Let's begin with the elephant in the room... the recasting of Marnie. Normally, I absolutely hate it when a beloved character gets recast, but this one didn't bother me all that much. Sara Paxton was given a challenging task and she handled it well. She's likable and stays true to Marnie's character. However, there is another character who's absence hurt the movie a bit more. While Debbie Reynolds isn't completely absent, she might as well have been. She's there long enough to explain why she's not going to be there. Because of these changes with these two characters, many haven't treated this movie fairly. In truth, there's more story here than we see in the first movie. The Dominion are far greater a villain than what we were given in that first movie, and we're given a Halloweentown movie that takes place almost completely in the world of Halloweentown. This movie also has Lucas Grabeel return and his likability can only improve a DCOM. Even with so much up against it, this is a fun movie and gives off some real Harry Potter vibes.
Review of Return to Halloweentown
