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The golden age of tv vacation “specials” is behind us—when you may watch The Paul Lynde Halloween Particular or Halloween with the New Adams Household everytime you like as a substitute of at a particular hour in October, the particular is drained of its specialness. However there are nonetheless some trendy one-off, spooky-themed packages you may watch together with your youngsters to have a good time Halloween. For this publish, I outlined “particular” as one thing that isn’t feature-film size, however is usually a single episode of an present TV present, and I outlined “new” as “inside the final decade.” I’ve collected the most effective trendy specials to observe together with your youngsters beneath.
Muppets Haunted Mansion
The Muppets have been hit-or-miss for many years, however this Halloween particular is a particular hit. It grafts that traditional Muppet method—puppet manufacturing numbers, lovable characters, and surprising superstar appearances—to a Halloween plot that includes Gonzo and Pepe the Prawn spending the night time within the mansion type Disney’s Haunted Mansion trip. Sure, Muppet Haunted Mansion is a company synergistic leveraging of two Disney IPs designed to seize a programming demographic, however there’s nonetheless slightly magic left.
The place to stream: Disney+
The Spooky Story of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween
Everybody (besides essentially the most uptight librarians) loves Captain Underpants! The Spooky Story of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween is a more-laughs-than-chills particular through which Mr. Krupp and Melvin handle to make Halloween unlawful. So the Captain and his friends create their very own vacation: Hack-a-ween. The absurdist, a-bit-crude humor of the e book collection interprets completely to the breezy Halloween one-off format.
The place to stream: Netflix
SpongeBob Squarepants: The Legend of Boo-Kini Backside
In its many seasons on TV, SpongeBob has offered a ton of Halloween tales, however this one is my favourite. A full stop-motion episode with nods to the Rankin-Bass (the those who introduced us Rudolph the Crimson-Nosed Reindeer and Mad Monster Get together) The Legend of Boo-Kini Backside will amuse each adults and youngsters.
The place to stream: Paramount+
Mickey’s Spooky Tales
When you’ve got little ones, Mickey’s Spooky Tales is geared to ’em. It is a assortment of mild Halloween-themed animated shorts which might be just a bit spooky and missing in something too scary. Seeing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, et. al rendered in laptop animation is likely to be slightly jarring if you happen to’re an grownup, as are the implications of a “Ghost Goofy” character, however your child will not even discover both.
The place to stream: Disney +
The Most Fantastic Time Of The Yr
Apparently the annual Treehouse of Horror episode isn’t sufficient Halloween for The Simpsons, so that they launched a Halloween quick this yr too. In “The Most Fantastic Time of the Yr,” Sideshow Bob groups up with “essentially the most notorious villains of Disney+” to share the true which means of the Halloween and to do some singing and cross-promotion. I’m together with this three minute “particular” primarily as a result of one of many villains is the hunter who shot Bambi’s mom, and that is a terrific joke. This one is clearly for older youngsters.
The place to stream: Disney+
Escape the Undertaker
Like skilled wrestling itself, Escape the Undertaker is the dumbest and most superior factor ever. Younger wrestling followers will legitimately love seeing their WWE favorites like New Day and The Undertaker (“Taker” to his pals) in a brand new medium, and oldsters with a watch for the ridiculous will shake their head at how shoddy however unusually honest all of it is. Plus, Escape the Undertaker‘s “select your individual journey” interactive gimmick is novel sufficient to maintain anybody’s curiosity.
The place to stream: Netflix
Werewolf by Night time
Werewolf by Night time is a singular and superior homage to traditional Common horror films and Marvel comics for older-than-13-kids. Plot-wise, Werewolf by Night time encompasses a gang of monster hunters touring to a spooky nation home to (what else) hunt monsters. The enjoyment is in the best way the hoary story is offered—this particular is 54 minutes of janky, old-school results, lush black-and-white cinematography, and outdated timey monsters made by individuals who clearly know and love the supply materials.
The place to stream: Netflix
Home of Svengoolie Cartoon Boo-Nanza
Let’s get obscure, wanna? Svengoolie, the final of the old-time horror hosts, and his Sven Squad are presenting a group of Warner Brothers’ greatest scare-themed cartoons that includes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and extra, each Saturday night time in October—you can’t go mistaken with outdated Bugs Bunny cartoons. Svengoolie’s nationwide house is MeTV, which you most likely do not know you may most likely watch proper now. This is a information to discovering a MeTV outlet close to you.
The place to observe: MeTV
It is the Nice Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I mentioned I used to be going to restrict this listing to the most effective specials from the final decade, however I included It is the Nice Pumpkin, Charlie Brown as a result of it has been properly restored so it appears to be like and sounds trendy, and since Apple TV+ is streaming it at no cost on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, a pleasant throwback to the “particular” a part of the vacation particular. Apple TV+ can even present A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving at no cost on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 and A Charlie Brown Christmas at no cost on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15.
The place to stream: Apple TV+
