Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? (PG)
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Well, last year there was an RL Stine movie (The Haunting Hour) on Cartoon Network a few days after it was released on DVD, this year (2008) this movie was on Disney Channel shortly after being released on DVD. I thought it was a bit odd that it'd be on Disney Channel instead of Cartoon Network, especially since CN is now airing Stine's "Goosebumps" series again, like they did last year. But watching this movie on TV (actually, I DVR'd it and watched it a few days later), I recognize a bunch of stars from various Disney Channel shows that I don't really watch, so I guess it makes sense. (I recognize them, btw, because my sister watches the various shows.)

Anyway, there's this kid named Max, who is practicing a magic act for the school talent show, which will be on Halloween. He has an older brother who likes to mock and scare him and stuff, and a dad who is constantly trying to get him interested in sports (like his older brother), but Max just isn't into that. There's also a bully at school who, you know, bullies him. Meanwhile, there are two ghosts, siblings named Tara and Nicky. Max's family now lives in their house, which surprises them, as does the fact that they're ghosts. They don't know what happened to them, or where their parents are. Plus, there's an evil ghost named Phears, who wants to release a bunch of evil spirits on Halloween. But he's concerned that Max may be able to stop him. It also seems there's some connection between him and the missing parents of Tara and Nicky.

Well, Max is always chanting a line for his magic tricks, something which I guess was on a scrap of paper his dog found. It turns out it's half of a spell needed to banish Phears and the other evil ghosts. And Max meets Tara and Nicky, and agrees to help them out, since only he can see and hear them, and only someone living can enter some tunnel which contains something that's needed to banish Phears. Meanwhile, Tara and Nicky help him out with his magic (and with the school bully). There's also an older girl at school named Traci that he likes (played by Lindsay Lohan's younger sister, Ali). He wants her to become his assistant in his magic act. Which she eventually does.

And I dunno what else to say. For the most part I thought the movie was pretty lame, and there was a point early on when I seriously considered just shutting it off, but I got through it, anyway. And it did have a few mildly amusing moments, I guess. Nothing particularly scary, though. I think a lot of the time Max was scared was just impossible to believe anyone would be scared, but then there were times I suppose anyone would be scared, if they were living it instead of watching it on TV. But definitely not if they were just watching it. Anyway, whatever... it has a happy ending, of course. Evil banished, successful talent show, Max gets his dad's respect, Tara and Nicky plan to look for their parents... So that's kind of open-ended, should be more to the story.

Well, there have been a couple of other "Mostly Ghostly" movies: "Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?" in 2014, and "One Night in Doom House" in 2016. I haven't seen either one, and I have no idea if I ever will.