MovieChat Forums > The Halloween Tree (1993) Discussion > Very interesting and unique film, indeed

Very interesting and unique film, indeed


Yes. This movie is very unique in tone and content. It used to be on youtube but I can't find it there now.

Pip was supposed to be the very embodiment of childhood and he was dying. You don't even see him till his ghost comes out from behind that creepy chair with a smiling face on it. As a ghost he still acts like himself cause he tries to help Wally get back on his feet after falling over. But his ghost is completely silent. (At first, at least.) It's very eerie.

I used to think that maybe Pip was a bit more arrogant than the other kids and that he did something to piss Moundshroud off, which made Pip owe him his life. Or maybe he made a bet with Moundsgroud and lost. But it's also possible that it was just Pips time to die and Moundshroud was some sort of undertaker doing his job. All this is never really explained, and I think that's kind of brilliant. It made me wonder as a child while watching the film, what made Pip so important to Moundshroud.

I also find it heartwarming that Pips friends love him enough to go through a crazy creepy time travel ride with some evil looking guy, just for a chance to try and save his life. Each encounter the kids have with him feels authentic. Jenny seemed to have a crush on Pip which he was very sweet about. Tom was his best friend. Others recall times with Pip where they were causing mischief and getting trouble. And yet, every time they have a chance at actually communicate with Pip.. he's still in some unnatural state. I remember with Ralphie Pip was inside a sarcophagus with his face on it. Rather than opening it, Ralphie spoke to him through it. With Wally, Pip was made out of stone and water was spurting out his mouth. Pip's voice was always ghostly and he told them that he felt faint and believed he'd be dead very soon.

It's all quite depressing and unsettling. I don't know what it is about kids films that were made in the 80's and 90's but they're a lot more gut wrenching than most things released afterwards. The ghosts and mummies and dead people are creepily designed as well. I also remember a random pillar with a face carved into it. Raphlie asked "Pip didn't go in there, did he?" And the face answered "Yeeeeeessss." It didn't move but dust fell from it's lips. And not only is this accepted as normal but it's never mentioned again. Weird.

I think the scariest element of this film is just how *personal* it feels. It feels like you're watching and listening to real children trying to save their friend. And the creepiness doesn't phase them. I mean they DO get scared (who wouldn't?) but the goal is always to save Pip. I think that makes the near end of the movie where they all give away a year of their lives hit even harder. It also made me wonder; does that mean Pip gets to live the rest of his life or does Pip just live for the next 4 years? Also it's a bit unclear what happened to Moundshroud after that day. The narrator says that he 'blew out his own candle'. Does that mean he committed suicide? You see all the pumpkins leaving after that.

But on top of all this, the movie was created to teach kids about the meaning of Halloween from different time periods and cultures. And that alone is pretty awesome. I've yet to come across such a strange and well made animated film made for Halloween like this one. It's very nostalgic for me and yes I was frightened by certain scenes when I was little. The worst scene for me was near the end where Tom needs to run through the mausoleum full of zombies moaning and trying to grab him, in order to get to Pip who's standing at the end covered in cobwebs. Even the lead up to this scene is scary because of the score and just the foreboding feeling.

I wish they made movies like this nowadays. Although, 'Monster House' was pretty unique and scary as well. LOL I'm a helpless nostalgia victim I guess.

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It also made me wonder; does that mean Pip gets to live the rest of his life or does Pip just live for the next 4 years?


The impression I always got from the book is that Pipkin would get his full life in exchange for the one year each boy gave up at the end of his life. There's no indication that it's a one-to-one exchange.

Also it's a bit unclear what happened to Moundshroud after that day. The narrator says that he 'blew out his own candle'. Does that mean he committed suicide? You see all the pumpkins leaving after that.


The book ends with one last jack-o-lantern lit on the Halloween Tree, and that's the pumpkin bearing Moundshroud's image. He blows it out, then retreats back into the house. Moundshroud is a supernatural being, sometimes an agent of death (he tells Tom that he'll see him again years later), although not the only such agent as he refers to Mr. Doom or Mr. Bones possibly coming to collect on the debt from the boys years later. So no, he doesn't commit suicide at the end. Most likely he retreated back to wherever he came from, and may possibly return on subsequent Halloweens, when the veil between the physical and spirit worlds are at their most permeable.

I highly recommend reading Bradbury's original book on which the movie is based. It's a very quick read, at only 145 pages with large fonts and illustrations.

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Good analysis. I agree, it's very unique. Extremely nostalgic for me too, absolutely love the film to this day.

Different times, man. I remember growing up with stuff like are you afraid of the dark, and I think it's growing up with stuff like that and the halloween tree that I have such a vivid imagination and passion for film in general.

The part where pip becomes stone fountain type of deal really creeped me out.

See you at the party, Richter!

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