''The Last Halloween'' is an American

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

television special produced by

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

. It premiered and first aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on October 28, 1991. The visual effects and animation were provided by

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...

and

Pacific Data Images Pacific Data Images (PDI) was an American computer animation production company based in Redwood City, California, that was bought by DreamWorks SKG in 2000. It was renamed PDI/DreamWorks and was owned by DreamWorks Animation. Founded in 1980 by ...

. It was the only time Hanna-Barbera would use CGI animation instead of traditional animation.

Plot

Four aliens - Gleep (voiced by Paul Williams), Romtu (voiced by

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

), Scoota (voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

), and Bing (voiced by Welker) have been sent to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

from the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

in order to find a rare material known as "coobi" (which is later revealed to be candy). After crash landing on Earth, they wander the streets searching for "coobi," but are mistaken for trick-or-treaters and ignored. When Scoota gets a strong reading on his "coobi meter," the four aliens chase down two children, Michael ( Will Nipper) and his younger sister, Jeanie ( Sarah Matinek), into the woods. The children learn about the aliens' mission and agree to help them collect candy. Meanwhile, Mrs. Gizbourne (a woman played by

Rhea Perlman Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress. She played head-waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...

who had a previous run-in with Jeanie and Michael) and her assistant Hans (

Richard Moll Charles Richard Moll (born January 13, 1943) is an American actor. He played the role of Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, a bailiff on the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' from 1984 to 1992. He has also done extensive work as a voice actor, typical ...

) are in an old house performing experiments on insects to find the secrets of eternal youth. It is revealed that by performing these experiments they have nearly drained Crystal Lake, which is the main source of power for a candy factory in town. Mrs. Gizbourne then demands that Hans find a bug "big and strong enough to survive a nuclear meltdown." The children and the aliens agree to split into two groups to find more candy, one group consisting of Gleep, Romtu, and Scoota and the other group consisting of Jeanie, Michael and Bing. The children become distraught when they learn that Bing is running towards Mrs. Gizbourne's house. Hans mistakes Bing for a giant insect and proceeds to capture Bing and bring him to Mrs. Gizbourne. The children learn of Mrs. Gizbourne's plot, but are soon captured by Hans. Jeanie and Michael are quickly able to escape with Bing in tow to the lake. There they are found by Jeanie and Michael's father, who goes on to thwart Mrs. Gizbourne's plans. The first group of aliens then arrive at the candy factory, take all of the candy, give Michael a special skipping stone and return to Mars. Michael uses this stone and the power of wishing to revive Crystal Lake. The candy factory is thus saved, and the townspeople end the special rejoicing.

Accolades

The special won a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Halloween 1991 television specials 1990s animated television specials Halloween television specials Emmy Award-winning programs CBS television specials Hanna-Barbera television specials Films directed by Savage Steve Holland Films scored by Bruce Broughton Television shows written by Savage Steve Holland Alien visitations in fiction