WHERE ARE THE CAST OF THE HALLOWEENTOWN MOVIES?
The Halloweentown movies are some of the best family-friendly Halloween movies out there! With the first movie in the series coming out in 1998 and the last in 2006, it’s natural to wonder what the cast has been up to in recent years. Consider the following the first in my Where Are They Now series!
The Main Cast of Halloweentown
Aggie Cromwell (Debbie Reynolds)
Aggie Cromwell was the grandma in the series and was played by the super talented Debbie Reynolds. Debbie is most famous for her role in 1952s Singin’ in the Rain and is the mother of Carrie Fisher, better known as Princess Leia from Star Wars.
I regret to say that Debbie passed away just after Christmas, 2016. Less than a week after the loss of her daughter.
Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown)
Marnie is the protagonist of the series and is a young witch played by Kimberly J. Brown – although only appearing in the first three instalments. Kimberly never broke it “big” in Hollywood, but has guest starred in the odd TV show and done some voice work such as A Bug’s Life (1998), and continues to popup in various TV projects.
She apparently runs her own Etsy shop, CraftilyCreative (apparel, Halloweentown merch etc) and takes custom orders!
Special bonus update about her later down. Keep an eye out 😉
Dylan Piper (Joey Zimmerman)
Joey Zimmerman played Dylan, Marnie’s smart and skeptic little brother in all four movies. Unfortunately, it looks like Joey has taken a step back from acting to pursue other projects such as his music, directing, DnD, and photography.
Sophie Piper (Emily Roeske)
Emily Roeske was the youngest Cromwell witch, Sophie. Sadly, the only notable film work she has ever done was the Halloweentown series. She currently works as a martial arts instructor and is 3rd degree black belt!
Gwen Cromwell Piper (Judith Hoag)
Judith Hoag played Gwen, the mother to Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie. Judith has been in many big movies such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Armageddon (1998), and has been doing a lot of guest appearances in TV Shows such as Nashville and Grimm.
Luke (Phillip Van Dyke)
Luke was the punk turned good-guy in the first two films. Phillip is primarily known for doing voices in Hey Arnold!. He, unfortunately, has been away from acting for a decade now.
Kalabar (Robin Thomas)
Robin Thomas portrayed Kalibar, the main villain of the first film. His most recent blockbuster appearance was in 2013s Pacific Rim. He has also made numerous TV show appearances.
Kal (Daniel Kountz)
Kal was the main villain of the second film, Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001). Daniel has primarily done voice work and TV appearances such as L.A. Noire (2011), and My Crazy Roommate (2013).
Oh, and not a big deal, but he’s he is currently planning a wedding… with Kimberly J. Brown! That’s right, Marnie and Kal are engaged in real life.
Gort (Blu Mankuma)
Blue Mankuma played the angry-then-boring Gort in the second Halloweentown movie. He’s most known for Upside Down (2012) and 2012 (2009).
Cody (Finn Wittrock)
Cody was Marnie’s crush in Halloweentown High (2004) and was played by Finn Wittrock. Finn has had a pretty successful last couple of years starring in Noah (2014), and The Big Short (2015). He is also a mainstay in the show American Horror Story (2014), so I expect we will be seeing a lot more of him in the years to come.
Principal Flannigan (Clifton Davis)
Principal Flannigan is the principal of Marnie’s school and a descendant of the Knights of the Iron Dagger. He originally helps steak the Cromwell’s magic, but changed after he fell for Aggie Cromwell. Clifton is primarily known for his work in late 90s TV but is still acting in numerous shows such as Madam Secretary (2015).
Ethan the Warlock (Lucas Grabeel)
Appearing in Halloweentown High (2004) and Return to Halloweentown (2006), Ethan betrays his power hungry father to save the Cromwells and renounces his powers becoming a mortal.
Lucas is almost definitely most known for his role as Ryan in the High School Musical series but has continued to offer his talent to various shows. He has lent his voice to many Family Guy episodes and starred in the show Switched at Birth (2011).
Natalie the Pink Troll (Olesya Rulin)
Natalie is a troll who is a part of the exchange student program between Halloweentown and the human world in Halloweentown High (2004) . She shares a few things in common with Dylan Piper, who develops a crush on her. Olesya is also most known for her role in the High School Musical series and starring in the TV show Powers (2015).
Marnie Piper V2 (Sara Paxton)
Unfortunately, Kimberly J. Brown was unable to reprise her role as Marnie in the fourth movie, Return to Halloweentown (2006), so Sara Paxton stepped in to fill the spot.
Sara has had some success primarily doing monster/horror movies such as The Innkeepers (2011), Shark Night 3D (2011), and Superhero Movie (2008), and recently a small part in Barbarian (2022). She’s done a bunch of other shows and movies, but this is Horriflick after all.
Prof. Persimmon Periwinkle (Millicent Martin)
Millicent Martin played the sweet professor in Return to Halloweentown (2006) who helped Marnie acclimate to university life. Millicent is still going strong at 89 and I most recently saw her in an episode of Modern Family (she played the woman Phil’s mom wanted his dad to meet).