"Being normal is vastly overrated."
Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds uttered these very words while playing grandmother witch Agatha "Aggie" Cromwell in the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie, Halloweentown. In the made-for-TV movie, 13-year-old Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) learns she's a witch and travels to another world to help grandma Aggie (Reynolds) fight an unknown evil-doer.
After debuting on Disney Channel on Oct. 17, 1998, Halloweentown inspired three sequel films, Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge, Halloweentown High and Return to Halloweentown. (Although, die-hard fans don't acknowledge the fourth film due to the Marnie recast. We promise, it isn't personal Sara Paxton.)
Regardless, it's safe to say that Halloweentown and its follow-up films have become a staple for spooky season. However, as it's been 23 years since Halloweentown premiered, we can't help but wonder what the Cromwell-Piper clan is up to these days.
Thankfully, we did a bit of digging and have magical updates on all your favorite witches, goblins and warlocks.
For example, did you know a love match was made thanks to Halloweentown? Yes, one of our leads reconnected with a co-star years after filming the sequel film. Not to mention, you'll never guess who is married and a mom now.
In honor of Halloweentown's 23rd anniversary, we're taking a look back at the cast then and giving an update on what they're up to now.
Before you dive in, remember the film's mantra, "Halloween is cool."
Then: Before landing her role on Halloweentown, Kimberly J. Brown found success as a child model and on the soap opera Guiding Light, which earned her a Daytime Emmy nomination. However, Kimberly is still best known for playing 13-year-old witch Marnie Piper opposite film legend Debbie Reynolds in Disney Channel's Halloweentown.
Brown portrayed Marnie in three of the four Halloweentown films, including Halloweentown, Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge and Halloweentown High.
Now: Following her success in the Halloweentown films, Kimberly continued acting and landed roles in Be Cool, Low Winter Sun and other projects. Per her IMDB page, Kimberly is currently in pre-production for Abducted?, a thriller that lists Billy Ray Cyrus as a co-star. She also plays Nurse Chloe Jennings (a.k.a. Marie Hopkins) on General Hospital.
Not to mention, after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in business, Kimberly and a friend launched an Etsy shop, which features Halloweentown-centric goods. Oh, and let's not forget about the children's book she wrote with Diane Yslas, titled Poppin's Pumpkin Patch Parade.
As for her personal life? Kimberly got engaged to Daniel Kountz, a.k.a. Kal, her nemesis in Halloweentown II, in June 2022, with their magical love story delighting the franchise's fanbase.
"It's been pretty fun getting to watch the fans' reactions to it over the years," Kimberly exclusively told E! News in 2021 in their first joint interview as a couple. "It cracks us up."
Then: When Debbie Reynolds accepted the role of Agatha Cromwell in Halloweentown, she was already a Hollywood legend. She starred in three of the Halloweentown films and had a cameo in the fourth, titled Return to Halloweentown.
Debbie's breakout role was in the 1952 musical film, Singin' in the Rain. She went on to have a successful career on the stage, big screen and small screen, earning several Golden Globe nominations, an Academy Award nomination and a Tony Award nomination.
Debbie received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2015 Academy Awards.
She was famously married to singer Eddie Fisher, but they divorced after his affair with Elizabeth Taylor. Debbie and Eddie had two children together, Star Wars' Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher.
Now: Debbie passed away at 84 years old on December 28, 2016, just one day after daughter Carrie died from cardiac arrest. The acting legend's autopsy ruled an intracerebral hemorrhage the cause of death.
"She went to be with Carrie. In fact, those were the last words that she spoke this morning," son Todd shared with E! News at the time. "More specifically, she said that she really, she was under a lot of stress."
Todd continued, "She held it together beautifully, obviously, for the last couple of days but she was under a lot of emotion and stress from the loss [of Carrie] and it's pretty much what triggered this event."
A portion of Carrie's ashes were laid to rest next to Debbie's tomb in the Hollywood Hills.
Then: Prior to starring in Halloweentown as Gwen Cromwell Piper, Judith Hoag was known for her roles in the 1990 films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cadillac Man. Not to mention, she had several TV roles on her resume, including Wolf, Roseanne, Melrose Place and countless others.
She went on to star in all four Halloweentown films.
Now: After Halloweentown, Judith continued her successful TV career with a recurring role on HBO's Big Love and a notable part on ABC's Nashville. You may recognize Judith from one of her 60-plus guest appearances on television as she's also appeared on The Magicians, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Weeds, Castle, Criminal Minds, The Middle and many more.
Judith has since divorced husband Vince Grant, whom she shares two children with.
Then: Phillip Van Dyke found quite a bit of success as a child actor in the late '90s and early '00s. In addition to his work in the first two Halloweentown films, Phillip voiced Arnold in season two of Hey Arnold! and was the lead in Nickelodeon's short-lived Noah Knows Best. However, by 2003, Phillip retired from acting, with a guest role on NYPD Blue serving as his last credit.
