Halloween Blog

Archive for February, 2010

Spongebob Squarepants is one of the most unusual kids TV characters to become an icon. The small yellow sea sponge along with his pet snail Gary and best friend and starfish Patrick Star have left their mark on children’s TV and have become as iconic as the Sesame Street characters or Dora the Explorer.  Spongebob Squarepants costumes, along with costumes of other characters from the show, are perennial Halloween favorites and other Spongebob merchandize like clothing, DVDs, video games and toys can be found in almost every child’s closet and playroom.

Originally the character of Spongebob Squarepants first appeared in 1984 when Marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg started drawing comics and animated figures. He was fascinated with animation and eventually left his job as a marine biologist to attend school to study animation. He received a Masters degree in animation and went to work for Nickelodeon in the last 1990s, when Nickelodeon’s children’s programming was just starting to take off. While he was working on several different shows for Nickelodeon he started developing the Spongebob character, his friends, and their city called Bikini Bottom more seriously.  He pitched the show to Nickelodeon, where producers weren’t too sure about it at first, and went on to have one of the biggest successes that the channel has ever had with the show in its final form. The tenth anniversary of the show will occur in July, and a special documentary about everyone’s favorite sea creatures is in production to be broadcast in line with the anniversary.

One of the reasons why Spongebob is so popular is because the writers work hard to make it appeal to parents as well as kids.  The trend of making content for kids TV shows and kids movies that has inside jokes which will make parents laugh and to include references that parents will find funny started with Spongebob Squarepants.  The writers wanted to make sure that the parents who were watching TV with their kids were also engaged in the show and they wanted to encourage parents to watch TV with their kids. Including content that would be missed by the kids but would appeal to the parents was a brilliant way to make sure that adults and kids would both like the show.

The Spongebob Squarepants feature length film was a box office success, and amusement park and theme park rides and attractions based on the Spongebob world that feature underwater interactive displays, water slides and water attractions, and even song and dance shows are very popular and draw in thousands of visitors per year.  Even after ten years the show is still popular and consistently one of the top three most watched kids shows.  Spongebob Squarepants has been nominated for dozens of awards over the years ranging from Kid’s Choice awards to critics awards for excellence in children’s programming and awards from parents groups for the consistently high quality of the show.

You don’t have to be a tech expert or special effects guru to create a truly spooky environment on Halloween. Whether you’re creating a spooky Haunted House for the neighborhood kids or decorating your house for a Halloween party a few simple pieces of equipment and these tips can help you create the perfect Halloween atmosphere. There are few basic pieces of equipment that you’ll need to turn your home into a Halloween nightmare. You’ll need:

Lights – Halloween lights are an essential piece of decorating gear for Halloween. If you want to create a festive, welcoming, party atmosphere that is cheerful and not overly frightening use orange or yellow lights. You can get Halloween lights in fun shapes like pumpkins, candy corns, and other Halloween shapes to add to the festivity of the decor.  If you want to create a dark and spooky atmosphere choose purple Halloween lights. Purple lights will provide enough light to give the room atmosphere and make it possible for people to see but it will still be dark and shadowy.  Black lights are a must have for Halloween. You can use Black light bulbs in your regular fixtures to change the light in the room or you can buy special Black lights that can easily clip anywhere to provide atmosphere light.

Use Halloween lights on your walkways and paths to make sure that small Trick or Treaters or guests coming to your Halloween party can see their way clearly. Halloween luminaria, or candles places in paper bags filled with sand, are an excellent choice for people with uneven sidewalks or long driveways.  You can also buy Glow Sticks as party favors, so that guests will have lights that they can carry with them to help them see.

Strobe lights – Strobe lights come in classic White and also in colors. Strobe lights make everything look like it’s moving in slow motion so use a strobe light to highlight a particularly scary decoration or performance.

Fog machine – Fog machines are not just for nightclubs. You can buy inexpensive fog machines created for Halloween use and bottled fog solution to put in the machine. You will use more fog solution than you think you will so buy two more bottles than you think you need so that you’ll be sure to have enough. Fog machines are the best way to create a truly spooky Halloween atmosphere. Set up one outdoors to spray a light foggy mist around your door that your guests and Trick or Treaters need to walk through to get to the door so that they’re scared upon arrival. A light layer of fog through a yard decorated to look like a graveyard is eerie and perfect for Halloween.

When you use fog inside it disorients people just a little bit, like when you walk into a smoky nightclub, so you can use fog to keep people on edge and off balance. Fog combined with great decorations, low light, and the right music and sound effects will create an atmosphere that will scare almost anyone.

