[Interview] Kimberly J. Brown Talks ‘Halloweentown’ Legacy, Halloween at Her Home, and More
Disney’s 1998 made for cable family Halloween movie Halloweentown became part of the fabric of Halloween itself for a generation that is now sharing it with their kids, keeping the magic alive, and we talked to the film’s breakout star Kimberly J. Brown, who played teen witch Marnie Cromwell, about the legacy of the films, what the holiday means to her today, and more.
Asked when she realized Halloweentown had truly become iconic and a Halloween tradition for millions of families, she tells HDN, “I watched it grow over the years, which has been so exciting. The first Halloweentown debuted to such great numbers on the channel, so we definitely knew that people were enjoying it. Then we got to do sequels, so we were slowly watching it all happen, but I think certainly it took on a whole extended life when social media came out, and people making memes and just really being able to share in that love on social media of the movies.
“The moment that truly blew me away – I think it was about eight or nine years ago – was the first that I went back to St. Helens, Oregon, where we filmed Halloweentown. They make a Spirit of Halloweentown festival every year to celebrate the movies. So I went back there to light the pumpkin, because they created a pumpkin just like in the movie and put in the town square, and so much of the town where we shot is still there and still intrinsic to their town. Like the city hall that’s very prominent in Halloweentown is St. Helen’s City Hall and the building looks exactly like that still to this day.
“The first year I went back there, there was over 15,000 people that showed up to this small town. The roads were packed. I had to have several officers walk me through the crowd. There was people hanging out on rooftops, because there wasn’t enough seating. It was amazing. It was a night I’ll never forget, because people traveled from all over the world to come in to see the town and to see me, and I was like, wow, these movies have grown just far beyond anything I could have imagined.
“I am so honored to be a part of people’s Halloween traditions in that way. It’s really special.”
In our fun video conversation, we also talked about some Brown’s personal favorite traditions in celebrating Halloween with her Halloweentown II co-star Daniel Kountz, who played the villainous Kal Jr. and who she married in April of this year, and what Halloween at their house is like.
We also discussed her current partnership with McAlister’s Deli to launch their sweet new Halloween-inspired limited time offerings – the Witch’s Brew and Trick or Treat Cookie – available now through October 31 at locations nationwide while they last. As Kimberly explained, the Witch’s Brew is McAlister’s old-fashioned lemonade made with cane sugar, lemon juice, and a bewitching addition of caramel apple syrup, while the Trick-or-Treat Cookie is a sweet, buttery cookie, sprinkled with festive orange and purple Halloween colors and a spooky cream cheese filling.
You can watch our full interview with Kimberly J. Brown below.
Related: [Interview] Judith Hoag Reflects on Her Time in Halloweentown
