Halloweentown I &
II + Halloweentown High (2 DVDs)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C- Telefilms: C
When I was a kid, Disney used to release all kinds of
vinyl records, including for holidays.
One 12” release had a stupid piece on side one and surprisingly good
radio drama-like Horror piece on the other.
When taking a look at the made-for-cable-TV Halloweentown
telefilms, they sadly leaned towards that first vinyl side. Very fake, phony, plastic and dull, the
franchise could only find an audience in the overly enclosed world that is The
Disney Channel, which always has the feel of a bizarre living mall where
everything feels only half alive.
Anyhow, we know everyone on a first name basis as if they
were our friends, like the nametags at a fast food place, though with even less
human contact. Then there is the sort
of semblance of scripts where everyone in the family turns out to be good
witches. Faster than you can say Harry
Potter, bad make-up and visual effects worse than Worst Witch (reviewed
elsewhere on the site) turn up at every corner and Sid & Marty Krofft
suddenly looks more cutting edge than the visual effects in Spielberg’s War
Of The Worlds.
The 1.33 X 1 full frame image is as phony and if it were
not transferred better, would have been a color bleeding disaster from the way
it was shot. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
is nothing great and a slight step above Pro Logic surround, which is punchy
even where it need not be. Extras
include all kinds of promos for other Disney product, plus some
self-congratulatory featurettes on the telefilms. Pass on these unless you have kids pestering you to death for
them.
- Nicholas Sheffo
