The women on The View are never afraid to take on the “Hot Topics” of the day, but on October 31, they do it in costume! The women coordinated costumes, dressing up as Disney characters to celebrate 100 years of Disney for the show for Halloween. Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah-Griffin, and Ana Navarro showed their affinity for Disney films new and old with their amazing costumes, and their set was decorated like the classic theme park attraction: The Haunted Mansion.
Whoopi Goldberg
While Barbie was the hit movie of the summer, Whoopi took inspiration from the beloved doll’s appearance in another movie: Toy Story 2. She dressed up as the “Tour Guide” Barbie, but later Alyssa explained that she thought that she was dressed as Britney Spears in the “Toxic” music video. “Mistaken for yet another white woman,” Whoopi quipped.
Joy Behar
Long before her Dalmatian fixation, this diva slayed with a killer sense of fashion in the hit prequel that won the Oscar for outstanding achievement in costume design! From 'Cruella,' please welcome @JoyVBehar as Cruella de Vil! 🐶 pic.twitter.com/sjETLm8zgV
— The View (@TheView) October 31, 2023
Joy went for one of the most classic Disney villains of all time Cruella de Vil. She went for the more modern portrayal in Cruella rather than her original 101 Dalmatians portrayal. She explained that some of her other choices were Jiminy Cricket and Snow White, but she thought neither was the right fit.
Sunny Hostin
Sunny Hostin went all out as Neytiri from the Avatar films. She explained that while she was moved by the movies, she also felt the behind-the-scenes team could do a great job. “We have one of the best hair and makeup teams in the world,” she said. “I also think that James Cameron is a transformative director. Avatar was something like I had never seen before, and I also loved the thread line of the indigenous people fighting for their very existence. It’s a storyline that really spoke to me.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin
Alyssa explained that while Aladdin was one of her “favorite films growing up,” and she said that she had dressed up as Princess Jasmine plenty of times in the past. She also said that it was a great way to pay tribute to her Lebanese and Syrian roots.
Ana Navarro
Ana also explained that she had a strong affinity for recent Disney movie Encanto, which was why she dressed as Mirabel Madrigal, but she had a different character in mind. “I love Encanto the movie so much. The most beautiful music. It took place in Colombia, I love the idea of Latin American leading actors,” she said. “I wanted to be Isabella, the extremely beautiful, absolutely perfect sister, but [producer] Brian [Teta] didn’t think that’d be a good fit for me.”
Sara Haines
He’s the crank who reached new heights of misery and found a way to navigate through a soaring housing crisis in the 2010 Oscar-winner for best animated film, 'Up'! Please welcome @SaraHaines as Carl Fredricksen! 🎈 pic.twitter.com/tONzXLgEik
— The View (@TheView) October 31, 2023
Like Sunny, Sara also shouted out The View hair and makeup department, as she chose to dress as Carl Frederickson from Up. “I also love the story of Up: the heaviness of life and death, the resilience of love. It’s one of the most beautiful things,” she said. “I like playing grumpy because I’m usually not.”
Before showing off their costumes, the show began with a cold open of the Headless Horseman riding into the studio’s loading dock, rather than in Sleepy Hollow. As the horse arrived, the passenger arrived, they lowered the collar and revealed it to be none other than Whoopi. Their producer, Brian Teta, also dressed as Indiana Jones, and later on the show, they were joined by comedian Roy Wood Jr.
The View hosts dressing up together is a major tradition. Last year, the ladies celebrated their favorite TV shows of all time with costumes as beloved television characters. Alyssa dressed as Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City, Sunny went as Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton, Joy was Peggy Bundy from Married with Children, Sara was Moira Rose from Schitt’s Creek, Ana was Charo from The Love Boat, and Whoopi made a powerful statement in a red robe from The Handmaid’s Tale.
The specific themes are always a surprise to fans, and it’s always fun to see how the ladies will embrace them each year. Back in 2021, the women put on a “Viewsical,” and they each dressed up as characters from their favorite musicals. In 2020, their costumes were missed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the year prior, they dressed up as their favorite characters from Stephen King’s books.
Occasionally, the women have had much looser themes to follow, like in 2018, when the hosts dressed up as powerful women, like Lady Gaga, Elsa from Frozen, and Okoye from Black Panther.
Of course, the women on The View are no strangers to taking on scary subjects even when it’s not Halloween. They regularly take on the biggest “Hot Topics” of the day, whether it’s from the political world, global news, or occasionally other drama. Back in October 2022, the conversation did take on a particularly spooky subject matter when Joy admitted to having “had sex with a few ghosts that have got pregnant.” The conversation later came up during the Halloween episode when Audrey Plaza was the guest.