When did ‘Halloweentown’ come out?

The fourth ever Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM for short), the enchantingly spooky world of Halloweentown became an instant classic for millennials everywhere. Who wouldn’t fall for the adventures of the budding witch Marnie Piper as she tries to save everything she holds dear? As a movie that gained tons of young viewers from the get-go, it’s no surprise that it became a yearly tradition for the Disney Channel to air it when Fall rolled around.

The world of Halloweentown doesn’t just stop at the initial movie about Marnie and her grandmother, Aggie Cromwell. There were three more Halloweentown movies, resulting in four total made-for-television movies in the franchise. The last of the Halloweentown movies came out in 2006, multiple years after the release of the first. So when did the original Halloweentown release to soon-to-be fans for life?

Exactly how old is Disney’s Halloweentown?

On Saturday, October 17th at 6 PM CT, many millennial children and teens tuned into Disney Channel in order to catch a viewing of a brand new DCOM called Halloweentown. The viewing would prove to be an instant success, drawing in lifelong fanatics for the world and the story. Halloweentown was officially premiered for the first time in 1998, making it 25 years old in 2023.

While we already know that Halloweentown would continue with a total of four installments, that wasn’t it for Disney Channel. The fanfare around Halloweentown inspired a whole slew of Halloween movies on Disney Channel for years to come. It’s impossible now to imagine a world without Halloweentown being synonymous with Fall on the Disney Channel.

The airing of all Halloweentown movies on the Disney Channel continues yearly as a holiday tradition for new generations of children (and even adults to relive some nostalgia). But if you aren’t a viewer of the Disney Channel, you can always catch the films on Disney Plus, making for a much more accessible experience.