We are a big movie family, especially when it comes to Halloween movies. My husband and I have the same challenge every Halloween. It is mega difficult finding great scary movies that won’t scare your kids. Hopefully, I have done some leg work for you and curated a round-up of some of the best family-friendly Halloween movies for all ages that won’t terrify your family. As a result, you can avoid answering questions about virgins, hallucinogenics, and the like.
Pre-School Age
1. Toy Story of Terror (3+) – One of the shorts from the Toy Story franchise. It fits in nicely during the Toy Story obsession phase.
2. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown – (4+) – All Charlie Brown specials do well in our house for family night and holidays. Classic tried and true for multiple generations, and it never gets old on repeat.
3. Coco (5+) – Coco has stunning visuals with great music. A super neat story about the land of the dead. It focuses on family, a child musician, culture, life, and death. Our family enjoyed this one.
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (5+) – Jack, the Pumpkin King, is one of the best family movie heroes of all time. It is a musical, a holiday movie, and a comedy — some of the best things for family movie night all rolled into one.
Grade School Age
5. Labyrinth (6+) – The stunning visuals and imaginative fantasy elements of this Jim Henson classic are off the charts. It has babysitters, puppets, missing siblings, romance, goblin kings, and the music of David Bowie.
6. Matilda(6+) – A darkly comic, heartfelt, and sincere story about a brave little girl.
7. Coraline (7+) – The age rating depends on the kid though the subject matter is most likely scarier for adults than kids.
8. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (7+) – This may not be a true horror movie, but there is something macabre and unsettling about most of Tim Burton’s films. This classic movie based on a Saturday morning kid’s show character warrants a family night watch for sure.
9. The Witches (8+) – The original 90’s Roald Dahl classic has held up surprisingly well and is scary for kids and adults, but not too frightening.
10. Monster House (8+) – Remember the creepy house all the kids thought was haunted in your neighborhood? It turns out it is. This is one of the scariest animated movies out there, but it still manages to show a big heart at the end.
Tweens + Teens
11. Goonies (10+) – Goonies may be best left for older kids, but the pirate and secret treasure elements should work well to entertain the masses on family night. With an ultimate 80’s soundtrack for the parents. Good enough for you is good enough for me.
12. Little Shop of Horrors (12+) – This creepy, twisted, and bizarre sci-fi cult favorite musical classic about a man-eating plant will leave you singing all the way downtown to Skid Row and is dark enough for teens and parents to appreciate.
13. Edward Scissorhands (12+) – Tim Burton does fantasy and visuals like none other, and this timeless story of an appreciated underdog has a wonderful message to share with the tween set.
Love! Gotta throw Hocus Pocus and the Haunted Mansion in there are well!