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When the original Disney Channel movie was first aired 20 years ago, City of Halloween do the story. It was the first time a women's runner led the race, paving the way for other memorable DCOMs to stubborn teenage heroines. But City of Halloween The story of Marnie is not limited to the story of Marnie: she tells the story of three generations of women united to fight evil.
The Cromwell women – Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), Gwen (Judith Hoag), Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) and Sophie (Emily Chapman born Roeske) – are not perfect. Marnie is committed to embracing her witch roots against the wishes of her mother, Gwen, as she plays with her shy but curious little sister, and her skeptical brother, Dylan, on his Halloweentown adventure. And Gwen feels so misunderstood because she is desperately trying to protect her children and keep things together as a single mother. Then there is the matriarch Aggie, who, like Reynolds herself, personifies grace while having an advantage, striving to keep alive Cromwell's tradition, even when her Gwen girl refuses to do it.
Their dynamics have their conflicts, but that's what resonates with viewers. This even attracts older fans who may understand that they do not feel "normal" even though it's much better to stay true to oneself rather than pretending to be something you're not. Are not. "I hope people will continue to be encouraged and to follow the example of Marnie and Aggie and the entire Cromwell family and to defend their beliefs," said Kimberly J. Brown, speaking with by phone with Bustle in October.
City of Halloween has become an iconic TV movie that has become beyond recognition for Disney Channel fans, because of the unique way it captures the magic of Halloween. In fact, the fans loved this film so much that it was turned into a franchise and completed in 2006 with a fourth film. (Finishing for now, at least.)
Celebrate City of HalloweenThe 20th anniversary of the group, this look back at the classic DCOM, explains how he kept his fan base, reveals some secrets and wonders about the potential aspect of this fifth installment.
The creation of City of Halloween
According to screenwriter Paul Bernbaum, producers Sheri Singer and Steve White had called him to write a Halloween-themed film for NBC, but the network was finally adopted. The producers then ended up working at Disney Channel and decided to reconsider the scenario.
Paul Bernbaum (Writer): I wrote the script. In fact, Marnie, Dylan and Sophie are the names of my children. NBC has decided to transmit it. Five years later, Steve gets a call and says, "Hey, we're doing City of Halloweenwe will shoot. "I was stunned, because it never happens.
Duwayne Dunham (Director): I originally wanted to do Edge!but they offered me City of Halloween. And City of Halloween was huge. It was a feature film script, with feature film ideas, and we had no way of getting the budget or the time we had.
The NBC version was more for an older audience, while the DCOM needed to be lighter and more family friendly. Disney Channel also did not have the same budget as NBC, so a lot of things had to be changed in the script to make it more filmable.
Dunham: We probably spent two consecutive weeks in the studio with the writers to read the script. It was unheard of to allow a director to take charge of the script in this way and change it radically. But to Disney's credit, they did it. They trusted the process and we kept the spirit of the thing, and we did not tamper with it at all. We have just made it fuse on our budget and schedule.
Bernbaum: The NBC version [of the script] It was actually darker … I remember a general sequence where they were traveling at night to Halloweentown, and it was getting really scary.
Molding City of Halloween
Debbie Reynolds was a Hollywood legend. At the time, Judith Hoag was best known for her April role in the 1990s. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; and Robin Thomas had had recurring roles in television shows such as Another world and Who is the boss?but the rest of the distribution was relatively unknown.
Kimberly J. Brown (Marnie): I loved the idea of playing a teenager who discovered who she was, which is such a joyous moment in a person's life, and that joy is very busy. But I think it's so exciting to have a supernatural twist as Marnie discovers who she is. It's not every day that you discover that you have magic powers.
J. Paul Zimmerman (Dylan): I was 12 years old and I had just changed the agency. It was the very first thing that they had launched … I read it and I loved it because I have always been a science fiction issue, fantasy, horror, Halloween and everything else.
Dunham: Disney Channel wanted some kind of name value. And Debbie brought something.
Judith Hoag (Gwen): There were two other very convincing things[sure[about[sur[aboutCity of Halloween]. The first thing was the chance to work with Debbie Reynolds. It's a legend. The second thing with which it was a really sweet script, it was an awesome script.
Robin Thomas (Kalabar): It was a fun project. This is Disney, which says a lot about the quality of the material. It's always fun to play the bad guy. This guy was a fun guy, a magician and also a warlock. What better role to play?
Bring the magic of life to life City of Halloween On the tray
With a small budget and a fairly new network to create their brand new original film series, the cast and crew have had to work hard to create the innate magic of Halloweentown.
