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Post by Rockerbaby on Oct 31, 2014 0:26:31 GMT
I just finished watching Halloweentown for the first time in years. I remembered that it was pretty cute but didn't really have a strong interest in rewatching it, until I realized that two of the people behind So Weird wrote it.
It surprised me a little to realize that this movie came before So Weird, just by a couple of months. They were probably developed at the same time. I know Jon Cooksey didn't come on until after the pilot of So Weird was filmed, though, so it's interesting that you can see a lot of similar themes in the story.
Halloweentown is good fun, and I am quite happy that some of the So Weird team's work is still fairly well known. It'd be nice if So Weird was as well known as Halloweentown, or as well cared for by Disney, but alas.
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Post by Kathie on Dec 29, 2016 3:19:11 GMT
RIP to Debbie Reynolds, aka, "Aggie Cromwell", the grandmother in Halloweentown
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Post by thebossapplesauce on Dec 29, 2016 10:42:23 GMT
RIP to Debbie Reynolds, aka, "Aggie Cromwell", the grandmother in Halloweentown I seriously cried so hard when I learned she passed away today. I actually found out when I woke up from a nap and went on FB and saw a post Kimberly J Brown made on her page, attaching a throwback photo from Halloweentown 2. I didn't even have to read the post to know what it was. :'(
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Post by macabrekitten on Dec 31, 2016 2:28:46 GMT
I loved that movie! I always thought that the main character Marnie reminded me somewhat of Fi. I didn't know the same people who wrote So Weird took part in it.
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Post by thebossapplesauce on Dec 31, 2016 3:46:16 GMT
The whole family in Halloweentown represents the Phillips family... it's uncanny. Marnie = Fi, Dylan = Jack, Gwen = Molly, I even see Grandma Kathleen in Aggie. I would not be surprised if the little brother Fi would have had if Rick had lived would resemble Sophie. XD I actually asked Jon Cooksey about the similarities once and if it was intended... I can't actually remember what he said but I think it was unintentional but he saw the similarities as well. Edit: I just went through my favorites on Twitter and found his reply... link
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Post by Geno Cuddy on May 23, 2017 20:18:08 GMT
I actually interviewed Dylan, years ago in 2013, nice guy and a huge nerd.
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writerchic16
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Post by writerchic16 on Oct 27, 2019 16:05:50 GMT
This thread is a little old, but I always think about this around Halloween. Halloweentown was one of my favorite DCOMs so I love that there's a connection to So Weird. Marnie and Fiona really are a lot alike and would be best friends if they ever met. I can easily see them chatting on Fi's website. As for behind-the-scenes stuff, I wonder if Halloweentown's success had an impact on So Weird getting the green light from Disney. Halloweentown was light and goofy (in a good way) so it's possible So Weird was sold as a darker version.
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Post by Rockerbaby on Oct 27, 2019 18:22:48 GMT
Halloweentown was released in October 1998, and So Weird first aired in January 1999, so I think they were in production/got greenlit around the same time. Halloweentown may have piqued the interests of Disney Channel fans in supernatural/spooky stuff just in time for So Weird, though.
Here's what Jon Cooksey said about Halloweentown in our interview (pulled from the transcript):
Melissa: I know I asked you about this on Twitter at one point, and I'm pretty sure many other people would like to know as well. I'm honestly blown away every time I watch Halloweentown, the original one, and I notice how similar the Cromwells are to the Phillips. I'm wondering what kind of inspiration was there, because it's weird. There’s an eccentric teen girl with an obsession with all things weird, a skeptic brother, a mother who knows more than she lets on, and a dead father. It's a lot to be more than just a coincidence.
Jon: And a grandmother, who’s obviously a witch!
Melissa: Yeah!
Jon: I was working on Halloweentown when Ali and Mariel and I were in Ireland, and Mariel was only four. That must have been before So Weird. There was a script already that they gave us to rewrite, and I worked that in attics all over Ireland. So that was coincidence, other than they came from the same factory, because So Weird was also given to us. Other than adding the grandma, who was not Debbie Reynolds, much later in “Banshee,” yeah, I guess it was just a coincidence. At the same time, I’m totally in love with Irish stuff, and we had just been to Ireland, and all the Celtic imagery and all that stuff that was on the “Strangeling” book was all kind of that artistic aesthetic and obsession. I’m sure that added into it some.
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writerchic16
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Post by writerchic16 on Oct 27, 2019 20:35:36 GMT
Halloweentown was released in October 1998, and So Weird first aired in January 1999, so I think they were in production/got greenlit around the same time. Halloweentown may have piqued the interests of Disney Channel fans in supernatural/spooky stuff just in time for So Weird, though.
Here's what Jon Cooksey said about Halloweentown in our interview (pulled from the transcript):
Melissa: I know I asked you about this on Twitter at one point, and I'm pretty sure many other people would like to know as well. I'm honestly blown away every time I watch Halloweentown, the original one, and I notice how similar the Cromwells are to the Phillips. I'm wondering what kind of inspiration was there, because it's weird. There’s an eccentric teen girl with an obsession with all things weird, a skeptic brother, a mother who knows more than she lets on, and a dead father. It's a lot to be more than just a coincidence.
Jon: And a grandmother, who’s obviously a witch!
Melissa: Yeah!
Jon: I was working on Halloweentown when Ali and Mariel and I were in Ireland, and Mariel was only four. That must have been before So Weird. There was a script already that they gave us to rewrite, and I worked that in attics all over Ireland. So that was coincidence, other than they came from the same factory, because So Weird was also given to us. Other than adding the grandma, who was not Debbie Reynolds, much later in “Banshee,” yeah, I guess it was just a coincidence. At the same time, I’m totally in love with Irish stuff, and we had just been to Ireland, and all the Celtic imagery and all that stuff that was on the “Strangeling” book was all kind of that artistic aesthetic and obsession. I’m sure that added into it some. I love that you all asked him about Halloweentown! That interview has been on my to-watch list for way too long, must correct that today. And I didn't know about the transcripts, that's cool too.
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Post by macabrekitten on Jun 5, 2020 7:23:17 GMT
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darbme
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Post by darbme on Jun 5, 2020 11:39:05 GMT
Agree! They are both really of the same kind of moxie! Marnie had less emotion than Fi (Margie was more happy, Fi has eternal sadness behind her eyes) but they would definitely be friends in another world!!
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Post by macabrekitten on Jun 11, 2020 2:08:59 GMT
Yeah, I agree. I like Fi better, because she felt more realistic. Not that Marnie was bad or anything, though. Maybe they're related, seeing as they're both witches. (But, probably not since their worlds are so drastically different from each other.) A crossover fanfic could be cool, though.
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Post by Mischievous Monkey on Oct 19, 2020 19:35:25 GMT
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Aaeiyn
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Post by Aaeiyn on Sept 26, 2023 9:10:14 GMT
I just came to this realization, and I do love the Halloweentown movies. Particularly the first two films. And, wouldn't you know? It's the only two films with our beloved Jon Cooksey & Ali Marie Matheson? LOL
IDC for Halloweentown High nor Return to Halloweentown. Especially, since neither of those writers wrote those, so there you go.
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Post by Mischievous Monkey on Oct 12, 2023 15:50:40 GMT
One of my favorite details about this movie is that Michael Slovis was the Director of Photography.
His career started in the mid-80s and after Halloweentown he did DCOMs The Thirteenth Year and Ready to Run. He went on to work on some network dramas, but he's most famous for his work on Breaking Bad.
(Which is not Disney related but the thread is about the movie so it seemed okay to post about.)
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