From Ray Bradbury again comes more Halloween awesomeness. This time in the form of the early 90’s Hanna-Barbera produced animated version of his classic tale The Halloween Tree.

4 friends are lead by the ghost(?) of their pal Pip to a strange and haunted looking mansion on Halloween. There the meet the enigmatic warlock Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, voiced wonderfully by Spock himself, Mr. Leonard Nimoy.

Moundshroud is unimpressed by their treatise for treats, and even more unimpressed by their lack of knowledge regarding Halloween and their costumes.

When their friend Pip’s ghost(?) steals back his soul pumpkin from the warlock’s titular tree, Moundshroud takes the children on an incredible journey through time and space to visit the origins of our hallowed holiday.

Off to Egypt and Stonehenge, to France and Mexico he takes them, seeing the Halloween celebrations and customs of people over the centuries. He forces them to recognize their own festive garb and understand why we celebrate death to appreciate life.

This is a great cartoon with a great message that is made even greater by the addition of Ray Bradbury himself as the narrator, reading his own words the way they should be read.

Essential Halloween viewing that should take place as close to the eve as you can make it. Would definitely make for a perfect family Halloween selection, or as part of an all-ages Halloween night double or triple feature. If you love Halloween, you’ll love this cartoon, and should certainly make a point of tracking it down this year.