Now: Nowadays, Phillip is living his life out of the spotlight as a father of three. During a 2015 interview with Bustle, Phillip said he runs "a sales floor for a financial services company." At one point, a link on his Instagram bio led to a Better Business Bureau review for American Wealth Financial.
Then: Before starring in Halloweentown, Joey Zimmerman got his big break acting in the Jamie Lee Curtis-led thriller, Mother's Boys. He also appeared in the TV shows Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. and Earth 2.
Still, Joey's most notable role to date is playing Dylan Piper in the Halloweentown franchise. Like Judith Hoag, Joey starred in all four of the TV movies. Amid his Halloweentown success, Joey had guest starring roles on That ‘70s Show, 7th Heaven, Felicity and other shows.
Now: These days, Joey is a photographer and is the co-creator of ZFO Entertainment, which is described as "the last word in geek entertainment."
In regards to his personal life, Joey married Becky Zimmerman in 2020.
Then: Halloweentown was certainly Emily Roeske's big break, having only two other credits on her resume before it. To be fair, Emily was 7 years old when the Disney Channel Original Movie came out.
Emily continued on with the franchise through the second and third films. She also had a guest role on ER.
Now: While it appears that Emily has retired from acting after appearing in Halloweentown High, she's certainly kept busy over the years. She married Mitch Chapman in 2013 and they have a daughter, Evie Marie.
Apparently, Emily has become a third-degree black belt and even taught mixed martial arts at Surprise Family Karate in Surprise, Arizona. However, per Google, Surprise Family Karate has since shut down.
Then: Before playing Halloweentown's villain Kalabar, Robin Thomas had several notable credits on his resume. In addition to the Disney Channel hit, you may recognize Robin from his starring roles on Another World and The Mommies. He's also appeared in countless TV shows, including Who's the Boss, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, Murphy Brown, Party of Five and more.
Now: Robin is still busy acting, especially in TV. Most recently, Robin had recurring roles on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Zoo, Fuller House and Law & Order True Crime, to name a few.
Then: For Kenneth Choi, Halloweentown was his big break. He may not have had a large role, playing the groovy salesman that sells Marnie her first broom, but it was certainly a memorable part as he got to act opposite Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds.
Now: Although Kenneth had a minor role in Halloweentown, his career has certainly taken off since then. For starters, Kenneth landed a recurring role on Sons of Anarchy. He then went on to appear opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street and portrayed Judge Lance Ito in the critically acclaimed The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. His other notable credits include The Last Man on Earth, Captain America: The First Avenger, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Suicide Squad. Currently, Kenneth is starring in Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1.
Then: Prior to playing Kalabar's wicked son in Halloweentown II, Daniel already had a handful of credits on his resume. In addition to starring in a TV movie with Kirsten Dunst, titled Fifteen and Pregnant, he also appeared on Boston Public, ER, 3rd Rock from the Sun and others.
Now: Although Daniel has had some recent acting credits, he is also working hard as a real estate agent. And, as we mentioned before, he's engaged to Kimberly J. Brown after the pair reconnected in 2016.
"I know it took me by surprise," Daniel admitted to E! News in an exclusive interview. "I hadn't seen her in years and I'm waiting I'm sitting at the bar waiting and she comes walking in and I was like, 'Well hello there it's been a while, hi!' So it was pretty much just right away I was like, damn girl."
Then: In the fourth and final installment of the franchise in 2006, Marnie was recast and Sara, who had previously starred in teen moves such as Aquamarine and Sleepover, took over the witchy role. "I was definitely disappointed," Kimberly J. Brown told E! News in 2019, with Halloweentown creator Sheri Singer explaining, "That was not something we wanted to do. We could not come to terms that we felt were fair. We just weren't able to. We couldn't make the deal work."
Around the time of her Halloweentown takeover, Sara led the remake of The Last House on the Left and also appeared in Sydney White, Superhero Movie and The Wizards of Waverly Place.
Now: After starring in The CW's shortlived drama The Beautiful Life, Sara went on to make guest appearances on hit TV shows such as This Is Us, How to Get Away With Murder and Twin Peaks. She also had a recurring role on Good Girls and most recently co-starred opposite Ana de Armas in Netflix's Blonde.
In 2019, Sara married Zach Cregger.
Then: Two years before landing his breakout role as Ryan Evans in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, Lucas starred as Marnie's love interest Ethan Dalloway in 2004's Halloweentown High. He reprised the role in Return to Halloweentown, while also making appearances on Veronica Mars, Smallville and CSI.
Now: After wrapping up the HSM franchise with 2008's High School Musical: Senior Year, Lucas went on to star in the ABC Family drama Switched at Birth and provided the voice of Deputy Peck in the Disney Junior television series Sheriff Callie's Wild West.
Lucas also had a small role in 2018's Little Women before making a cameo as himself in the first season of the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
(A version of this story originally published on Oct. 17, 2020 at 10 a.m. PT)