Family movie nights have evolved quite a bit from when Team Tula grew up. “Making it a Blockbuster Night” was how most of us remember viewing new movies outside of a movie theater. In-person video rental (and it’s late fees) seem like ancient history in the age of digital streaming.
The pandemic has been hard on families, but this season may also be looked on as a time when family movie nights were revived. With many people staying home more, squishing together on the couch and watching a movie together is the family bonding we need.
If you need a movie marathon for a Trick-Or-Treating alternative, or you want to get in the spooky spirit this weekend, we have a good list for you! Sometimes it is hard to figure out what is streaming where, so we have included that to make it simple. The age guidelines are from Common Sense Media, but it’s a good idea to take a quick look at the movie trailer to see if it’s the right level of scary for your family.
Room on the Broom
Age 3+
Rent Apple TV and Google Play
A gentle witch with a ginger braid offers rides to a variety of animals on her increasingly crowded broom, much to her grumpy cat's chagrin.
Image Source: Hulu
Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
Age 3+
Digital purchase on Amazon Prime.
George and Allie visit Renkins' farm on the occasion of Halloween and learn of a spooky legend about a scarecrow who attacks people wearing hats. The duo try to get to the bottom of the mystery.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Age 4+Stream on Apple TV+
This 1966 classic needs no introduction. Linus sets out to prove the great pumpkin isn't a myth!
Image Source: Netflix
Spookley the Square PumpkinAge 4+
Stream on Netflix
When a storm terrorizes his patch, a pumpkin cast out for his shape must step up to use his smarts to save the day -- and to prove himself.
Image Source: Everett Collection
Monster's Inc.
Age 5+
Rent on Apple TV and Amazon
Lovable Sulley and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it's the monsters who are scared silly, and it's up to Sulley and Mike to keep her out of sight and get her back home.
Image Source: Everett Collection
Hotel Transylvania
Age 7+
Stream on Starz
Rent on Amazon
Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up and no humans are allowed. One special weekend, Dracula (Adam Sandler) has invited all his best friends – Frankenstein and his wife, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Werewolf family, and more – to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis’s (Selena Gomez) 118th birthday. For Dracula catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but the party really starts when one ordinary guy stumbles into the hotel and changes everything! (Sony Pictures Animation) 
Image Source: Everett Collection
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Age 7+
Stream on Disney+
Rent on Apple
Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere! (https://movies.disney.com/the-nightmare-before-christmas)
Mary and the Witch's Flower
Age 8+
Stream on Starz
Rent on Apple or Amazon
Ordinary girl Mary picks an extraordinary flower and travels to Endor College, a school for magic. But its foremost teachers have a sinister plan.
Coraline
Age 9+
Rent on Amazon or Google Play
An adventurous 11-year-old girl stumbles upon another world that is a rosier version of her frustrating home - but this alternate dimension harbors sinister secrets.
Photo credit Getty Images
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Age 10+Stream on Freeform and HBO Max
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Image Source Disney+
Hocus Pocus
Age 10+
Stream on Disney+
You're in for a devil of a time when three outlandishly wild witches – Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy return from 17th-century Salem after they're accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters! It's a night full of zany fun and comic chaos once the tricky 300-year-old trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth – but first they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat! (https://movies.disney.com/hocus-pocus)