Debbie Reynolds and her co-star Kimberly J. Brown used to surprise trick-or-treaters on Halloween by answering the door in their respective Halloweentown costumes. Reynolds and Brown starred as a witchy grandma and granddaughter duo in the Disney Channel Original Movie, which first cast a spell over TV viewers in 1998. Brown played Marnie, a teenager who discovers that she comes from a long line of witches after her grandmother Aggie Cromwell (Reynolds) pays a mysterious visit on Halloween. When Marnie and her siblings sneak out and follow grandma home, they find themselves in the mystical world of Halloweentown.
Decades later, the Disney Channel Original Movie's legacy thrives, with Halloweentown and its three subsequent follow-up films being a top holiday watch. While Reynolds appears in all four films, Brown is only in three of them. However, she is cannon for diehard fans, who cannot get enough of Halloweentown behind-the-scenes tidbits and stories. From iconic lines like "being normal is vastly overrated" to a real-life version of Halloweentown that sprouts up in the movie's shooting location of St. Helen's Oregon every year, the magic lives on. Though Reynolds sadly passed away in 2016, Brown upholds the lore of the film by openly embracing the fandom.
Brown beamed about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working with Reynolds during a recent appearance on The Art of Kindness with Robert Peterpaul podcast. She told Peterpaul that the Hollywood staple inspired her to surprise kids trick-or-treating on Halloween by answering the door in her Halloweentown costume. Check out the clip below:
As legend has it, Reynolds kept Aggie's velvet cloak and would answer the door for trick-or-treaters in character. Brown loved the idea and ran with it, doing the same thing for a couple of years until she started to get unexpected visitors all year round. Despite having to stop, the actress says that it was so fun to see people's reactions when she answered the door. Brown often shares that she got to keep some costumes and props from Halloweentown, so it makes sense that she was able to pull off the epic surprise.
The Halloweentown fandom appreciates the fact that Brown steps back into the spotlight every spooky season to share stories and connect with lovers of the film. Though she isn't answering the door in costume anymore, she does post various videos inspired by Halloweentown on social media and even creates her own movie merchandise through an Etsy shop called Craftily Creative. There's nothing more magical than when actors go out of their way to fully maintain the world of their most beloved projects.
Source: The Art of Kindness Podcast