The Halloween Tree

That's a bit more like it.

I must fully admit I read the book before I watched this short, and honestly the book made me fall in love with Halloween somehow even more than I already was, it is a spectacular book and should be read in the coming weeks by all. So how did this adaptation hold up? Quite well really, though it is a very brief adaptation barely passing the one hour mark I enjoyed it for what it was, an adventure with some wonderfully spooky visuals that actually teaches you a bit about other culture's customs on Halloween. So our story begins with four friends getting ready for tricks and treats but are sad to hear of their 5th friend having to go to the hospital, yet strangely they see him running towards an old dark house inhabited by the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud who chastises the children for not truly knowing the reasons why you do the things you do on All Hallow's Eve and so whisks them away on a fantastic journey through time to experience and learn how certain customs came to be. They travel to ancient Egypt, Britain during the Dark Ages, Paris where Notre Dame is being built, and Mexico during the Day Of The Dead festivities. I do enjoy the special, and especially love how not only did Ray Bradbury himself narrate the story but also Leonard Nimoy voices Mr. Moundshroud, that is the awesome. You can tell Leonard Nimoy is having a lot of fun in this role and it was a real treat seeing him in a role I've never truly seen. True I saw clips and trailers for The Halloween Tree many times on my old Cartoon Network tapes but I've never seen it until now, and I know for a fact I would have enjoyed and been creeped out by this when I was younger. There are some great visuals in this with that wonderful autumn atmosphere combined with some truly creepy scenery, it really is a perfect movie to watch with younger viewers. I'll be honest and I hate to be that person but, the book is of course superior and does everything downright perfectly, so I would reccommend the animated short for younger viewers from say 5 to 8 and the book for kids 9 to their teenage years. The book deals with a lot of extra stuff briefly touched on in the special and tells a more intricate and deeper story, it's one of the best books I've read in a good long while. But I still enjoy and appreciate the special and would gladly put it on for some of the younger members of my extended family, and I hope you enjoy it too and by all means check out the book whether you want to read it alone or tell the story to others.

Next time, a Halloween special from a most unlikely source.