Who would have thought that a small, holiday Disney movie like Halloweentown would have the star power it does over 20 years later? Imagining a world where all the monsters from Halloween night live throughout the year is enough to make people's imaginations go into overdrive. In Halloweentown, not only did the Cromwell/Piper children find out there's another universe called Halloweentown, but they also found out they come from a long line of witches.
The movie did so well that three more movies transpired. There were even talks of a fifth! However, while it does seem the fourth Halloweentown will be the franchise's final, there's nothing quite like rewatching these movies on Disney+ and wondering where those beloved actors are today.
Updated on October 11, 2022, by Lynn Gibbs: The Disney Channel Original movie, Halloweentown, spiraled into four movies and made the likes of Kimberly J. Brown (Marnie Piper), Emily Roeske (Sophie Piper), and Joey Zimmerman (Dylan Piper) Disney’s favorite stars. Although it’s been over 20 years since the original movie came out, the Halloweentown franchise is revisited every October to get into the spooky spirit. With it being two decades since the original came out, Disney fans can’t help but wonder what the cast has been up to over the years and where they can watch more of their work.
Phillip Van Dyke As Luke
Phillip Van Dyke played Luke in Halloweentown. Luke was a handsome goblin who had a crush on Marnie but it never amounted to anything. By the end of the movie, fans find out he's actually a goblin and was only handsome because of a spell made by one of Halloweentown's spookiest creatures, Kalabar. Luke realizes that he can trust Marnie (and her family) and helps her go against Kalabar to save Halloweentown.
Van Dyke hasn't done much since Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge. His last acting gig on IMDb was a small role on NYPD Blue in 2003. These days, BuzzFeed noted that Van Dyke is happily married and the father of three children, and according to Bustle he is currently working in sales with a "financial services company."
Robin Thomas As Kalabar
When viewers first meet Kalabar, they're smitten by his charm and eagerness to get to know the Piper children. As the mayor (and later, antagonist), he was one of the more powerful characters from Halloweentown. He was acting incredibly nice to the group, but his behavior was suspicious because he was almost too nice. By the end of the movie, it was Kalabar who was turning Halloweentown into an evil, dark place instead of the light and happy one that it was. He attempted to get a handle on Halloweentown so that he could later take over the mortal.
Outside of his time in Halloweentown, Robin Thomas has been in the acting world since the '50s and is still going strong today. His last acting role was in 2021as Graham Winslow in Mystery 101. He also played Marco Serrano in the beloved series My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Rino Romano As Benny The Skeleton
Benny was the resident cab driver in Halloweentown who also happens to be a skeleton. He's filled with bad jokes and lame puns, but he seemed to genuinely love the Cromwell/Piper family. It was an unpopular opinion not to like Benny at the start of Halloweentown because of his comedic getup.
It came out after the film was released that Benny was actually a robot and that voice actor Rino Romano did his voice afterward. But it's not just in Halloweentown that fans have heard his voice. He's done voicework for a ton of video games and TV shows like Curious George, Spaceballs: The Animated Series, and Batman!
Debbie Reynolds As Aggie
Aggie Cromwell was the lead witch of the Cromwell family. She was the only family member who lived full-time in Halloweentown for years and traveled to the mortal world to visit her daughter Gwen and Gwen's children. Aggie longed to train her granddaughter Marnie to be a witch when she was the appropriate age, but Gwen didn't want her daughter involved with magic. Gwen's plan eventually failed and Aggie taught everything she knew to Marnie. Aggie became a loved character and had some of the best quotes in Halloweentown.
Aggie was played by the late, great Debbie Reynolds. Reynolds is an icon who has been in show business since the '40s. Having her sign on as Aggie was huge for Disney. Sadly, Reynolds died at the age of 84 after having a severe stroke a day after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Her last acting role was in 2015 in a short called The 7D.
Joey Zimmerman As Dylan
Dylan was the middle child and was vastly different from his older sister Marnie and younger sister Sophie. Dylan was intelligent and did everything his mother asked of him. He was the quintessential perfect child. However, when Marnie snuck off to Halloweentown, he followed her to make sure she was okay. He prided himself in being non-magical but as he got older he found out he was a warlock with powers.
Dylan was played by child actor Joey Zimmerman who is still acting on and off today. According to his IMDb, he took a break after Return to Halloweentown, but he's in the latest Thomas and the Magic Railroad: 20th Anniversary Celebration (2020).
Emily Roeske As Sophie
Sophie was the youngest of the Piper children and was always looking for adventure. Her interest in becoming a witch made Halloweentown one of the best Disney Channel Original movies. She was brave and followed Marnie and Dylan to the Halloweentown bus and didn't make herself known until after the bus landed. Sophie begs Aggie to let her and her siblings into her world to learn more, which only made Gwen more annoyed that her children didn't want to be mortals.
Emily Roeske portrayed the adorable Sophie, which happened to be her last role as a child actor. Halloweentown High was the last movie Roeske did professionally. According to Insider, Roeske quit acting and focuses her free time on being a mother and teaching martial arts in Arizona.
Judith Hoag As Gwen
Gwen Piper is a single widow running after three children while trying to hide her witchy past. She has a lot going on when her mother shows up from Halloweentown and she doesn't want anything to do with spells. Gwen comes to her senses, however, and learns to embrace her family's powers while encouraging her eldest daughter Marnie.
Judith Hoag played Gwen perfectly as the overbearing and frightened mother who only wants the best for her kids. And just like Reynolds and Thomas, Hoag also has an impressive resume. She's been in projects like Armageddon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nashville, and has Roll With It in the works.
Kimberly J. Brown As Marnie
Marnie Piper is the eldest of the Piper children and has been clashing with her mother in her teenage years. After Marnie follows her grandmother to Halloweentown, she realizes that she's a witch and wants to focus on her craft so that she can carry on the family name. Her mother, of course, is against it but with Grandma Aggie's help, Marnie succeeds in helping Halloweentown.
As a child, it's hard to say that Kimberly knew she'd be in one of the best Halloween movies because she found a lot of success after playing Marnie. She starred in Guiding Light for eight years, she was in another Disney movie called Quints, and she was in Low Winter Sun. She has two projects in the works in pre- and post-production. Aside from acting, Kimberly has been selling Halloweentown-inspired merchandise on Etsy!