Summary

  • The Halloweentown movie franchise gained a cult-classic status and embraced themes of acceptance and combating discrimination.
  • Kimberly J. Brown leaving the role for Return to Halloweentown sparked theories and frustration among fans.
  • The town where the original Halloweentown movie was filmed, St. Helens, Oregon, has embraced its celebrity status by hosting "Spirit of Halloweentown" events.

With the spooky season upon us once more, many viewers turn to Halloween television and movie favorites. While most may gravitate toward scarier things, there are tons of family-friendly options. One treasure from the late 1990s and early 2000s is Disney Channel's Halloweentown movie franchise. Featuring a town filled with all manner of monsters, and embracing themes of acceptance and combating discrimination, the series' nature as a Disney Channel Original Movie franchise belies its cult-classic status.

Halloween highlighted the magical coming of age of a teenage girl under the tutelage of her witch grandmother, with its quirky charm enchanting the childhoods of kids during the burgeoning millennium. The final movie was released in 2006, but a major change kept it from sending the series off with a bang: Return to Halloweentown retained the cast of its predecessors, with the exception of the lead actress, Kimberly J. Brown. This egregious shift has bugged fans for years, sparking numerous theories and angsty memes. For any Halloweentown fanatics still looking for the real reason behind the switch, let's look at why Halloweentown's lead witch was changed for the final film, Return to Halloweentown.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on October 25, 2023: With the Halloween season coming once again, fans of family-friendly Halloween movies and Disney movies in particular are reliving the memories of the Halloweentown series. Thus, many are still wondering about what happened to actress Kimberly J. Brown and why she wasn't in the fourth movie. With the series and the original movie now 25 years old, nostalgia for the franchise and the curiosity about its final entry is higher than ever.

Kimberly J. Brown Was In All but One of the Halloweentown Movies

Disney+ Celebrates Its First 'Hallowstream' With Halloween Collection

Debuting in 1998, the Halloweentown series was set in another dimension, in which magical creatures could live freely without persecution from humans. The protagonist was teenager Marnie Piper (played by Kimberly J. Brown), whose magical ancestry was kept from her for much of her life by her magic-hating mother. Upon discovering her own latent abilities, Marnie becomes enthralled with the world of Halloweentown, and breaks down the metaphorical and literal barriers between its residents and those of the human world. Tapping into the growing popularity of Harry Potter, the film was a huge hit for Disney Channel, conjuring three sequels over the next eight years and making many into fans of Kimberly J. Brown.

The series became a Halloween staple for Disney Channel. Kimberly J. Brown, Marnie's original actor, was even able to contribute some of her own ideas toward the production of the third film, 2004's Halloweentown High. The fourth and final film, however, had a more mixed reception, and much of that can be attributed to one major change in the cast. Although three of the returning cast members reprised their roles in 2006's Return to Halloweentown, actor Sara Paxton was recast as Marnie. That recasting doomed the film in the eyes of many diehard fans, who were angry over the absence of Kimberly J. Brown.

Why Kimberly J. Brown Was Recast for Return to Halloweentown

Sara Paxton plays Marnie Piper in Return to Halloweentown

Halloweentown Is More Than a Seasonal Franchise

There were several rumors about why the drastic casting change in Return to Halloween was made, one of which was that Kimberly J. Brown was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict with another project. Others thought that creative differences may have become heated to the point that Kimberly J. Brown was fired from Return to Halloweentown. However, Brown has stated she was not only available for the film but that she also desperately wanted to be a part of the finale. It turns out, as revealed by Halloweentown creator Sheri Singer, Disney and Brown's representatives couldn't agree to a deal for the actor to return.

According to Seventeen, Brown bears no ill will toward Paxton about succeeding her as Marnie. However, upon reflecting on her time on Halloweentown, Brown said, "No, not at all. I was so excited when I got it. But I had no idea what it would grow into, and it's really a true testament to the fans. I'm honored and flattered that people not only still talk about it all these years later, but that they still watch it."

The Star(s) of Halloweentown and the Series Since Return to Halloweentown

The Marnie Actresses Have Both Had Careers Outside Halloweentown

Halloweentown's Kimberly J. Brown, as a child and as an adult.

Disney's Halloweentown Deserves to Be Considered a Cult Classic

Before starring in the first three Halloweentown movies, actress Kimberly J. Brown played Marah Lewis on the long-running soap opera Guiding Light. She was one of six actors to portray the character, and even reprised the role in 2006. She's also been in other movies and TV shows since the Halloweentown series ended, namely Chloe Jennings on the soap opera General Hospital. A much darker Halloween film featuring Kimberly J. Brown was 2006's Big Bad Wolf. This much more adult horror movie was released in the same year as Return to Halloweentown, cementing Brown's exit from the role.

Sara Paxton - the replacement for Kimberly J. Brown - has also starred in several horror movies and is something of a veritable scream queen. These include the remake of The Last House on the Left, Shark Night, Static and 2022's well-received 20th Century Studios film Barbarian. Other roles include 2018's The Front Runner and the controversial Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde. She's also had numerous TV show roles from before and since the release of Return to Halloweentown. These include shows such as Twin Peaks: The Return, This Is Us and Murder in the First.

Halloweentown Has Heavily Affected One US Town

The original Halloweentown with Kimberly J. Brown was shot in a town called St. Helens, Oregon. Not too far from Portland, the town has taken its now celebrity status to a new level. It's begun hosting the "Spirit of Halloweentown" events, in which the town outright recreates the look of the movies in time for Halloween. This includes the giant jack-o'-lantern, making it a must-see spectacle for fans of the Disney Channel Original Movie. Kimberly J. Brown has herself made visits to the town during the festivities, which last from the middle of September until Halloween night. Disney has since moved onto movies for other holidays while also making other horror and supernatural-themed projects, but Halloweentown continues to have a special place in many's hearts.

The Halloweentown series can be streamed on Disney+.

Halloweentown
G
Comedy
Family
Fantasy

Halloweentown involves two worlds, the mortal world on Earth and Halloweentown, known for hosting warlocks, ghosts, vampires, and witches. 

Release Date
October 17, 1998
Director
Duwayne Dunham
Cast
Debbie Reynolds , Joey Zimmerman
Runtime
84 minutes
Studio
Disney Channel