‘Halloweentown’ Stars Recall ‘Legendary’ Debbie Reynolds ‘Taught Me So Much’

As Generation DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) celebrates 25 years of Halloweentown, the cast recently looked back at their time with a late beloved co-star.

During last weekend's 90s Con in Tampa, Fla. — which went on in compliance with certain SAG-AFTRA guidelines amid the ongoing union strikes — Halloweentown star Kimberly J. Brown remembered her time working with the "legendary Debbie Reynolds" on the franchise's first three films.

"That was a very special time in my life," said Brown during a panel, adding that they "became good friends" behind the scenes.

She first played Marnie Piper in the 1998 DCOM about a 13-year-old girl who discovers her long-lost grandmother Aggie Cromwell (Reynolds) is a witch who lives in the titular town full of friendly monsters.

"I couldn't have asked for a better experience with such an amazing person who had so much behind her and yet also wanted to help everyone around her shine brighter," added Brown. "She shared so much about her life, at her expense, just to make everybody laugh."

"And it taught me so much when I was young, what a gift it is to be able to bring joy to people. She believed in that 100% and taught me that at a very young age. I just love the time that we had together," she said.

Brown was accompanied on the panel by her fiancé Daniel Kountz, who starred opposite her as the villainous Kal in the 2001 sequel Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge years before they reconnected and began dating.

Kountz recalled Reynolds "being so full of energy," adding: "She was 68, I believe, at the time that I worked with her. And she was running around on set, dancing, singing, telling jokes."

He recounted one late-night shoot in which all the background actors were getting tired at 1 a.m.

"And she noticed that. She's like, 'Oh, we need to bring up the energy.' So she got out in the middle and started telling jokes and dancing and everything," added Kountz. "I'm like, 'This woman is so great. She's so amazing because she's such a star but she's so nice.' It was just such a great, great time."

Brown reunited onscreen with Reynolds once more in Halloweentown High (2004), before Marnie was recast with Sara Paxton in 2006's concluding fourth film Return to Halloweentown.

Reynolds died at age 84 after suffering a stroke in December 2018, just a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher died at age 60 of a heart attack.

All four Halloweentown films are available to stream on Disney+.