flicks for kids: halloween dvd picks

Not Rated
What's It About? Monstrous fun abounds in three episodes filled with furry--and funny!--frights.

Tricks: Preschoolers will relate to Junior, who gets frightened when Ma and Pa Gorg leave him alone in the castle on a dark and stormy night.

Treats: Young viewers may be pleasantly surprised to realize it's their imagination which takes them to the most mysterious places of all.

Not Rated
What's It About? Half a dozen Halloween-themed episodes of Nick favorites, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Wonder Pets!, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Blue's Clues and Ni Hao, Kai-lan.

Tricks: Lost and scared little ones.

Treats: Teamwork solves every problem, and all the stories show that good friends are the best treats of all.

Not Rated
What's It About? Eight vocabulary-enriching episodes, including the title story in which the word is "Halloween."

Tricks: Tobey plots to steal all the Halloween candy in the city.

Treats: Preschoolers will enjoy testing the new words they're introduced to, including "eerie," "supernatural" and, especially, "doppelganger!"

Not Rated
What's It About? A collection of Halloween-themed episodes of Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam, and Thomas & Friends.

Tricks: In Fireman Sam, Norman accidentally starts a fire when he leaves a candle burning in his jack-o'-lantern.

Treats: Celebrating Halloween with some of their favorite characters will be comforting, empowering, and just plain fun for preschoolers.

Not Rated
What's It About? The Bear Family celebrates the season with seven frightfully fun adventures.

Tricks: Papa dresses like a ghost and tries to scare Brother and Sister Bear on an overnight campout until Scout Leader Jane gets wind of his plan and turns the tables on him.

Treats: The Bears bravely enter the Spooky Old Mansion, where they're relieved to learn "Your biggest fears, you may find, are strictly creatures of the mind."

Not Rated
What's It About? A new collection of Halloween-themed episodes of Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Fifi and the Flowertots and Thomas & Friends.

Tricks: Angelina gives her baby-sitter quite a fright when she disobeys her mother and sneaks out in the middle of the night to the adults-only Costume Ball. Young viewers will be nervous to see what the consequences will be.

Treats: In "Bob the Builder," Spud manages to resist eating the pumpkin pie he's volunteered to watch over, and realizes it tastes even better when he waits to share it with friends.

Not Rated
What's It About? Lola faces a double dilemma when her ideas for both a Halloween surprise and costume are thwarted.

Tricks: Mischievous Morton squashes the prized pumpkin Charlie, Lola, Lotta, and Marv have been growing all summer.

Treats: Lola literally lights up the party when she solves her own problems and comes up with a creative and totally surprising costume.

Rated G
What's It About? The gang from the Hundred Acre Wood is excited about celebrating Halloween with their new Heffalump friend, but Lumpy is too scared to go out trick-or-treating.

Tricks: Although the story is filled with "spookables," "gobloons" and "jaggedylanterns," it's absolutely a Halloween treat, empowering first-time trick-or-treaters to overcome their own worries.

Treats: Preschoolers will relate when Pooh laments, "I don't think my tummy can wait," and proceeds to eat everyone's candy. They'll agree with Tigger, who comments, "Mighty impressive for one bear!"

Not Rated
What's It About? Four classic Halloween tales--A Very Brave Witch, By the Light of the Halloween Moon, A Dark, Dark Tale, and Georgie--plus four bonus stories.

Tricks: A creepy chain of events is set off when a girl dangles her toe and taps a tune.

Treats: A young witch and a human girl become friends after discovering they shouldn't be scared of each other just because they're different.

Not Rated
What's It About? The llamas are bringing the treats to the Halloween party, but the bridge is broken and it's up to Diego to save the day.

Tricks: None. This DVD is fright-free.

Treats: Preschoolers will get a kick out of pointing out the animals dressed in costumes--Baby Jaguar as a pirate, the Bobo brothers as ghosts, the llamas as clowns--and will agree with Diego when he says, "That's so cool!"

Not Rated
What's It About? The bunny brother and sister pick out a pumpkin, put up Halloween decorations, and get ready to go trick-or-treating in these silly yet satisfying stories.

Tricks: The only thing scary about these episodes is Max's ability to always get what he wants!

Treats: Little Max says just one word--"candy," "scary," "boo"--in each story, setting the tone for the plot. Preschoolers will root for Max, who always has his own ideas, and they'll think it's hilarious when--despite Ruby's admonitions--he finally gets the pumpkin he had his eye on from the beginning.

Not Rated
What's It About? The Mystery, Inc. gang head to Camp Little Moose to work as counselors but end up having to hunt down the spooky urban legend characters who suddenly appear every time a ghost story is told.

Tricks: Now, this is a camp with a lot of spirit(s)!

Treats: Giant scaredy-cat Scooby shows kids it's okay to be nervous sometimes.

Not Rated
What's It About? The Goth siblings decide to plunder popular Stephanie's Halloween party, leading guests to their monstrous mansion instead.

Tricks: Edgar and Ellen's behavior is frightful as they steal their guests' treats, place a baby shark in the bobbing-for-apples water, and create a growth serum that's reminiscent of Little Shop of Horrors.

Treats: Kids will love the dark humor and may seek out the books by Charles Ogden on which these characters are based.

Not Rated
What's It About? Fat Albert and his friends get more than they bargain for when they decide to play a Halloween prank on spooky old Mrs. Bakewell.

Tricks: Young children may be frightened when, after entering Mrs. Bakewell's house, two trick-or-treaters don't come out.

Treats: Originally released in 1977, Bill Cosby's animated TV special will be just as appealing to today's kids, who will appreciate the camaraderie and good-natured teasing between the friends, and just may pick up Fat Albert's signature, "Hey, hey, hey."

Not Rated
What's It About? R.L. Stine's popular children's books come to life--as do evil lawn gnomes--in these diabolical discs, each containing a trio of terrifying tales.

Tricks: Creepy creatures, from worms and werewolves to blobs and bossy rabbits.

Treats: Kids just may be excused from practicing their instrument after watching "Piano Lessons Can Be Murder" with their parents!

Rated PG
What's It About? Restless and bored of his annual Halloween duties, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington decides to kidnap Santa Claus and take over Christmas instead.

Tricks: The ghoulish atmosphere, macabre humor, and lyrics like "Children throwing snowballs instead of heads, absolutely no one's dead" may terrify very young viewers.

Treats: This delightfully twisted Academy Award-nominated story celebrates the holiday spirit--and spirits--with heart, soul and an impressive array of never-before-seen bonus features.

Not Rated
What's It About? An A-list of actors (including Robin Williams, Billy Crystal and Christopher Reeve) and directors (like Tim Burton and Francis Ford Coppola) re-create stories from the Brothers Grimm to Hans Christian Andersen in this magical collection featuring all 26 episodes of the beloved, award-winning TV series.

Tricks: Wicked witches, evil stepmothers, and creepy creatures.

Treats: What makes this star-powered collection a must-have is that it brings families together to fall under the spell of some of the most enchanted and wondrous stories of all time. This edition is even more special because it includes a 112-page storybook as well as a "3-in-1" card game to inspire more family time.