Did someone call 2021 “The Year of Family Friendly Movies” or am I just very out of touch with the usual Halloween movie releases? I thought I would be watching a lot of slasher horror movies. Instead I’m watching movies about 12-year olds and magic. I’m not complaining. This is just not what I expected.

Scaredy Cats is the story of Willa Ward (Sophia Reid-Gantzert). On her 12th birthday, her father (Michael Teigen) gives her a cat-shaped necklace that belonged to her mother (Lauren McGibbon) who is no longer with them. Soon, Willa finds out that the necklace is magic and her mother was a witch. Now that the magic has been activated, two bad witches, Sneak (April Telek) and Wanda (Carolyn Taylor), are trying to steal it from the young witch. Willa gathers her two best friends, Scout (Ava Augustin) and Lucy (Daphne Hoskins), to help her defeat the evil witches and save their town.

Again, we have a series instead of a stand-alone movie. This one is aimed at rather young children. It’s created by the same people that did the Air Bud movies. (And all of the other movies - Snow Buddies, Santa Buddies, MVP, etc.) The reason this series is titled Scaredy Cats is because the three girls turn into cats. Frequently. At least once each episode. But at least it is cute.

When I read the synopsis, I thought this was going to be so dumbed down that it annoyed me. Instead, the series is actually good. Well, the CGI is bad but I didn’t expect cinema-level graphics. The story is quite interesting - a witch who leaves her daughter a gift to help her protect the town. They even make fun of the fact that Willa is 12. Her mother’s instructions were to give Willa the necklace when she “comes of age.” Apparently, her dad thought that meant 12. Everyone else thought it would be 18.

This is definitely a Halloween movie for elementary school aged kids. There isn’t anything particularly scary about it, despite the fact that Netflix has “fear” listed on the G-rating warning. So, if your kids are looking for a Halloween series to watch this season, this is it. The episodes are, on average, a half hour long...except for episode one, which is about 45 minutes. Just long enough to keep the little ones entertained before their attention span runs away.

When is a Christmas movie not a Christmas movie, when it’s a Hanukkah movie! Every year, we get one Hanukkah movie. Last year was Mistletoe & Menorahs. This year it’s Love, Lights, Hanukkah!

Christina (Mia Kirshner) was adopted as a baby. After her adoptive mother passes away, she takes a DNA test to find out her heritage. Not only does she find out that she is half Jewish, she also finds a close familial connection. When she is contacted by the connection, she finds her entire biological family.

A lot of times, the annual Hanukkah movie focuses solely on the religious aspects of the holiday. While Love, Lights does show us some of the traditions, it mostly focuses on the family as a whole. The movie isn’t about Hanukkah; it’s about a family welcoming in a new member. I love it.

Even the romance in the movie isn’t a typical Christmas movie romance. David (Ben Savage) doesn’t need Christina’s help and he doesn’t need to help her. They just spend some time together enjoying each other’s company.

Normally, I complain about how stupid the Big Conflict is in a movie. Love, Lights doesn’t really have a conflict. (There is a small one about David moving away for an undetermined amount of time to write a book but it is quickly resolved and unnecessary.) All of the dramatic tension comes from the fact that Christina doesn’t want to disrespect her adoptive mother’s memory by finding her biological mother and going from a family of two to a family of seven. Anyone from a large family would know that is more than enough tension for a movie.

I absolutely loved this movie. Mia Kirshner and Ben Savage are great actors. It’s almost like these roles were created for them specifically. All of the supporting cast are great as well. Everyone compliments each other perfectly. Please go watch Love, Lights, Hanukkah! so that Hallmark knows we need more of these types of movies.