Top 10 Favorite Sweet But Spooky Family-Friendly Halloween Movies

I hated Halloween as a kid. I detested haunted houses, creepy movies, or being scared in general. Dressing up in a costume my mom made and eating candy corn were the extent of my holiday celebrations each year. But I love celebrating Halloween with my kids. My elementary school-age daughters and I watch sweet but spooky, family-friendly Halloween movies.

We love carving pumpkins. We decorate the house with bats, candles and witch hats and plan out all three of our costumes for trick-or-treating. (Sometimes my husband gets in on the themed fun, too.)

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links for your convenience. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Table of Contents

Here is a list of our all-time favorite family-friendly Halloween movies (all rated PG*):

Dis ney’s Hocus Pocus (1993) and Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathryn Najimy star as sister witches searching for youth in the greatest-of-all-time family Halloween movie.

Beetlejuice (1988)

*This classic 80’s Tim Burton film is rated PG because it predates the PG-13 rating. I do not recommend it for young kids, but it’s great for older kids (12+) who understand the humor.

Casper (1995)

We cannot forget everyone’s favorite friendly ghost and his annoying trio of ghastly ghouls! Christina Ricci is wonderful in her role as Casper’s new friend and ally, Kat.

Disney/Pixar’s Coco (2017)

This beautifully animated film pays homage to the Mexican holiday Día de Los Muertos, which begins October 31 and ends November 2. Families pay their respects to their dead loved ones each year.

Haunted Mansion (2023) and The Haunted Mansion (2003)

My youngest refuses to watch these movies because she hated the ride at Walt Disney World. Ha!

The Addams Family (2019) and The Addams Family (2021)

My kids love this animated update based off the 90’s movies. (The live action versions are rated PG-13, of course.)

Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989)

We’ll take any excuse to watch our favorite team of goofy scientists fight ghosts in NYC. (I also love the 2016 remake. But, alas, it is rated PG-13.)

What are your favorite family-friendly Halloween movies?

Let me know your favorite family-friendly Halloween movies in the comments.

A version of this post was originally published October 19, 2020.