Star Wars on again; Hannah Montana is so last year's wig

Hannah Montana may have been the hottest ticket for Halloween last year, but this year's costume customers are singing a different tune.

Miley Cyrus inspired hordes of girls to don Hannah wigs for Halloween last year. The Disney queen's Best of Both Worlds concert tour kicked off two weeks before Oct. 31.

"A lot of people were on the bandwagon," said Mike Hathaway, manager of Party Makers. "Kids still love her, but they (sales of Hannah Montana costumes) are not going to be half as good as last year."

For trick-or-treating threads, it seems, timing is everything.

That might explain why costumes from "High School Musical" were a hit last year (after the August 2007 release of "High School Musical 2"), but have not made it to the head of the class this year.

"High School Musical is not nearly as popular as it was last year," said Lisa Cartwright, owner of Greenville's Halloween Express. That could change with the Oct. 24 release of "High School Musical 3: Senior Year."

A few movies have already managed to kindle kids' interest in terms of Halloween costumes.

"The big thing in children ... is Indiana Jones," said Faye Gilbert, manager of Wicked superstore.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," the first Indiana Jones movie in nearly 20 years, has inspired a younger audience to mimic the adventurer, known for his bullwhip, fedora and leather jacket.

The release of the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has brought demand for the sci-fi costumes back with a force.

"They basically almost put out one of these things a year," Hathaway said. "It's a great marketing technique.

"They do an excellent job of being able to keep everything in the mix, where like a Spider Man or Incredible Hulk can die down."

Thanks to the summer release of "The Dark Knight," Batman is back. But the popularity of a villain from the film has overshadowed the hero.

"The Joker is bigger than Batman," Cartwright said. "Kids are wanting to be him moreso than Batman."

For costume customers inspired by "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," which dogged the competition for the second straight week at the box office, a variety of canine costumes are available. Leg Avenue has a line of costumes for owners who want to match their mutts.

While there has been no clear front-runner in terms of costumes this year, political candidates, from both parties, appear to be longshots, at least locally. Cartwright said Obama masks are outselling McCain and both Bill and Hillary Clinton, but political masks, in general, have not inspired a great turnout. With the exception of a customer or two asking about a Sarah Palin costume, there have been few inquiries.

"It came out so late," Hathaway said of the Palin mask. "What I saw was really an injustice. I didn't order any of them."

Gilbert said her store doesn't stock any political masks. "I've not even had anybody ask for one," she said. "I think most people, especially this year, want to get away from the political part as much as possible."

Contact Kim Grizzard at kgrizzard@coxnc.com or (252) 329-9578.