If you’re frantically looking for easy, last-minute Halloween costume ideas, this is probably not the post for you. But if you love Halloween, creativity and the movies, you’ve come to the right place!
I recently started writing family-related content for Fandango, and my first assignment was an article about creative family Halloween costumes. Our family has always had a blast dressing up together, and I knew I had more than a few friends out there who did the same. So I pooled my massive sea of Internet resources, and they delivered… TOO MUCH! I ended up with more content than Fandango could use, so I wanted to give these other cinematically-creative families the spotlight on my own site. Go grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy these picturesque, movie-inspired Halloween costumes!
Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy
An avid comic book fan, James decided to make his young son into Rocket Raccoon for an upcoming comic-con, who had seen (and been enamored by) the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer he’d seen on TV. The costume was a simpler version than shown here, but James made it all himself. At the convention it caught the eye of an experienced costumer who ended up making the custom mask, feet and tail shown in the photo. Way to work a room, Rocket! James’ son will, of course, be trick-or-treating in his full Rocket gear this Halloween.
Get the look: The jacket was made by cutting up and sewing pieces from a red t-shirt onto a navy turtleneck, accented with gold buttons. The raccoon tail (found at a frontier shop) was sewn into the seat of blue sweatpants. Read more here.
Napoleon Dynamite from Napoleon Dynamite
Amanda’s family are huge Napoleon Dynamite fans, and her youngest son Sean has been wearing moon boots like the title character since he started walking — so dressing him up as Napoleon was a perfect fit. Sean is shown here recreating two classic poses from the film, complete with the retro jersey, gigantic glasses and shaggy hair.
Get the look: You can use felt and fabric glue to adhere “Vote for Pedro” to the shirt, but Amanda claims it’s really all in the boots…and the pockets. Stow some tots in your jeans for maximum authenticity! Read more here.
Magneto, Jean Grey, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver from the X-Men and Avengers films
In addition to being a published author, comic book reviewer, former secret service agent and guest poster on this blog, Charles is also a devoted husband and father. As an avowed comics nerd, his passion spills over into his family as well. For this year’s Baltimore comic-con (and for upcoming Halloween festivities), the family joined forces from across the Marvel Universe. Dad Charles donned Magneto’s helmet made of poster board and paper mache and custom-made spandex bodysuit; Mom Melony is looking Rogue-ish in black spandex running pants and a green t-shirt cut to emulate the X-Man’s 80s-era look; daughter Anastasia casts a spell as Scarlet Witch in a costume consisting of dance attire and a foam paper headpiece; and the littlest hero is Lex (full name Alexander Xavier!), decked out as Quicksilver in a blue onesie accented with a stripe of white fabric paint.
Get the look: Charles’ primary tip — go cheap whenever you can. Look for supplies at military surplus stores, thrift shops, consignment shops, etc. The Internet comes in handy for finding tips on working with paper mache and fabric painting.
Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tom and Annie had taken their 3-year-old daughter to see a holiday-themed Disney on Ice show, and she came home insisting on being the spooky hero of The Nightmare Before Christmas for Halloween. As she’d never seen the film, Mom and Dad showed it to her to make sure hers was an informed decision. She of course loved the movie and that laid to rest any doubt that she was going to be “Skeleton Jack” for trick-or-treating!
Get the look: The main piece of the costume is a child’s tuxedo the couple purchased on eBay for $12. They used white fabric markers to create the pinstripes, and pieces of felt to add the bat to the bow tie the tuxedo came with.
Thanks again to all my awesomely generous and creative friends! Please go check out the original post on Fandango.com, and everyone have a Happy Halloween!
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