10 Halloween Movies to Watch With the Family on Disney+

As trick-or-treating is not necessarily recommendable this year, you may want to just settle down and watch a good movie with your kids to get into the Halloween spirit. Thankfully, Disney+ has plenty of those to go around. 

The movies we'll be including on the list are not gory at all, but they may feature a scare or two to get you into the mood for Halloween properly. We've also avoided films that are too violent or with a language that's too colorful.

Related: 10 Not-So-Scary Halloween Movies for Kids to Watch on Disney+

Of course, it ultimately depends on what type of content you deem okay for your kids to watch alongside you.

1. Monsters Inc. (2001)

• Running time: 1h 32 minutes.
• Age rating: G
• Best for ages: 5+. Parents think the movie provides a highly positive message and good role models. They also think the movie is mildly scary.
• Cast: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Mary Gibbs.
• Plot: The movie follows Sulley and Mike, two employees at Monster Inc, a factory where monsters venture into the human world to scare children. The screams of human children create energy that powers up Monstropolis. A small girl manages to enter the factory after someone forgets an open door, so the two friends try to shield her from the monsters and help her get back home. By the end of the adventure, they also figure out that children's laughter is also a lot more powerful than their screams, so it's best to harvest it like that. The movie is suitable for even young children, especially since the monsters aren't really scary.
• Ratings: Monsters, Inc. has 8/10 stars on IMDb after over 800,000 reviews, as well as a 96% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 90% rating from over 1.2 million viewers. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and it was of the first animated films to be nominated for Best Animated Feature.

2. Nightmare Before Christmas

• Running time: 1h 16 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 7+. Parents think the movie promotes a good message and features characters that are good role models. The film may feature scenes that are not necessarily great for smaller kids.
• Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara.
• Plot: This movie is a stop-motion animated musical and dark fantasy film created by Tim Burton. The story follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, leader of Halloween Town. One day he discovers some trees in the forest that serve as doorways to other towns, and he enters Christmas Town. Feeling like his citizens should join in the celebration, he takes over Santa's job. Obviously, the gifts he gives are terrifying as they have a Halloween-spin on them. The villain of the story is Oogie Boogie, the bogeyman who wreaks havoc before being defeated by Jack. Ultimately, Jack apologizes to Santa, and they make things right. The film also features a growing love story between Jack and Sally.
• Ratings: The film has 8/10 stars on IMDb out of close to 290,000 reviews. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

3. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)

• Running time: 1h 37 minutes.
• Age rating: G
• Best for ages: 7+. Parents think the film has a positive message and some good role models while not featuring any scenes that are too violent or scary.
• Cast: Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence.
• Plot: Escape to Witch Mountain is a fantasy science fiction movie that is adapted after the same-named novel by Alexander H. Key. The film follows siblings Tony and Tia, who are placed in an orphanage where they face various issues due to their abilities. Tony can make items move with his mind and control inanimate objects with the help of his harmonica, while Tia can communicate telepathically with her brother while also emphatically commune with animals, on top of having premonitions. As their childhood memories are extremely foggy, they try to reach the home they see in their minds and escape those who want to use their abilities to make money. Throughout the movie, they manage to use their powers to run from those trying to harm them.
• Ratings: Escape to Witch Mountain has 6.4/10 stars on IMDb and a critics' score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes.

4. Return to Oz (1985)

• Running time: 1h 37 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 10+. Parents find this movie has a positive message and has some good characters, but it sometimes too violent.
• Cast: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh.
• Plot: Just so we can get this out of the way - Return to Oz is the unofficial sequel to The Wizard of Oz based on the same name novel. After her return from Oz, Dorothy's aunt and uncle believe she is fantasizing, and they take her to the doctor for electrotherapy. Just as she's about to receive treatment, lightning strikes, and the power fails, as Dorothy is freed. She wakes up back in Oz, where they find Emerald City in ruins and its citizens turned to stone, except Scarecrow. Ultimately, Dorothy manages to save Oz, but after going through a lot of scary situations, so you may not want to watch this movie with younger kids.
• Ratings: Return to Oz has 6.7/10 stars on IMDb, as well as a 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans like the film better, however, as they offered the film a 71% score.

5. Frankenweenie (2012)

• Running time: 1h 27 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 9+. Parents think the movie has some good characters but can come off rather scary at times, so it's not suitable for a younger audience.
• Cast: Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Charlie Tahan.
• Plot: Frankenweenie puts a spin on the story of Victor Frankenstein in the true style of Tim Burton. The film follows young Victor Frankenstein, whose dog dies getting hit by a car. Pained by grief, Victor brings Sparky back to life with electricity. Once his bullies find out the truth about Sparky, he is forced to tell them how to do it too. Soon enough, the town is filled with reanimated pets, many of which are monstrous. By the time the city is rid of these monsters, Victor is seen as the city's savior.
• Ratings: Frankenweenie has 6.9/10 on IMDb and an 87% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature, as well as other ceremonies.

6. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

• Running time: 2h 23 minutes.
• Age rating: PG-13
• Best for ages: 12+. Parents think the movie ultimately has a good message and some decent characters, but it's certainly not suitable for younger kids due to the violence, mild sexual references, bad language, and Captain Sparrow's penchant for rum. 
• Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley
• Plot: You may not consider Pirates of the Caribbean to be a Halloween film with all the sunshine, and you'd be right about that, but you can't deny there are some scenes that can be scary for kids, like the skeleton pirate crew, or that nasty false eyeball that keeps popping out. The film follows Captain Jack Sparrow trying to get back The Pearl from Barbossa and his cursed crew that turns into skeletons under the moonlight. 
• Ratings: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl has 8/10 stars on IMDb out of over 1 million reviews and a solid 79% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Viewers also love the film, with over 33 million of them offering the film an average score of 86%. 

7. Coco (2017)

• Running time: 1h 45 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 7+. Coco is considered by parents to be highly educational, sharing a good message and some positive role models. However, some scenes may be scary to a younger audience, as ghosts and skeletons abound.
• Cast: Anthony Gonzales, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Gabriel Iglesias.
• Plot: Coco is the story of Miguel, a young boy who loves music but is forbidden by his family to pursue his passion after his great grandmother was left by her husband to pursue a career in music. Ahead of the Day of the Dead, he discovers a photograph of his great grandmother and a man carrying a famous guitar, so he assumes the famous Ernesto de la Cruz is his relative. During Day of the Dead, Miguel ends up on the Land of the Dead, mingling among various ancestors of his and many other ghosts. He goes through some life-threatening situations but ultimately discovers the truth about his family and his legacy. Coco is a wonderfully-animated movie that teaches us a lot about family, love, and traditions you may now know much about. 
• Ratings: Coco has 8.4/10 stars on IMDb and a whooping critics rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as 94% from the audience.

8. James and the Giant Peach (1996)

• Running time: 1h 19 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 7+. Parents believe the film has a slight educational value, but most of all, it has a positive message and some great characters. There are some scary situations, however, so you should be aware of that.
• Cast: Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite, Susan Sarandon.
• Plot: The film is based on the same-named novel by Roald Dahl. It tells the story of James Henry Trotter, a young orphan who's forced to live with his aunts. After he rescues a spider, he meets an old man who gives him a bag of crocodile tongues before vanishing without a trace. He drops the crocodile tongues near a peach tree, which causes a huge peach to grow on the tree. James finds his way inside the tree, where he meets some anthropomorphic insects whom he joins on an adventure.
• Ratings: On IMDb, James and the Giant Peach has 6.7/10 stars, while Rotten Tomatoes critics offered it a 91% rating.

9. Maleficent (2014)

• Running time: 1h 37 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 9+. Parents feel the film has a positive message and some great role models, but also some education value overall. However, the film features quite a few violent scenes.
• Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Imelda Staunton.
• Plot: The movie tells the story of Maleficent, a powerful fairy protecting the Moors, a magical realm bordering a human kingdom. Devastated by her beloved's betrayal, Maleficent finds out his infant princess is being christened, so she shows up and curses the infant to prick her finger on a spinning wheel spindle to fall into a permanent sleep. The only antidote is true love's kiss. As Aurora is sent away to live with three pixies to protect her until after her 16th birthday, Maleficent keeps an eye over her, and Aurora believes she is her fairy godmother. The relationship between them grows over time, and Aurora ends up saving Maleficent's life. Ultimately she is crowned as queen of the Moors and hopes to unite the two kingdoms. The movie tells a story of redemption and love and gives Maleficent a lot more depth than previous stories did. 
• Ratings: Maleficent has 7/10 stars on IMDb, while critics gave it a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, although viewers were far more generous, with a 70% rating. The movie was nominated at the Oscars for Best Costume Design, as well as a ton of other award shows, winning a bunch of them.

10. Hocus Pocus (1993)

• Running time: 1h 36 minutes.
• Age rating: PG
• Best for ages: 10+. Parents believe the film isn't appropriate for younger kids, but that it does push the right message and features some good role models. However, the violence and mild sexual references make it unfit for kids younger than 10.
• Cast: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy.
• Plot: A group of three witches is killed back in Salem in the 1600s, but they vow to return. Three hundred years later, they are brought back to life, and besides trying to adjust to a new world, they start to suck the life of children once more in order to regain their own youthfulness. The witches are defeated by the end of the movie, but they once more plan on returning. There are some nasty moments here and there, but they're done in the playful and spooky spirit of Halloween, rather than in a gory-horror-movie type of way.
• Ratings: The film has 6.9/10 stars on IMDb, indicating that even though it wasn't a blockbuster hit back in the day, it has gained a cult following ever since. Rotten Tomatoes critics give it a 37% rating, while audiences give it a 71% rating.