‘Haul Out The Halloween’ Brings A Dose Of Disney Nostalgia To Hallmark

Lacey Chabert, Wes Brown, Melissa Peterman, Ellen Travolta, and Stephen Tobolowsky are all back on Evergreen for the third installment of Hallmark’s popular Haul Out the Holly series. But this time, the familiar faces on the lane have swapped out tinsel and snowmen for candy corn and jack-o-lanterns in Haul Out the Halloween.

After watching lead characters Emily (Chabert) and Jared (Brown)  first bicker over HOA protocol and then fall in love in the first two movies, the third flick begins as we watch the couple tie the knot, with all of their neighbors right by their sides. When the lovebirds return from their honeymoon, they are met with quite a fright! New neighbors have moved on the lane with an over-the-top, HOA-rule-busting, Halloween display. Before he’s even carried his wife over the threshold, Jared whips out his clipboard and is ready to lay down the law.

But who are these new neighbors? Why it’s the 1990’s Disney Channel meets Hallmark present day crossover we didn’t know we needed! Luna and Marvin are Shakespearian enthusiasts with a passion for Spooky Season and are very excited to have moved onto the “most festive neighborhood in all of Utah.” If these two look familiar it’s because they are played by real-life married couple Kimberly J. Brown and Daniel Kountz who are stars of the beloved Disney Channel franchise, Halloweentown.

“We really just fell in love with these movies and the characters, the neighborhood. So when this opportunity first came about, it was truly so exciting on a professional level, but also on a personal level as fans of the series.We were so giddy. What a gift to be able to come into this world with such an incredible cast and get to inspire a little bit of a little bit of spookiness., Kimberly J. Brown told Southern Living.

Daniel Kountz famously played the villain of the second Halloweentown movie, and quipped, “I was happy that I got to be happy about Halloween.”

In fact, Kimberly said she drew inspiration from their late co-star, Debbie Reynolds, who played her grandmother, for her portrayal of Luna. “I tried to emulate a little bit of Debbie’s inspiration with how she played Aggie in the Halloweentown movies and she drew inspiration from Agnes Morehead in Bewitched, she told me at the time. So, yeah, I felt her a lot  along this process.”

Lacey Chabert, in speaking with our sister publication People said,”Kim and I have been friends since we were 7, 8, or 9 years old, and we did Les Misérables together on Broadway. She’s someone that I just cherish in my life and I absolutely love her husband Daniel, and so getting to have them spend those three weeks in Salt Lake City on Evergreen Lane with us was just wonderful.”

Melissa Peterman, who plays resident crafter-in-chief of Evergreen Lane Pamela, told us of having Kimberly join the cast: “She’s the queen of Halloween. Lacey’s the queen of Christmas. Let’s bring the queens together and create a new kingdom. And we did that.”

The Happy’s Place star also noted that because of Lacey and Kimberly lifelong friendship, having Kimberly and Daniel join the cast just felt “seamless.” As was returning to the lane and to playing Pamela. “The first two were so lovely, and we clearly had such chemistry, and it was the most fun. I’ve been very lucky,” Peterman said.

Wes Brown agreed. “You come onto something, and then you have a last day, and all you want to have is another first day. Would that be another episode, or another movie, or something like that. So, they don’t come along often. A few times for me, but this is one of the few times. In a previous interview, Melissa called it a luxury, and I can’t think of a better word.”

“I’ll jump in and steal that word, too. Yeah, luxury. It’s such a gift to work with people that you just love to watch what they’re doing. Even when you’re not in the scene,” Stephen Tobolowsky said.

“It is a professional pleasure to work with people who know that the play is the thing. I’ve been on big movies where people show up late, people don’t know what they’re doing, they come drunk, [and] we have to reschedule everything. Everybody at Hallmark knows the play is the thing,” he added.

This powerhouse of a cast makes sure the audience is kept laughing with their quick-witted banter and clever physical comedy. When we asked how they managed to get through a take without laughing there was a universal shout of, “we didn’t!”

“I recall my first memory of this movie. I hadn’t seen these guys yet. I just walked into the costume shop and I said hi to Alison. I walked past a row of costumes, and I said, ‘Is that a ghillie suit?’ And she goes, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Please tell me that is Stephen’s.’ She goes, ‘That’s Stephen’s.’ I go, ‘This gonna be a good movie. It’s gonna be fun,” Wes shared.

Throughout the movie, the residents of the most spirited cul-de-sac pay homage to both Halloweentown, but also to many classic horror movies. See which ones you can catch when Haul Out The Halloween premieres on Hallmark on October 11 and the next day on Hallmark +.

Read the original article on Southern Living