In a world where there are millions of people speaking hundreds of thousands of languages that follow thousands of cultures, where every day is just another reason to celebrate; be it a day dedicated women, mothers , fathers, beloved one, and many many more. How can one leave out on celebrating those supernatural beings who excel in keeping the freaky quotient in your life intact (and also contribute to a major chunk of the entertainment business as well).
So in order to dedicate one day to the horrifying race of zombies, witches, vampires, evil spirits, warewolves, poltergeist and everything spooky and ghastly, Halloween is celebrated all over on 31 October just before 1 November which is then celebrated as ‘All Saints Day’.
It is believed that the practices of Halloween mostly come from Celtic paganism in the British Isles, and their feast of Samhain, the New Year. They believed it was the time when ghosts and spirits came out to haunt, and the Celts would appease the spirits by giving them treats.
Hence, the origins of trick or treating and dressing up were in the 16th century in Ireland, Scotland and Wales where people went door-to-door in costume asking for food in exchange for a poem or song. Many dressed up as souls of the dead, or Aos Si, and were understood to be protecting themselves from the spirits by impersonating them.
So today to remind you of those movies in the animation/live action genre that sent a shrill down your spine all since your childhood days, we at AnimationXpress.com get to you the top movies that have definitely frightened you out of your wits and have tickled your funny bones all at the same time.
Hotel Transylvania
This movie that released on 28 September 2012 revolved around Count Dracula, the owner of a hotel called Hotel Transylvania where the world’s monsters could take rest from human civilization. This Dracula then invites some of the most famous monsters to celebrate the 118th birthday of his daughter Mavis. When the “non-human hotel” is unexpectedly visited by an ordinary 21-year-old traveler named Jonathan. The Dracula then tries to accomplish the most arduous task of protecting Mavis from falling in love with the trespasser before the hotel’s guests learn about his presence inside which may endanger the hotel’s future.
Despite mixed reviews, the movie earned a total of $358 million on a budget of $85 million and was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Coraline
This 2009 American stop-motion animated 3D dark fantasy film that revolved around an adventurous girl finding an idealized parallel world behind a secret door in her new home, unaware that the alternate world contains a dark and sinister secret, was based on Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novel of the same name, It was produced by Laika and written and directed by Henry Selick, the film was made with Gaiman’s approval and cooperation.
The film was released widely in United States theaters on 6 February 2009, after a world premiere at the Portland International Film Festival.The film made $16.85 million during opening weekend, ranking third at the box office. It also won Annie Awards for best music, character design, production design and received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Animated Feature.
Goosebumps
The recent American 3D live action/computer animated film, Goosebumps, has intimidated and entertained everyone with a blend of horror and comedy. Released by Sony Pictures Entertainment on 16 October, 2015 worldwide and on 30 October, 2015 in India, this film is based on the children’s book series of the same name. As per director Rob Letterman the film was set to scare the audience with weird monsters and make them tumble in laughter.
The children in the film end up in difficult situation facing monsters of all kinds who lead them on a voyage of terror. With the Halloween feel already flourishing, this monster comedy is one of kind and will make your Halloween scary coupled with fun.
Casper
Casper the friendly ghost, unlike other ghosts is considered to be a very warm spirit who (voiced by Malachi Pearson) peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey (Bill Pullman) arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow spirits, he brings along his teenage daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci). Casper quickly falls in love with Kat, but their budding relationship is complicated not only by his transparent state, but also by his troublemaking apparition uncles and their mischievous antics.
This hilarious movie was released on 26 May, 1995 in the States (USA). Directed by Brad Silberling, Phil Nibbelink, the movie successfully opened at #1 over the Memorial Day weekend, grossing $16,840,385 over its first three days.
Corpse Bride
This 2005 stop motion stop-motion-animated musical fantasy movie , Corpse Bride often referred to as Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride was directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton.The movie was based in the Victorian era village in Europe revolved around the very unique storyline; 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. The hot Johnny Depp had lent a cast as the voice of Victor, while Helena Bonham Carter had voiced Emily, the title character.
The film was nominated for the 78th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and the Visual effects were delivered by London’s Moving Picture Company (MPC) which were applied to the 1,000 or so shots in the film, though most of the effects simply painted out puppet supports and similar set equipment.
Happy Halloween !!!