There is a kiss that takes place at the end of the movie between Frances and Larry, at first Disney was against this kiss. They didn’t feel “comfortable” having a black male kiss a white female (seriously) but thanks to director Kenneth Johnson it stayed in the movie. He told Disney he didn’t want to cut it, even after they had him film a few alternative endings, he fought to keep it in and guess what, it stayed. Kudos to Kenneth Johnson!

 

                             

                                        Can of Worms 1999

                              

 

 

   Can of Worms is about this boy, Mike Pillsbury, who doesn't believe he is human, and that Earth isn’t his home (I feel that way sometimes, okay maybe more than I should). During a football game he gets hurt and has a hallucination that involves an alien. After a school dance that goes horribly bad for Mike, he goes home and tries to send a message to space which results in him damaging his satellite dish. The next day a talking alien dog shows up and a few more aliens. In typical Disney fashion crazy stuff happens and at the end the aliens offer Mike a ride back to their home. He chooses to stay on Earth with his family and the aliens leave.

    

    This was one of my least favorite Disney original movies. The first time I seen it I was extremely sick, so that may have played a part in why I don’t care much for it. I think I've watched it a total of two times and when I told my kids the title of the movie they said "pass". It might be the right fit for you and your family though, give it a look to see.

 

                                 

                                             So Weird 1999

                          

 

   Disney also had a great paranormal show, that eventually led me to more hardcore stuff like X-files and Supernatural. I know this is a list of movies, but I had to add this show. I was so obsessed with So Weird, to this day I still know the theme song by heart. I tried to get my kids into it, but they just couldn't vibe like their amazing mom. I will be honest with you, when I got Disney plus this was the first show I watched on there and some of those episodes were a little creepier than I remember.

 

   So, the show is based on a teenage girl (Fiona "Fi" Phillips) whose mom (Molly) is a rock star on tour. After the death of her father her mother decides to go back on tour. Along with Fi and Molly are Fi's brother (Jack), the band manager (Irene), Irene's husband (Ned who is also their tutor) and Irene and Ned's son (Clu). Fi has all these paranormal experiences while on tour with her mom. At one point she even gets to see her dad again. Eventually she wants to live a "normal" life and gets replaced on the show by Annie, a family friend. After Fi gives Annie a ring that was something of a gateway to the paranormal world Annie sees a black panther (her spirit guide) and then she takes to the paranormal world.

 

    I'm a big believer in the paranormal, so for me this was a great show. It was just the right amount of creepy and scary mysteries to solve. It was very much like an X-files for the younger crowd. I personally think this is another great watch for the family (if you’re into paranormal stuff).

                             

                                       Haunted Mansion 2003

                            

 

     I know this isn't from the 90's but with the new remake just coming out I had to mention it, plus it's a great movie. You have got to admit those singing heads are pretty awesome. I haven't yet seen the new version of Haunted Mansion (I'm a, wait till I can watch it at home for less than a movie ticket kind of gal).

     

    For those of you that live under a rock, Haunted Mansion follows a family that ends up at a beautifully scary looking mansion that has been riddled with love, death, and scandal. So, it turns out that Sara Evers, (a realtor who works a long side her husband) looks identical to Edward Gracey's dead, mix raced, middle-class lover, who was said to have killed herself (I know that description is vague, but you have to watch it. I don't want to give away too much). 

    Once Edward (the dead guy that owns the mansion) gets them to stay overnight at the Haunted Mansion (that Sara didn't want to go to in the first place) with her husband Jim and their children Michael and Megan some crazy stuff happens. Did I mention harmony driven singing sculptures? Anyways, the dead guy is trying to regain his dead love through the very much alive Sara. There are floating heads, ghost maids, and everything that you would imagine in the actual Haunted Mansion at Disney World.

      

    There is an old Disney sing-along I watched as a child called, “Grim Grinning Ghost,” I was obsessed with it. It was a view outside and inside the Haunted Mansion, while Disney Villains sang a fun spooky song. When Disney came out with the movie Haunted Mansion, it made me so excited to get to see and in-depth concept for the Haunted Mansion. It was exactly what I expected it to look like and more.     

    

    This movie is funny, entertaining and a great watch for the whole family (even the grandparents will like it). Once I see the new one, I will let you know if I did or didn’t like it.

                                               (Here is the link to the Grim Grinning Ghost video)

                                          https://youtu.be/eavo08IXduQ?si=TVVBG5DxpdEh6HuI

I hope some of these movies brought you back to your childhood and hopefully you can find one or more that you haven’t seen yet and get to watch with your kids. Making memories is such a fun part of being a parent, just make sure you don’t scare your kids and make it a memory they might want to forget. Happy October, from my family to yours!