Ultimate List of Disney Halloween Movies and Specials

Halloween is the spookiest, most thrilling, and most entertaining time of the year when we all look forward to getting indulged in eerie, hair-raising adventures. And when it comes to Halloween, there’s nobody quite like Disney to serve up the perfect dose of not-so-scary fun. Over the years, Disney has produced some of the most memorable Halloween-themed movies that are perfect for the whole family to enjoy.

From timeless classics to modern favorites, there’s always something to suit everyone’s taste. I’ve put together an Ultimate List of Disney Halloween movies that will have you cackling with excitement and dancing with glee in anticipation of Halloween night. So, get ready to grab your popcorn bowl, dim the lights, and get spooked by some of the most fantastic movies you’ve ever seen.

Ultimate List of Disney Halloween Movies and Specials

Disney Halloween movies can be sweet, silly, nostalgic, or surprisingly creepy. My personal favorite is The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Still, I also love returning to Twitches and the Sanderson sisters each fall.

In addition, this list includes animated movies, Disney Channel favorites, live-action adventures, and shorter Halloween specials. I have included the official rating, my scare level, and content notes for each choice.

Every child reacts differently to spooky stories. An official G or PG rating cannot tell you whether a specific ghost, villain, or jump scare will bother your child. My scare levels offer another tool for choosing your next Disney movie night.

Many of these titles are available on Disney+. However, streaming choices can change by region and season. Check the current listing before planning your movie night.

I have also included a free printable list so you can keep track of ones you have watched or want to watch.

How the Scare Levels Work

• Cheerful Halloween Fun: Friendly monsters, costumes, and little or no danger.
• Mildly Spooky: Ghosts, witches, or villains without intense scares.
• Spooky with Tense Moments: Dark scenes, mild peril, or a few startling moments.
• Creepy: Frightening villains, child danger, suspense, or unsettling images.
• Genuinely Scary: Intense danger, disturbing themes, or scenes that may upset sensitive viewers.

The official rating comes from the movie distributor or current platform listing. Ratings can differ between a theatrical release and a television listing.

Quick Disney Halloween Movie Picks

• Best for younger viewers: Mickey’s Tale of Two Witches
• Best nostalgic choice: Halloweentown
• Best musical choice: Hocus Pocus
• Best animated choice: The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Best for Haunted Mansion fans: Muppets Haunted Mansion
• Best genuinely creepy choice: Something Wicked This Way Comes
• My personal favorite: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Not So Scary Disney Halloween Movies

Start here when your family wants pumpkins and friendly monsters without a heavy scare.

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie (2005)

• Official rating: G
• Runtime: Full length movie at 68 Min.
• Scare level: Cheerful Halloween Fun
• What to expect: A pretend monster, mild worry, and a reassuring ending.

What is it about? Roo and Lumpy prepare for Lumpy’s first night of trick-or-treating. The story focuses on friendship and courage in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Monster Musical (2015)

• Official rating: TV-Y
• Runtime: Full length movie at 115 Min.
• Scare level: Cheerful Halloween Fun
• What to expect: Friendly monster costumes, a creaky castle, and playful noises.

What is it about? Visit the creaky castle of kindly “Count Mickula” and help your Clubhouse pals solve a puzzling riddle: Who, or what, is making a curious clanging, banging noise? With the right Monster Mouseketools and help from YOU, this mystery will soon be history!

Spooky Buddies (2011)

• Official rating: G
• Runtime: Full length movie at 88 Min.
• Scare level: Mildly Spooky
• What to expect: A haunted mansion, a ghost puppy, and mild magical danger. For example, the talking puppies visit a mansion and become part of a Halloween mystery. The heroes face the spooky trouble as a team.

What is it about? Disney’s super cute talking puppies are back in an adventure that takes them far across town to a mysterious mansion where something very spooky is going on. With the help of some unexpected new friends including a friendly ghost, this exciting adventure is howling-good Buddy fun. 

