Inspired by the Day of the Dead holiday in Mexico, when spirits are said to pass freely between worlds, The Book of Life takes an extremely colorful, lighthearted approach to what could be dark and frightening material. After all, venturing into new territories for the first time requires courage to overcome any fear of the unknown, yet the movie beckons viewers with a hearty welcome and the promise of a grand adventure.
It's relatively rare to see animated fare depict any type of journey into fear, but, perhaps surprisingly for horror movie fans, it works more often than not, as the following list makes clear.
Toy Story of Terror! (2013)
A follow-up to the wonderful Toy Story 3, originally broadcast as a Halloween television special, Toy Story of Terror! brings back all of our favorite characters from the Pixar movies only to make them all disappear one by one. It's up to Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) to overcome her fears and save the day -- and all her friends.
Frankenweenie (2012)
What could be more disturbing to a young child than the thought of losing their beloved animal companion? Young Victor is determined not to allow death to separate him from his faithful dog Sparky, which takes him on a secretive journey filled with unexpected challenges.
ParaNorman (2012)
Poor Norman! He enjoys communicating with the dead in his small hometown, but no one believes him. So when a crisis occurs, he must overcome their disbelief and his own self-doubts to recruit help and save everyone.
Coraline (2009)
Left to her own devices after a cross-country move, lonely young Coraline discovers a strange new world that proves to be quite a bit more sinister than expected. She must face her own fears in order to ensure peace for her family and new neighbors.
Monster House (2006)
Talk about overcoming your fears -- three youngsters are the only ones who realize that a nearby house is actually a, er, well, uh, a monster (?!). No one believes them, of course, which means they must go inside the horrifying house to deal with the problem.
