THIS IS HALLOWEEN 2021

Happy Halloween, my spooktacular friends! By now, you know my Halloween traditions include updating my Halloween playlist of movies and TV shows every year.

Part I: Discoveries

The most important discovery I have made this year is the Curious George Halloween TV special called Curious George: A Halloween Boofest (2013). I have been watching the ingenious Curious George TV show and movies this year and this special is one of my favorite George things, Halloween or not. It truly captures the good-natured, spooky and wholesome fun of this time of year and you get to find joy with George as he helps solve the mystery of No Noggin the Scarecrow. It will be on my list from this year forward.

I also finally read Shakespeare's Hamlet this year, so I have been watching the film adaptations. I didn't mean for it to be Halloween festive, but with the darkness and the ghosts involved, it definitely has been perfect for spooky season. I started with the Hamlet (1948) starring and directed by Laurence Olivier. If you're looking for Shakespeare, then you have to start with Olivier. He is the control case for sure. I really enjoyed seeing his version on film.

I also watched another Olivier movie earlier in the month: Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940). This movie reminds me a lot of studying it in film school, but it's so fun and atmospheric for this time of year. I also think it's Olivier at his best looking, which never hurts!

I am always interested in discovering classic monster movies that I have yet to add to my "watched" list. I have been wanting to see Horror or Dracula (1958) for a long time so that I could finally witness Christopher Lee playing his iconic Dracula role. I had a hard time getting my hands on a copy that I could rent, but this year, it was finally on TV. I recorded it and finally got to see the first time Dracula was given a seductive twist and elongated fangs. I can't believe how influential this movie was on Dracula lore. Another fun surprise was that a young Michael Gough was in it, who I have never seen in any other role except in the 80s and 90s Batman films as Alfred. Those movies are a big part of my childhood, so it was a delight to see him in his prime.

I also wanted to add some more monster movies to the list and had heard about Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). I think I saw some clips of this duo in school, but I believe this is my first time seeing a film of theirs. I was delighted with all the characters that came together for some zany fun and enjoyed the way they used fun animations alongside the live action. My favorite parts were that they got Bela Legosi and Lon Chaney Jr. there back for their respective roles as Dracula and the Wolf Man.

I happened to see a poster for Margaret O'Brien in The Canterville Ghost (1944) and instantly wanted to watch it. I believe it was a recommendation on Amazon when I'd rented something and the cute poster caught my eye. I haven't read the original Oscar Wilde story that it was based on, but it must be somewhat loosely based on that since this version had major WWII influences on its story. Margaret, as always, was full of personality. So fun to see her interact with all the soldiers who treated her like the lady of the house.

Part II: The TV Classics

As I've been working on digital illustrations and commissions this year, I put on The Addams Family TV show and always enjoy watching that. I also watched some of the Curious George episodes that were fall themed, which were a great way to be festive. Of course, I watched my favorite Monkees episodes, but only the two Halloween ones from the first season.

Part III: The Movies

I found both Addams Family movies on Freeform during the month and even though I have both on DVD, I liked watching them on TV. Tonight, I'll be watching The Little Vampire, as always.

I saw an Instagram post a couple days ago by Jonathan Lipnicki, who starred in The Little Vampire back in 2000, saying it had been 21 years since filming the movie. He shared some memories of being on the set in the caption and I was delighted to have some more information on this movie that has been such a part of my life. I shared the post to my story, along with a sticker that said "emotional" (which is true!), and Jonathan was ind enough to share it to his story. It really made my childhood feel complete.

Below is my complete list for this year! Enjoy your Halloween!

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Halloween 2021 Playlist

TV Shows

Pushing Daisies

- S1 E5, "Girth"

The Monkees

S1 E2, "Monkee See, Monkee Die"

S1 E18, “I Was a Teenage Monster”

S2 E18, “The Monstrous Monkee Mash”

+ bonus: S2 E11, "A Coffin Too Frequent"

The Addams Family

- S1 E7 "Halloween with the Addams Family"

The Munsters

- S1 E1, "Munster Masquerade"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

- S2, E6 "Halloween"

+ all of season 2 if you can handle it

Stranger Things

- S2 E1, "Chapter 1: MADMAX"

- S2 E2, "Chapter 2: Trick or Treat, Freak"

iCarly

- S1 E7, "iScream on Halloween"

- S3 E8, "iBelieve in Bigfoot"

- S6 E4, "iHalfoween"

Spongebob Squarepants

- S1 E13a, "Scaredy Pants"

- S1 E11b, "Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost"

- S2 E24b, "Imitation Krabs"

- S2 E34b, "Frankendoodle"

TV Movies

- Curious George: A Halloween Boofest (2013)

- Z.O.M.B.I.E.S. (2018)

- Z.O.M.B.I.E.S. 2 (2020)

- Descendants (2015)

- Descendants 2 (2017)

- Descendants 3 (2019)

Classic Movies

- Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

- Psycho (1960)

Movies

- The Addams Family (1991)

- Addams Family Values (1993)

- Fright Night (1985)

- The Lost Boys (1987)

- What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

- Twilight (2008)

- Phantom of the Opera (2004)

- Edward Scissorhands (1990)

- Sleepy Hollow (1999)

- Warm Bodies (2013)

- E.T. (1982)

- The Little Vampire (2000)

+ bonus: The Little Vampire (2017)