Zimmerman: The heroes of the very first City of Halloween are the townspeople. It was trying because they worked all the time and it was City of Halloween but we shot it in July 1998 and it was incredibly hot in Oregon. It was like one of the hottest summers that they had ever had, so there were people with these huge – the fish mask, the crazy alien mask and d & # 39; Other things, and people fainted.
Thomas: When I stood on the balcony of City Hall, I screamed at the crowd downstairs. I remember that they did not mic me. I had to project my voice down. There were fans. [I was] 150 feet or more from the camera. It was difficult. I blew my pipes.
Dunham: The skeleton, Benny, the taxi driver, was the only thing that was expensive. It was built and articulated … but it was a great character, so that justified the expense.
Zimmerman: [Filming the scene where Benny grabs Dylan] was probably one of the most fun days of my life. Making the scene where I am like fighting with a skeleton just made all dreams a reality. It's a combination of all those people who make faces at the same time and body movements of the cabin. They just hang their hands in my shirt or anything else. So, I did not struggle so much, but I jumped everywhere because there was almost no force applied by the fake skeleton.
Thomas: As Kalabar mayor-magician, I had to learn magic tricks. This was not one of my skills. I had to practice with a cane, I practiced with cane and coin turns where I pulled a lollipop from my ear and a coin [Sophie’s] hear. It was fun.
In memory of Debbie Reynolds
Walt Disney Pictures
the City of Halloween star passed away on December 28, 2016, just one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher. Reynolds appeared in all City of Halloween films, forging close ties with many of his co-stars over the years.
Hoag: Debbie told me so and I never forgot it. "Judith, if you do not have any fans, you have no career." I had a habit of laughing and saying, "Debbie would pose with a hanger." She said, "Oh, no, no, it's my career here, it's my bread and my butter."
Brown: I actually made a note of it that she handed me over when we finished the third movie that I have framed all these years. I keep her in my office so she can watch her every day and remind me of her spirit and her contagious and joyful energy … She had always been so supportive of me and we spent a lot of time in After the third movie we stayed together socially, so we were able to continue our relationship outside of filming, which was so special to me.
Hoag: My favorite thing was to sit with her and drink a glass of wine. It was the best because then the stories really came out. She was not a heavy drinker, so it was only a drink. But damn it was all she needed and all the stories were starting to come out. It was so much fun, but it is certain that you can not repeat stories.
Brown: I remember one day, there was this great scale, and they needed to move it. She tried to push it and move it to the crew. They said to each other, "No, no, no, Mrs. Reynolds, stop! "She is very generous and wanted everyone to shine as hard as possible. It's something that has always struck me.
Hoag: In fact, you are not supposed to [move things on set]. Because there are different unions and the person who moves the ladder actually belongs to a union. But sometimes you have to keep moving – they run out of daylight or time and you just jump in and you do it and it's really old school, like, "Hey kids, let's put on a show."
Zimmerman: Emily was 6 years old in the first movie, this super sweet little boy. And Debbie says, "I'm Debbie Reynolds. Nice to meet you. Do you know who I am? Emily has no idea. And Debbie says, "Oh, well, do you know Princess Leia of Star wars? I am the mother of Princess Leia ". It was in 1998, before Star wars Emily replied, "No, I do not know who you are." And Debbie, "Oh, well, I'm just a crazy old lady, so do not even listen to me."
Thomas: I remember we were doing a scene in an ice cream shop, and she told me something that was spicy and I was trying to remember it and I do not want to invent something just to be smart, but I just had a belly laughing. That's what she was, she was sweet and spicy. And that is why people liked him.
Zimmerman: We were shooting High Halloweentown inside the house and something happened in the yard and we all run running. I think Debbie was on the front. We were all trying to figure out who should go first. I was trying to go out and [said] "Kimberly, you run behind me." And Debbie says, "Oh, you just want her to rush behind you to feel her ass in the back." Where would you expect that in a million years of Debbie Reynolds' life?
Collage on the board
Walt Disney Pictures
The cast finally worked on four films (with the exception of Brown, replaced in the fourth movie, to the dismay of the fans). But turning City of Halloween in a franchise was partly possible thanks to the close connection that the members of the cast had – and still have.
Brown: We really, really enjoyed spending time together making movies together, exploring the different aspects of our characters' relationships and having fun, and I think that translates on the screen.
Zimmerman: For a long time after cinema, I was still living at home with my family and my parents were friends with Kimberly's parents. We went to see them quite often and throughout the year, and when I moved away from LA, I ended up losing touch with everyone.
Hoag: One of my favorite things is to have lunch with Kimberly or go hiking or something like that, we just love being hanged. I do not really see the other guys. Emily lives far away and Joe is a bit far away.
