The leaves are turning, the air is getting colder and Halloween is just around the corner. Growing up, this meant one thing: Disney’s Monstober. Throughout the month of October, Disney shows a Halloween movie every day.

Upon looking back at some of these movies, I got to thinking. Were these movies really that good? I set out to rewatch these movies and decide for myself.

The first movie I watched was the Halloween edition of the beloved Air Buddies movies: Spooky Buddies.

The movie starts off 75 years before the main part of the movie in Fernfield on All Hallows Eve. In this spooky opening watchers are introduced to the evil Warwick the Warlock and his owl companion Hoot. The duo have kidnapped five puppies of the same bloodline to sacrifice their souls to the Halloween Hound, but Warwick is only able to sacrifice four of the five puppies before he is thwarted by the town’s sheriff. The movie then cuts to what is present day Fernfield where the Buddies and their owners are on a field trip to Warwick’s condemned mansion on the very day of Halloween. Rumor has it that if you say “Halloween Hound” in the mirror three times the Hound and Warwick will be released. One of the Buddies in attempt to prove his bravery accidently releases the Halloween Hound. The rest of the movie is made up of the Buddies, their owners, Joseph (the young boy from 75 years prior), and a couple of friends made along the way trying to defeat Warwick and the Halloween Hound once and for all.

Sadly, this movie was not as good as I remember it being. While the idea of the movie was cute because it involved puppies (who doesn’t love puppies?), the acting was mediocre at best. There is no real buildup to set up for any real climax either. The only good things I have to say about this movie is that the puppies were cute, it was a happy ending, and there were a handful of comedic moments, but overall this movie was plain stupid. Needless to say, this movie took up an hour and a half of my life I will never get back. This movie was a trick more than it was a treat.

The second movie I watched was Mostly Ghostly. I remember this movie scaring me so much as a kid as it involved evil ghosts trapped in the walls of the main character Max’s home.

Throughout the movie an evil ghost with sharp, ragged pointy teeth named Phears (get it? Pronounced “fears,” how original Disney) is looking for two kids named Tara and Nicky. Somehow gifted with the ability to see ghosts (I see dead people vibes) Max can see Tara and Nicky. The ghost children enlist Max’s help to find their parents, but to do so Max must prevent Phears and his army from being released into the world on Halloween night. Spoiler alert: He doesn’t. Max tries to do this all while trying to prepare for his school’s talent show, which Phears crashes. But, Max, Tara and Nicky save the day by sending Phears back.

Once again, much to my dismay, this movie was not nearly as good as I hoped it would be. I was hoping this show would make me weary of going into my basement out of fear that there were ghost trapped in the walls as they whispered and ran their overgrown nails along the walls. Rather I found myself laughing at how bad the acting was. It all seemed so stiff and unnatural, but I guess that’s what you get from a movie where kids are battling the dead which is ironic because two of the three kids are dead. Another thing that bugged me with this movie is all the jumping around causing some major holes in the plot. Like Spooky Buddies, Mostly Ghostly was a horrible trick.

Next up on my list of movies was Coraline. While I do not remember watching this movie when I was younger I do remember those who did either loved it or hated it.

This movie starts of with a doll being made which was great foreshadowing and set up the rest of the movie to come. Then it cuts to a family moving into some apartments. The family is made up of a mother, father and daughter (Coraline). This family appears to be perfect, but that is not the case. Coraline’s parents neglect to pay any attention to her; rather they bury their heads in their work. Because of this neglect, Coraline always does things that could be dangerous in a desperate attempt for attention. Lack of attention is what leads Coraline to finding another world that at first glance looks like her own. Once in this “other world” she finds her “other mother” who does pay attention to her along with her “other father”. Every time Coraline falls asleep she is back in the real world. Whenever Coraline goes back to the “other world” the tunnel between the two worlds gets longer. Coraline cannot seem to get enough of this world because she feels loved, but this may lead to her demise.

While this was a good movie it was a little messed up and at some points I think Disney forgot it made movies for kids. There was a lot of jumping between the worlds and at times it got a little confusing. Other than that this movie was creepy enough and well done to keep e interested. Moral of the story though is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. I thought this movie was a treat.

After watching these movies I realized that many movies I remember being good were total bust, but there were some classics that will never not be good.