is Halloweentown (1998) anticapitalist?

is this movie anticapitalist?
6 min readNov 1, 2020

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When I tell someone of an older generation that I’m a socialist, they often respond with, “Well, how would that actually work?” And until now, I’ve had a hard time responding with a clear, fully formed vision of a socialist society. But from now on, I will respond with, “Watch Halloweentown.”

Benny, the Skeleton Taxi Driver, an important part of the town’s free Public Transporation system

Halloweentown (1998) tells the story of The Cromwells, a famous family of witches, who are working to keep evil out of Halloweentown, a magical world for all non-human creatures. The movie begins on earth on Halloween, where mother Gwen won’t let her three kids, Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie, go out trick or treating. Their grandmother Aggie, a marvelous witch played by Debbie Reynolds, shows up uninvited with a mission to convince Gwen to start eldest daughter Marnie’s witch training. Gwen is vehemently opposed, committed to giving her children a “normal” life free of magic. The children overhear, however, and follow their grandmother back to Halloweentown: a magical world free of capitalism, racism, and oppression of any kind.

Halloweentown’s founding is grounded in anticapitalist practice. Many years ago, the creatures of Halloweentown lived alongside humans on earth, but humans persecuted them for their difference, causing some of the magical beings to turn “evil.” Rather than continue to live in a world and system that did not care about their wellbeing, the mystical beings banded together and left Earth to form their own liberated world. In founding Halloweentown, they created a socialist utopia, because capitalism was not a natural system for them to conform to. When there is magic, there is no need for money! Everything in Halloweentown is “funded” by the State, AKA Magic, so there is no individual need or desire for wealth. From the moment Halloweentown is introduced, so are these anticapitalist practices; the audience’s first encounter with the magical society is through its free Public Transportation system. In order to take the bus between Earth and Halloweentown, neither Aggie nor the kids are required to pay any kind of fee. Shortly after, once the children arrive in Halloweentown and need a ride to their Grandma’s house, a taxi is called for them. When they are dropped off and Marnie offers to pay Benny the skeleton driver, he laughs her off and says “catch me in the next life.” This robust, free, public transportation system is only one of the socialist services that Halloweentown has to offer.

Money is not a consideration for the citizens of Halloweentown, and this frees them up to contribute to society as they are best suited, rather than be forced to work whatever job they need to in order to survive. For example, Benny does not give the kids a ride because he needs their money to survive. He drives the taxis in town because he enjoys chatting with people and making bad skeleton pun jokes, so he chooses to contribute to his society as a taxi driver. Similarly, a scene in the movie depicts a Vampire at the dentist getting a tooth pulled. The Vampire says she is worried about the pain, but then the dentist pulls it and she proclaims “Wow, Doc, that didn’t hurt at all!” The dentist responds, “Well, after all, I am the Tooth Fairy!” The Tooth Fairy has chosen a job that he loves and excels at. In fact, all the magical creatures in Halloweentown have found their own perfect and enjoyable way to contribute to their society. Not only does this increase individual quality of life, but it also ensures that everyone’s basic needs are met. For example, the dentist provides a service, free orthodontia, in exchange for many other free services. There’s no need for money in this society, because everyone is willing to labor to keep their socialist utopia functioning.

Unfortunately, Evil still comes to Halloweentown in the form of a sinister Warlock who desires to take over the world by turning the creatures of Halloweentown into an army. (Apparently even within a socialist utopia, power hungry straight white men threaten existence). But in encountering this Evil and fighting for Good, the Cromwell family exposes further principles that are paramount to upholding an anticapitalist society. Throughout the movie, as the kids work to un-freeze their mother and grandmother who have been stupefied by the Evil Guy, Marnie holds onto the principles of life on Earth and has a hard time adjusting to Halloweentown. Specifically, she holds onto the idea that her brother is ordinary and can’t have powers, and that her sister is too young to help. These are both examples of hierarchical thinking, likely ingrained in her from being raised in a Capitalist world. For example, when trying to get into their Grandmother’s locked house, Marnie tries some silly rhyming spells that do not work, but when her back is turned, younger sister Sophie manages to unlock the gate. Marnie does not stop to consider the possibility that Sophie has powers, and instead continues acting as a know-it-all big sister. Again, when they are trying to light the all-powerful Merlin’s talisman, Marnie struggles to remember the spell their grandma used earlier. Rather than ask either sibling for help, she stubbornly keeps trying alone, until Sophie begins muttering the correct spell to herself. Time after time, Marnie tries to be the one to save the day, convinced that as the eldest sibling she must be the most qualified. Finally, in the climax of the movie, recently de-frosted Aggie encounters the Evil Guy in the town square, and they have a “whose magic is more powerful fight” (think Harry vs Voldemort or Kylo Ren vs Rey). On her own, Aggie is struggling to fight him, and needs help from her family. Mother Gwen lets go of her desire to give up a safe, normal human life and join her powers with Aggie. Feeling helpless behind them, Marnie’s brother begins showing signs of powers for the first time, in this moment, Marnie is radicalized. She lets go of her capitalist, earthly ideas about sibling relationships, power, and leadership, and embraces Halloweentown’s philosophies of equality, solidarity, and mutual aid. The three siblings step forward together as equals, and the five Cromwells banish Evil Guy and restore Good to Halloweentown.

Halloweentown (1998) not only provides a vision for how to structure a socialist society, but it also highlights how deeply ingrained capitalist principles are in our DNA, affecting everything we do. Marnie’s lesson of unlearning her capitalist thinking begins with the release of her inflated sense of self, finally allowing her to embrace her siblings as equals. This mindset adjustment continues when, after the Evil Guy’s dark magic has been lifted from the town, she discovers that a previously handsome Halloweentown boy about her age is actually kind of troll-like. When he was traditionally handsome, he and Marnie had some romantic chemistry. He assumes that now that he no longer looks like a normal teenage boy, Marnie will turn away in disgust. Instead, now rid of all her ingrained Capitalist Human Beliefs, specifically those that prize beauty above all, she remains warm with him and kisses him on the cheek as she says goodbye. Through watching Marnie navigate her time in Halloweentown, the audience is reminded how intricately linked our thought patterns are to the way our society is organized. Though Marnie has some adjusting to do, those native to Halloweentown reap the benefits of a more enlightened mindset. As a result, Halloweentown is not only a Socialist Utopia in terms of the social services the state provides, but the societal structure also has a positive impact on them mentally and physically. It shouldn’t be a surprise that a society with free public transportation, health care, and other social services breeds positive, kind, community-oriented citizens. All of the leaders on earth, specifically those in the US, could benefit from a viewing of Halloweentown to consider this concept. But unfortunately, American citizens’ collective happiness doesn’t seem to be a priority for our current government: wealth and the mindset of capitalism are too deep-rooted in our culture. Soon, just as Aggie and friends were forced to do so many years ago, we must build a new world. As we dream of this revolution, we must all look to Halloweentown (1998) as a guide for a more just, joyful, and dignified socialist society.

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