Spooky, scary!
Halloweentown Movies (Good Idea) – By Becky Hollada
First of all, no, not Halloweentown from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but Halloweentown from the Disney Channel original movies. Four movies were made and shown on Disney Channel about a mysterious parallel world where all the things we celebrate on Halloween are commonplace including its inhabitants. Despite having a rather childish premise, these movies can be really dark and full of an adventure that just begs to be in the Disney Infinity line-up in celebration for one of the best times of year.
In the Play Set, the home world would single-handedly be one of the best things. It would be like having a place to have Halloween fun all year round that is significantly less creepy than Tim Burton’s version. Not that Jack Skellington and his friends aren’t charming in their own way, but their Halloweentown feels like it’s out to kill you. The Halloweentown from the Disney Channel movies is just a normal world, but where everyone’s a witch, goblin, troll, etc. They go to the dentist, they get haircuts, and they have abandoned old movie theaters with monsters lurking inside. And all these things you’d get to see through the eyes of a young witch named Marnie Piper who is just learning to use her powers after years of believing she was an ordinary human. Having to track down ingredients for a potion to brew and flying through the air on the newest model broom. It’s like all the fun of Harry Potter, but with more black and orange.
With the very free uses of magic in the Halloweentown world the possibilities while playing Marnie, her grandmother, and maybe even her little sister Sophie in the Toy Box, are endless. These witches can improvise and do so regularly, creating new spells out of thin air and using whatever they have to in order to beat the baddies. This kind of magic would be really interesting to mix with the rest of the stuff already available in the Toy Box.
Customization Power Discs would probably be the next best thing Halloweentown has to offer. Imagine getting to change the entire Toy Box every year during October to have a bouncy, yet bizarre, Halloween themed look. It would be easy to do since in the movies Halloweentown is already like the real world, but just with a Halloween look laid over the top.
For those who want to be crazy festive, and for those who may be just crazy.
The only real downside to this Play Set is the pretty narrow choice of characters. In the Halloweentown movies Marnie is really the main focus and that’s it. Debbie Reynolds plays her fun and eccentric grandmother, and little Sophie, who I mentioned before, is no joke either, but that’s kind of pushing it. For a full Play Set, Disney mayhave to dig a little and take some risks on this one. But for a holiday themed Play Set with a little more fun to it than a Tim Burton world, the Disney Channel Halloweentown is the way to go.
Hocus Pocus (Bad Idea) – by Kimberly Keller
Despite its cult status and television popularity, Hocus Pocus should probably stay clear of the gaming world. Critics in 1993 gave the film mixed to negative reviews, proving that critics in 1993 should stay in 1993. The movie is crazy, absurd, and taught me everything I needed to know about Salem, Massachusetts. However, making a Play Set out of the character’s adventures and then sending them off to the Toy Box creates an unpleasant tableau that is almost a caricature of itself.
Let’s review our character choices. The Sanderson sisters are, quite literally, a highflying trio with mass murder on their minds and an uncanny ability to pick up and improvise pop songs. Thackery Binx is a teenager turned talking cat from 1693, ‘nuff said. Max, Dani, and Allison are also in the movie, but since they are 100% normal humans who stumble into the Sandersons’ plan, they’re best left off the potential game ledger.
If a Play Set were to exist it would probably focus on Binx. He’s been alive for 300 years, guarding the black-flamed candle, and the movie never accounts for this time. Honestly, the candle was known to be cursed, and the Sanderson’s whole house was eventually turned into a museum, so I doubt anyone really checked out the area after the sisters died or it wouldn’t have been in such pristine condition in 1993. But I guess for the sake of something to do we can assume there were other angsty teens dead set on impressing their crush by breaking and entering private property. Enter kitty cat Binx, professional mood killer, security guard, and occasionally rat control specialist. Okay, so maybe ruining teenage romance is something that brings you great joy and you practically fall out of your chair with excitement at the thought of coupling it with lookout duties, but I’m going to venture a guess and say the average gamer does not.
Let’s put the Sanderson sisters in the Toy Box. They would probably look pretty cool, I’ll admit it. Jack Sparrow’s revamp totally worked and theirs would be fun. Okay, so now that they’re in the Toy Box, now what? Honestly, what is there to do with them? They sniff out and murder children? Kind of weird abilities for the Disney Infinity vibe. It would be kind of funny to see them run around since they never go quicker than a fast walk in the film. And unfortunately, um, that’s it. They are, mostly, middle-aged witches. Unlike most of the characters we bash here, they would fit in just fine with any of the weapons, vehicles, etc, of the power discs, but I just don’t see enough of a payoff to include them.
Best vehicle... ever.
Here’s what I do want: a Sanderson Sisters’ vacuum cleaner vehicle power disc. It can be a limited edition Halloween thing, or whatever, I don’t care. I just want it, no discussion needed.
Altered images courtesy of Kimberly Keller.