Toy Story of Terror (2014)

• Official rating: TV-G
• Runtime: Full length movie at 88 Min.
• Scare level: Spooky with Tense Moments
• What to expect: A dark motel, toys disappearing, chase scenes, and brief jump scares.

What is it about? Woody and the gang are held up at a roadside motel and members of the group start to disappear from everywhere. Woody sets out to get to the bottom of the mystery. Jessie must face an old fear.

Monsters Inc. (2001)

• Official rating: G
• Runtime: Full length movie
• Scare level: Mildly Spooky
• What to expect: Large monsters, chase scenes, and a threatening villain.

What is it about? Monsters Incorporated is the largest scare factory in the monster world, and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) is one of its top scarers. His scare assistant, best friend and roommate is Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), Find out how the monster world went from scaring children to making them laugh! Their friendship with Boo changes how they understand fear.

Disney Channel Halloween Favorites

The Disney Channel created many Halloween favorite that families revisit each fall. Usually media companies put movies that they don’t think will do that well and put them on TV only. Well, many Disney channel movies are cult classics like Halloweentown.

Halloweentown (1998)

• Official rating: TV-PG
• Runtime: Full length movie
• Scare level: Spooky with Tense Moments
• What to expect: Monsters, a shadowy villain, magical danger, and family peril.

What is it about? After learning she is a witch, a girl (Kimberly J. Brown) helps save a town full of other supernatural creatures.

Twitches (2005)

This live-action Disney Channel Original Movie is rated PG. Reunited on their 21st birthday, twin sisters (Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry) use their magic powers to save their kingdom from the forces of darkness and learn about their past.

Halloweentown High (2004)

This movie is rated G. Kimberly J. Brown and Debbie Reynolds star in this live-action Disney Channel original movie. When Marnie convinces the Halloweentown Council to send several teenagers to her high school in the mortal world, she even promises to give up her magic if any harm comes to them. But soon, Marnie and her new friends are in trouble and out of luck when the evil Knight Of The Iron Dagger appears. He’s determined to destroy all things magical, and it’s up to Marnie to save her high school, the human world, and her magic. 

Twitches Too (2007)

This live-action Disney Channel Original Movie is rated PG. Twin sisters (Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry) who have magic powers uncover evidence that their missing father is alive. 

Return to Halloweentown (2006)

The live-action Disney Channel Original Movie is rated PG. Marnie (Sara Paxton) and Dylan are going to follow their dreams to go to college, at Halloweentown University, which is also known as Witch University.

Mom’s Got A Date With A Vampire (2000)

This live-action film Starring Caroline Rhea is rated PG. The Hansen kids are in a jam. Adam and his best friend Duffy have gotten their hands on some tickets for the Headless Horseman concert, and his sister Chelsea has a date with her dreamy boyfriend Peter. The only problem is they’re both grounded. Chelsea and Adam will do whatever it takes to get their mom Lynette out of the house, even if it includes a chance meeting with a very mysterious man. Everything seems to go according to plan until their little brother Taylor realizes that this stranger might be a vampire. 

Phantom of the Megaplex (2000)

This live-action Disney Channel Original Movie is rated G. A young man working at a cinema on a special premiere night finds that the films being shown are full of strange and eerie occurrences.

Halloweentown II: Kalabars Revenge (2001)

The live-action Disney Channel Original movie is rated PG. The Cromwell clan split their time between the real world and “Halloweentown”, but the son of an old rival threatens to make the latter “real” and the real world a place of monsters. 

Classic Disney Halloween Movies

Several older Disney movies are darker than many parents expect. Read the content notes before watching with sensitive viewers.

 The Adventures Of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

• Official rating: G
• Runtime: Full length movie
• Scare level: Creepy
• What to expect: Ghost stories, a nighttime chase, dark woods, and the Headless Horseman.

What is it about? The movie is an animated adaption of “The Wind in the Willows” followed by an adaption of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Bing Crosby stars in this cute, but spooky movie! This is my all-time favorite Disney Halloween feature! 

Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968)

This live-action movie is rated G and stars Dean Jones and Peter Ustinov. Award-winning actor Peter Ustinov stars in this hilarious fantasy as the ghost of the legendary pirate Blackbeard. 

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

This movie is a mix of live-action and animation. It features Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson. An apprentice witch, three kids, and a cynical conman search for the missing component to a magic spell useful to the defense of Britain.

Watcher in the Woods (1980) 

This live-action film is rated PG. A teenager (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and her younger sister learn their eerie landlady’s (Bette Davis) secret at an English country manor.

The Black Cauldron (1985).

This animated feature is rated PG. The Black Cauldron is set in the mythical land of Prydain, it follows a young boy named Taran who embarks on a perilous quest to prevent an evil Horned King from obtaining a powerful magical artifact known as the Black Cauldron. Taran, along with his companions, must overcome numerous challenges and discover the true meaning of heroism along the way.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

This animated feature is rated PG. Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town but doesn’t quite understand the concept. This film can be enjoyed as a Halloween Movie or Christmas movie. 

Hocus Pocus (1993)

• Official rating: PG
• Runtime: Full length movie
• Scare level: Creepy
• What to expect: Witches who target children, death references, a hanging, zombies, and comic scares.

What is it about? After moving to Salem, Mass., teenager Max explores an abandoned house with his sister Dani and their new friend, Allison. After dismissing a story Allison tells as superstitious, Max accidentally frees a coven of evil witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) who used to live in the house. Now, with the help of a magical cat, the kids must steal the witches’ book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal.

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

This is a Disney+ Original movie. Three young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern-day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world. We finally get some backstory on the famous witches and I absolutely love all the fun references to the original. This is a must-see!

Don’t miss the scene that is after the credits.

The Haunted Mansion (2003)

This movie is rated PG. Eddie Murphy stars in this spooky, funny live-action comedy.  

Frankenweenie (2012)

This animated movie is rated PG. From Disney and creative genius, Tim Burton comes the hilarious and offbeat Frankenweenie, a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor uses science to bring his best friend back to life — with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers, and the entire town learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

This live-action movie is rated PG.  This movie is an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s same-named novel. Bradbury, one of the masters of modern science fiction, also wrote the screenplay. In a small American town, a diabolical circus and its demonic proprietor prey on the townsfolk. 

Disney’s Tower of Terror (1997)

This live-action movie is based on the Walt Disney ride and stars Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg. A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.

Into the Woods (2014)

This live-action movie is rated PG. A witch (Meryl Streep) tasks a childless baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) with procuring magical items from classic fairy tales to reverse the curse put on their family tree. This movie is a musical and can get pretty dark at times.

Winnie the Pooh – Frankenpooh and Spookable Pooh (2000)

This animated feature is rated G. It is two stories about Piglet learning to be Brave. 

Under Wraps (1997)

This live-action Disney Channel Original movie is not rated. This movie is also considered the first Disney Channel Original Movie.  It is about 3 kids that accidentally re-animate a mummy on Halloween. 

Freaky Friday (1997, 2003)

Both of these movies are live-action and are wonderful in their own respects. The original Freaky Friday is rated G and the newer one is rated PG. An overworked mother and her daughter do not get along. When they switch bodies, each is forced to adapt to the other’s life for one freaky Friday.

Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

• Official rating: TV-PG
• Runtime: 50 minutes
• Scare level: Spooky with Tense Moments
• What to expect: Ghosts, a haunted mansion, disappearing characters, and comic scares.

What is it about? Join the zany Muppet crew as they embark on a daring adventure in “Muppets Haunted Mansion.” In this funny Halloween tale, Gonzo the Great and Pepe the King Prawn take center stage, accepting the daunting challenge of spending a night in the legendary magician’s impenetrable castle, The Great MacGuffin. Little do they know, the labyrinthine corridors of the mansion hold spine-chilling surprises and terrifying encounters that force the Muppets to confront their deepest fears. Will they survive the night, or be trapped for eternity in a world of delightful fright?

Which movie is your favorite Disney Halloween movie?

***Originally published Oct. 1, 2014***