This is a day to raise awareness about mental health issues, and part of that is making sure you take care of yourself! Drink some tea, have a hot shower, and watch one of these feel good Halloween flicks to give you some positive energy!

Written by: Reb Czukoski – October 10th, 2021 1:07 pm pst

The Addams Family

films to watch for mental health

Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Bron Creative, The Jackal Group, Cinesite Studios, Nitrogen Studios

This family, famous for their disturbing and scary lifestyle, makes a move to a boring suburb. During their move, daughter, Wednesday, becomes friends with the child of a reality show host that isn’t fond of the Addams family, thus creating conflict.

While being a huge franchise of films, the animated 2019 film features some very famous voiceover characters like Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, and more. All of the older Addams’ movies are family-friendly as well, but there’s something about cartoons that make spooks seem much safer. The first animated feature was released in 2019, but a sequel was released on October 1st as well! If you like the first one that can be found on Hulu or Amazon Prime, you can also check out The Addams Family 2 in theatres now!

Hotel Transylvania

Credit: Columbia Pictures, Sony Picture Animation

Mavis, the daughter of Count Dracula, is turning 118 years old at her father’s hotel, home to the world’s scariest monsters that need a rest from humankind. An ordinary human, Jonathan, creates tension with Dracula when he accidentally stumbles upon the hotel. Dracula tries to prevent Mavis from falling in love with him while simultaneously making sure his hotel guests don’t find out about the human lurking around. 

Here’s another multimedia franchise, having three graphic novels, three short films, and four long-form films. Famous voices in this include Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez. The fourth long-form theatrical film in this series is set to be released on Amazon Prime Video in January 2022, but until then, you can watch the first or any others in the series on Hulu or Amazon Prime! All of the movies are worth the watch, but the first in any series is always nostalgic.

Spooky Buddies

Credit: Key Pix Productions

A group of talking puppies goes on a field trip to a mysterious mansion. They recite a legendary statement in front of a mirror that releases two evil forces, Warwick the Warlock and the Halloween hound. They find new friends and a friendly ghost on their adventure back to the mansion, where they must use their efforts to stop Warwick the Warlock and all the evil he is planning.

There’s nothing less intimidating in a Halloween movie than puppies! Here’s a Halloween-themed special in the Disney Buddies franchise, past films including titles such as Air Bud, Snow Buddies, Space Buddies, etc. Every child back in the 2000s had at least one of the Buddies’ movies in their DVD repertoire, but nowadays, you can find this film on Disney+. Find out for yourself which puppy looks the cutest in their Halloween costumes!

Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular

Credit: Mainframe

Hannah Marie wants to go trick-or-treating with Jimmy and his friends, but Jimmy is not too excited to care for his little cousin. On their journey, they encounter a haunted house that Hannah enters where Jimmy abandons her, and she meets a witch that takes her to meet other monsters for a Halloween party on the Fright side of the world while planning revenge for her cousin and his friends.

There’s nothing scary about this Halloween special that teaches kids how to stand up to bullies and shows them that monsters don’t have to be scary. You can watch this heartwarming movie or its sequel on Xfinity or Youtube! The movie is a super short children’s movie that used to be shown all the time on Cartoon Network.

Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out?

Credit: Toonz Entertainment, Ltd. Lookout Entertainment Commotion Pictures

A child magician, Max, discovers that ghosts are planning to invade the real world on Halloween. In his attempts to defeat the evil spirit in charge, Phears, he helps two ghosts that want to figure out why they’re ghosts and what happened to their parents.

This movie is based on an R.L. Stine book with popular Disney Channel actors David Deluise, Adam Hicks, and Madison Pettis. Here’s another old popular DVD film that was also broadcast on Disney Channel. There are eight books in the Mostly Ghostly series, but two films can be found on Amazon Prime Video for free! Watch it to figure out what happened to Max’s ghost friends and their parents!

ParaNorman

Credit: Laika

A young boy, Norman, can speak with ghosts, but no one believes him! His power has outcast him from his family and peers, but he learns to use his abilities to stop an ancient witch curse that has plagued his small town with zombies.

This animated feature was an early pioneer to 3D motion pictures in stop-motion film and the first ever to use 3D printing to create all of the characters’ faces. It’s not quite as creepy as other Halloween-themed stop-motion pictures like Coraline and has quite a few comedic actors as voiceovers like Jeff Garlin and Anna Kendrick. This humorous and fantastical movie is a spooky season favorite and is on Netflix for you to stream ASAP!

The Little Vampire

Credit: Propaganda Films, Cometstone Pictures

An American boy moves to Scotland to live in a small castle with his family and starts to have nightmares about vampires and dangerous things. Tony dresses up as a vampire and is seen as one by a real vampire, Rudolph. Even after realizing Tony isn’t a vampire, they become fast friends and help to take on a vampire hunter that becomes a threat to Rudolph and his family. 

This film’s idea came from a children’s book series with the same title, and an animated remake of the film was released in the Netherlands in 2017. Whether you’re into a throwback movie with the cutest cast of characters or an animation with fun visual effects, this movie is right up your alley for Halloween. You can find The Little Vampire on Amazon Prime Video or The Little Vampire 3D on Netflix!

Girl vs. Monster

Credit: Bad Angels Productions, Just Singer Entertainment

On the day before Halloween, a teenager named Skylar finds out that she’s one in a long line of monster hunters. She accidentally released a monster that her parents have been holding captive and must try to defeat them so that she and her parents will be safe.

The Disney Channel original movie features lots of Disney actors’ songs, such as ones by Olivia Holt, Luke Benward, and China Anne McClain. Like any other Disney Channel original movie, one of the perks to watching is seeing recognizable characters, so if you were an avid Disney watcher around 2012, this movie is definitely for you. Check it out on Disney+ or Hulu!

Into The Woods

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures, Lucamar Productions, Marc Platt Productions

This film is about a couple with no child that wants to end the curse put on them to be barren by a vengeful witch. Multiple fairy tales are intertwined in the story, and the good must work together to defeat evil.

While not inherently a Halloween movie, fairy tales, fantasy, and witches truly reflect what Halloween is all about. Here’s a musical movie version of the already popular musical by Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway’s biggest composers. The cast list is also insane, crediting Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Johnny Depp, and more! For music lovers everywhere, this film will satisfy and have you singing the tunes for weeks. Play it now on Disney+!

Casper

Credit: Amblin Entertainment, The Harvey Entertainment Company

Although the movie is definitely one of the older ones on this list, it made movie history by being the first feature film with a fully CGI character as a lead! Casper the Friendly Ghost is a recognizable name in theatrical television because it was previously written into children’s books as early as 1939 and was also an animated cartoon series. Given the title, there’s no doubt that this film is funnier and cuter than scary, which makes it perfect as a feel-good movie. You can check it out on Amazon Prime Video along with other Casper-related films!

About The Author:

Reb Czukoski is an intern with AfterBuzz TV and a senior at Emerson College studying visual media arts with a focus in animation and minoring in peace and social justice. They are currently pursuing a career in animation and graphic design, with an interest in movies, music, and social media.

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