The critically acclaimed show that was a ratings bust is coming to theaters as a full length movie, although no release date has been officially confirmed. Arrested Development was a TV show that ran on the Fox network from 2003-2006 and got lots of critical acclaim even though it had few viewers. The critics loved the satirical show following a formerly wealthy, completely dysfunctional family as they tried to adjust to life being poor.  Even now many critics will say that Arrested Development was the best sitcom ever made.  Even though there was a lot of buzz about the show from critics it never really caught on with mainstream audiences. The show is still a cult hit with a very devoted fan following, but at its highest point the show only averaged a few million viewers which meant it was not a commercial success.

In 2006 Fox pulled the show, citing the low ratings, and even a remarkable letter and Internet campaign mounted by the show’s die hard fans couldn’t save it. After that the talk of making an Arrested Development movie started, and all the stars of the show agreed that they would be involved in a movie project.

It makes perfect sense for the creators to make a big screen version of the show since one of the creators is world famous director Ron Howard.  Ron Howard got the idea for the show in 2002 when he became interested in the idea of creating a documentary style TV show using hand held cameras and other documentary style film work to create a show that looked like reality TV, but was really a comedy that was entirely scripted.  Inspired by the financial scandals of the early 2000s he decided to make the show about a disgraced executive, George Michael Bluth, who worked for a model home company and his family who are now poor because of his criminal activity. The family business is taken over by relatively sane son Michael, who is the central character in the show.  A host of dysfunctional core family members including Michael’s mother Lucille, his older brother GOB, twin sister Lindsey, and brother in law Tobias. A string of other characters are regulars in the show as well. The Bluth family is played brilliantly by stars like Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Cena and Portia de Rossi.

The long list of guest stars in Arrested Development hint at some big names being attached to the film. Guest stars have included names like Zach Braff, Julia -Louise Dreyfus, Charlize Theron, Ben Stiller, Richard Belzer, Ione Skye, J.K. Simmons, Richard Simmons and Dick Van Patten. There has been no confirmation of any stars returning to reprise their guest roles but all of the original Bluth family actors have committed to the film.  The Arrested Development film will bring the Bluth family back to the millions of hard core fans who tried desperately to save the show and it will introduce them to an entirely new generation of fans.

Another highly anticipated 2010 film is the remake of the classic horror film The Wolfman. There have been many different interpretations of the Wolfman story over the years, just as there have been many different interpretations of other classic horror figures like Dracula and Frankenstein. However, this remake of the 1940s Wolfman film stays very true to the original film.  In this remake a man, Lawrence Talbot, who has been estranged from his family for many years, is tracked down by his future sister in law Gwen Conliffe after his brother disappears.  Their mother is dead, and Lawrence hasn’t seen their father in a long time but he is drawn by Gwen’s pleas for his help and returns home to help search for his brother.  During the time that is spent searching Lawrence finds out that more people from the village have gone missing and a huge fearsome creature is stalking the town and murdering people. Lawrence, his father, and Gwen become drawn into a dark, terrifying and dangerous world as a result of their attempt to stop the murders.

The lead role of Lawrence, who also is the Wolfman, is played by Benicio del Toro. Benicio is known for playing dark, tormented and violent characters. He also has had a fascination with the Wolfman for a long time and collects memorabilia from the original 1940s film.  He brings a darkness to the role that mimics the gothic overtones of the original and also brings the dedication to the role that only comes from having a true fan in the role.  Venerated actor Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Lawrence’s estranged father, and Emily Blount plays Gwen. Sir Anthony Hopkins is no stranger to playing dark characters or to starring in period films and he is a great addition to the cast. Because the film follows the storyline of the original it’s a refreshing change from some of the other interpretations of the classic Wolfman tale. Even though the film is not bringing any groundbreaking insights into Wolfman character into the mix the use of modern special effects and makeup do make Lawrence’s transition from human to monster quite spectacular and innovative.  One of the most frightening aspects of the Wolfman story is the transition and in the original film most of that transition was left to the imagination since the filmmakers didn’t have the kind of special effects necessary to create a miraculous transformation on screen.  These days CGI graphics and modern makeup materials make it possible to transform Lawrence from a man to a monster right in front of the audience.

There’s always a risk for filmmakers who choose to remake a classic film, but in this case the remake is so well done that most fans will probably embrace it. All of the elements that go into making a successful remake of a film like great casting, adherence to the original story, and updated special effects are present in The Wolfman.  Critics and fans will find themselves enthralled with this classic Monster once again.

