First, I'm going to say that if you haven't read Ray Bradbury's masterpiece, "The Halloween Tree," go buy it and read it through and through, especially the copy illustrated by Joseph Mugnaini originally published in 1972 by Alfred A. Knopf, Publishing. (The story was originally conceived with co-author, animator, Chuck Jones as a screenplay by Bradbury in 1967). This is some of the best and most poetic of Bradbury's writings. Before the great animation factory of Hanna-Barbera finally closed its doors, they managed to produce this gem of a story using updated and original material and the voice of the author himself as the narrator. The combination of voices and the memorable theme music penned by John Debney, including the great Lenard Nimoy as the magical, chilling, informative, yet somehow comforting Mr. Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, embellishes the animated version with a breezy, leaf filled Fall season feel of warm humanity. At once educational and entertaining, this is one of the greatest and least appreciated features from television's stellar collection of seasonal classics. Like Disney's "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh," from 1964, I expect that someday Warner Brothers will clean up a copy of this motion picture and distribute it on DVD for the sake of its production quality alone. And, were I a producer with a reasonable budget, I could think of no better challenge than to translate this incredible story to live action, hopefully remaining faithful to the heart and soul of Bradbury's original concept.
Review of The Halloween Tree