Thomas: I had not seen anyone for 20 years [until this year’s “Spirit of Halloweentown” festival]. When I arrived and I went down to the baggage claim area, there was a guy standing in a trench coat with a carry-on baggage, he looked at me and pointed at me, and I looked and went : "Oh my god, that's J. Paul Zimmerman!" We were supposed to get to work, and I find myself in a kind of waiting room like a green room. There is this girl standing and she looks at me, she smiles and I introduce myself. "Hi Robin Thomas." And she said, "Hi, I'm Sophie." And I absolutely did not recognize it at all. It was Emily and we kissed each other.
This summer, Brown seemed to confirm that she was in a relationship with Daniel Kountz (Kal), her former co-star, in a romantic post Instagram. And the fans were obviously delighted.
Brown: I'm glad the fans are having fun. And it's pretty funny, because whenever something is posted, there's usually a new group that sees the picture for the first time and looks like, "Wait a minute, what?" It pisses me off. I am so touched that even people do not only care about my dating, but also want to know more.
Embracing the City of Halloween fandom
Two decades after the film's first broadcast, the number of fans has grown steadily, thanks in part to those who watched it at first, who showed it to their own children.
Brown: I am still recognized every day and people write me these beautiful notes on how the film helped them in their youth and on the fact that it allowed them to show that they do not have a lot of fun. did not have to be normal to integrate and how they really understood this concept. . I've heard people say that it was their quote from the high school yearbook and that's what the whole message allowed them to go through different periods of their lives.
Zimmerman: I was recognized by a family and with them was a little girl who could not be older than 4 or 5 years old. Obviously, not even born at the time when I made the last movie. And the family goes away, "Hey, nice to meet you." They turn to the little girl and say, "Do you recognize this guy?" And she answers, "Dylan!" J & I almost had a heart attack!
Hoag: I've really been lucky because I've Teenage Ninja Turtles and I'm sure the first thing in my obituary will be that I played April O Neil. But it'll be closely followed by I was Gwen City of Halloween. This film has a real power to stay.
Brown: I also think that with social media and all this in recent years has been really amazing to watch gifs and cosplay … I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that something like that would happen.
Dunham: It's always fun when someone approaches you and says, "Oh, City of Halloween, I love that movie. "In the story of what I did, I'm waiting for someone to say," Oh, Star wars, you worked Star wars" or The adventurers of the lost arch or maybe Come back to the country or even Little giants.[Dunhamédité[Dunhamedited[Dunhamédité[DunhameditedReturn of the jedi and The adventurers of the lost arch before becoming a director.]
Thomas: It's really fun because I'm attending other movie events or first-runs and people come to me and say they're "Oh! City of Halloween! Kalabar! "
Zimmerman: I think it was last year, when I started seeing tattoos, people from Spirit of Halloweentown came forward with these incredible City of Halloween pumpkin tattoos and other things, with quotes from the movie. I did not even know what to say!
Another City of Halloween after?
Last year, Executive Producer Sheri Singer told E! that she would like to do another City of Halloween movie. It turns out that the cast is willing to meet once again and continue the story.
Brown: I am open to everything, and I am so moved that people want to see more and still want to talk about it.
Zimmerman: Let's do it again. I'm going to do it, everyone has to get involved. Yes, let's do it!
[Zimmermanaenvoyéuntextoaprèsl'interviewpourdirequ'ilenvisageaitd'écrireuntraitementpourun[Zimmermantextedpost-interviewtosaythathe'sconsideringwritingatreatmentfora[Zimmermanaenvoyéuntextoaprèsl'interviewpourdirequ'ilenvisageaitd'écrireuntraitementpourun[Zimmermantextedpost-interviewtosaythathe’sconsideringwritingatreatmentforaCity of Halloween Halloweentown suite at night.]Hoag: I think there is more history in these stories. I think that would change for now Marnie's character and she is the mother and these are her children. And I think there is still a lot to do in Halloweentown. Kimberly should be back because we need our return.
Which makes City of Halloween So special, 20 years later
Most DCOMs make fans feel nostalgic, but there is something particularly special about City of Halloweenresists power.
Bernbaum: I think up to Musical High School, City of Halloween was the most successful original movie that they had.
Dunham: The experience of watching[[[[City of Halloween]It's not so different from the memories we have of things or treatments when we were kids. It's scary, but not too much, it's fun, there's a bit of independence there and you're walking with your friends. Maybe when people see it, they remember the pleasure of going out of the halloween.
Hoag: I think women's dynamics are so complicated and so beautiful. Three generations will say to me, "My mother and I used to watch this movie, now I'm watching it with my daughter." For me, it's just exciting. I like to see everything that gives power to women.
Brown: There is a lot of magic and love, and I would like everyone to know that they are loved and accepted, as well as all the themes related to the film.
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