Another movie that will inspire Halloween.  The 2010 film Beastly is a modern version of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale featuring some young Hollywood heavy hitters like Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen.  In this new version of the classic Beauty and the Beast tale Kendra, played by Mary -Kate Olsen, is a social misfit who is asked to an environmental rally by the handsome but mean Kyle Kingson. Kyle is the most handsome guy in school but also can be a bully and likes to humiliate and bully people he thinks are unattractive like the Goth looking Kendra. After asking Kendra to the rally, which is a huge social event for the school, he ditches her.  Kendra is humiliated, and angry. She is also a witch in disguise, and casts a spell on Kyle turning him into a horrific monster that is supposed to now be afflicted with all of the qualities he finds unattractive in others. He can only break the spell by finding someone to love him in spite of his looks.

Kyle is abandoned by his father, who sends him to live in Brookyn with a maid played by Lisa Gay Hamilton.  Bitterly he withdraws from the world and wonders how he can break the spell. While he is out walking through the city one night he finds a drug addict who has killed a drug dealer. Kyle works out a deal with the man, using the murder as leverage, to take care of and protect the man’s daughter Linda if the man will allow Linda to live with him. So Linda Taylor moves into the house with Kyle and the maid and Kyle gets to work trying to make the beautiful Linda fall in love with him despite his appearance. Linda could be his one chance to break Kendra’s spell and return to having a normal life.

Critics have applauded this version of the fairy tale, and it was listed as number 45 on the list of the top 50 films that will be released in 2010. The star power of the film should make it a big hit with its intended audience, who are already anxiously awaiting its release.  The movie is an adaptation of a romance novel by the same name which was popular because of the unique spin it put on the much loved tale of Beauty and the Beast.  Beastly has been called by some critics CBS’s version of Twilight since the producers of the film announced when they were casting the film that they wanted a hero who resembled Twilight star Rob Pattinson to play the role of Kyle. Whether or not the film is able to match the amazing box office success of the Twilight movies remains to be seen. Even if the film doesn’t do as well as Twilight it still has the potential to be a high grossing film because of the stars in the film and because of the widespread appeal of the Beauty and the Beast story.

Only 269 days Until Halloween!

We figured it was time to throw in a nice countdown post.  Halloween is coming!

Halloween is just around the corner, and the clock is ticking to come up with a costume idea.  If you are attending a party, trick-or-treating with the kids, or are passing out candy, it is always fun to dress up and join in the festivities.  Halloween is a quirky holiday that allows us to dress up to the extreme, letting inhibitions go, and allowing our scary or funny personalities come out.  Remember it is only one night!  Have fun with it!

Here are a few ideas of Halloween costumes to inspire you:

Ghost

It’s a classic and well honestly, cheap as long as you don’t use the 1500 thread count Egyptian Cotton sheet.  If you don’t have an old one “floating around”, you can usually pick up a fairly cheap flat sheet at a store like Walmart.  Be creative.  After cutting out oval shapes for the eyes, maybe your ghost would appreciate some blush and long eyelashes to expose her vulnerability, or a mustache and clever spectacles for a Freudian-style ghost.

Slumber Party

Do you have a Halloween costume day at work?  Dressing up as a gaggling teenager going to a slumber party is an easy and lazy Halloween costume.  Just wear your pajamas to work.  Enjoy comfort in flannel sleep bottoms, a t-shirt and slippers while passing it off as a Halloween costume.  So what if you don’t win the creativity contest during lunch, at least you didn’t have to wear an itchy polyester cat suit with a suffocating mask all day in your cubicle!

Group Costumes

Get your friends or family in the spirit by suggesting a group costume.  It can be a fun experience with idea sharing and shopping.  Some ideas for a group costume are the A-Team, Alice in WonderLand characters or a group of super heroes.  If you have more than one child, have your kids dress up as crayons.  It is super cute!  You can even build on the mentioned slumber party idea, and get a group of co-workers to wear their pajamas to work.

Tabloid Star

With our obsession with tabloids, dressing up as a celebrity is always hit, and usually can be done with items you already own.  Think Paris Hilton, Britney Spears or even Octo-Mom for a funny costume.  You can also take these ideas and put a scary twist on them by adding vampire teeth or fake blood.  What would Kate Gosselin look like with vampire teeth?

The Sexy Costume

It’s true; some of us use Halloween to dress provocatively.  The market is saturated with “sexy nurse”, “sexy pirate” and “sexy Cleopatra” costumes among others.  Have fun with it!  Ignore the jealous eyes and take a chance.  Just know that everyone has done it, or has considered it at one time or another.  It’s only one night!

Whatever your tastes or interests, there is a costume out there on the market for you.  With a little creativity and thought, you’re sure to come up with a great idea and have a Happy Halloween!