Very well executed

Too much of everything

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

A Brilliant Conflict

Halloween has always been one of my most favorite times of year, ever since I was a kid. Now I'm 23, but I still love the holiday. You're never too old for Halloween... AND you're never too old for Halloween cartoons. Every year, I celebrate the holiday with watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," "Garfield's Halloween Adventure," several Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" specials, "Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School," "Doug's Halloween Adventure," and "The Halloween Tree." When I first decided to check it out, I thought it was going to be lame. Hanna-Barbera had sadly lost their touch by this time, and their cartoons would never be the same (the studio would have been dead by the end of 1994 if it weren't for their admittedly cool and creative "What a Cartoon" shorts from 1995-1997!) Now I'm glad I watched it. It has become a Halloween tradition of mine! True, it doesn't resemble your usual Hanna-Barbera cartoon in any way. Instead it feels more like Nelvana or DiC Entertainment made it. (From what I read, Ray Bradbury wanted his animator friend Chuck Jones to bring it to life. I think a Chuck Jones version would have been even better!) But regardless, it's still fun. It helped me understand several Halloween origins and customs, and can be a bit creepy at times. Perfect! Leonard Nimoy does a good job voicing Mr. Moundshroud, but Ray Bradbury himself steals the show with his excellent narration of his own work (may God bless his soul!) The animation, like I said, isn't the usual Hanna-Barbera style you would expect. It's not totally perfect, but is still pretty good for a 1990s animated TV special (then again, bad animation became increasingly rare in the 1990s, with a few exceptions like H-B's poorly-animated "Arabian Nights" TV movie from 1994!) John Debney's music is also pretty good, especially the haunting opening theme, though it does get a bit Disney-esque at times (there were times in the 1990s when H-B felt they needed to mimic Disney!) I'm watching it as I type this review, and it's helping put me in the Halloween mood more. "Oh my gosh!" look at the time. "Ready, set, go!"

Children and adults alike will adore this great movie about the origins of Halloween and other similar holidays around the world. The animation creates a near pitch-perfect Halloween and deep autumnal mood and Ray Bradbury's narration contributes considerably to the nostalgic Halloween mood. The movie doesn't contain anything that would offend most children or that the parents of these children wouldn't want their kids to see. I wouldn't exactly call it a history lesson but it does provide context to the Halloween holiday in a very entertaining way with splendid animation that sets the mood throughout.I don't let a single Halloween pass without making a big bowl of popcorn and watching The Halloween Tree on a dark October night. I do this by myself as a grown adult which should speak to its quality. Give it a try and I am willing to wager that it will become a new seasonal favorite, well worth the excessive price you might pay for a VHS over the internet.

First, I'm going to say that if you haven't read Ray Bradbury's masterpiece, "The Halloween Tree," go buy it and read it through and through, especially the copy illustrated by Joseph Mugnaini originally published in 1972 by Alfred A. Knopf, Publishing. (The story was originally conceived with co-author, animator, Chuck Jones as a screenplay by Bradbury in 1967). This is some of the best and most poetic of Bradbury's writings. Before the great animation factory of Hanna-Barbera finally closed its doors, they managed to produce this gem of a story using updated and original material and the voice of the author himself as the narrator. The combination of voices and the memorable theme music penned by John Debney, including the great Lenard Nimoy as the magical, chilling, informative, yet somehow comforting Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, embellishes the animated version with a breezy, leaf filled Fall season feel of warm humanity. At once educational and entertaining, this is one of the greatest and least appreciated features from television's stellar collection of seasonal classics. Like Disney's "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh," from 1964, I expect that someday Warner Brothers will clean up a copy of this motion picture and distribute it on DVD for the sake of its production quality alone. And, were I a producer with a reasonable budget, I could think of no better challenge than to translate this incredible story to live action, hopefully remaining faithful to the heart and soul of Bradbury's original concept.

"Wow" is truly the only word to describe this movie, and not in a good way. First, the animation is clearly cheaply done and looks more like a fifteen minute show on cartoon network than a film. Leonard Nemoy does give his voice talents, however "Mountrouds" voice is horribly annoying, especially after about an hour of watching the film. The story is bad and extremely confusing, especially for youngsters. Also, the "educational" trip through time fails to mention all-hallows-eve, the real history of Halloween. Oh yeah, and I forgot about the redeeming message in this film --- I'm still trying to figure that out. Friendship maybe...hmm? All together a terrible movie for adults and children alike. Do yourself a favor and rent out a disney film. 2/10