The Halloween Tree

September 29, 2008
When young Pipkin becomes ill and is whisked away into the mysterious darkness of the Halloween tree, his friends must race through space and time to save him. With a peculiar old man named Moundshroud to guide them, the kids encounter the many earlier manifestations of the holiday known as Halloween. The voice talent for this production matches well with the predominant characters of young boys, and Jerry Robbins plays Moundshroud with a good eccentric and maniacal tone. While there are sound effects, they are mostly limited to ambient vocals in the background and wind, never utilizing the more calm-fracturing accoutrements like slamming doors or dishes breaking. A wealth of music complements the story and gives the listener a sense of plot progression, although some of the singing feels a bit overdone.

One of America's foremost storytellers, Ray Bradbury, spins this fairy-tale story of Halloween night and all the mystery it entails. Bronson Pinchot invests this short novel with a dignified air. Some boys who are out trick-or-treating lose one of their number and enlist a friendly spirit to help retrieve him from the land of the dead. The spirit transports them across the centuries to learn how fear of death has influenced the history of Halloween. Pinchot often whispers his narration to the point of inaudibility--this is not a book to listen to on a noisy commute. The spirit, Moundshroud, is the chief offender here, almost sighing his dialogue. While the boys are loud enough, they all sound similar. However, they're usually named in the text, so lack of character differentiation isn't a problem. A.Z.W. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine