It's OK to admit it: you already want to be your favorite TV show or movie character IRL, so why not make that dream a reality this Halloween [1]? Whether you want to be Ariel from "The Little Mermaid," [2] Wednesday Addams [3] from "The Addams Family," Barbie [4] from the "Barbie" movie, or Woody (or Jessie) from "Toy Story," you can bring your onscreen icon to life when you transform into them with a DIY [5] costume.
No need to splurge on new items. Channel your character's cool, quirky, or unique style in a totally original (and cheap [6]!) way for spooky season, using clothes and accessories you already have in your closet. Most costumes from movies or TV show Halloween [7] costumes already have wildly cool looks (basically everything worn on "Mean Girls [8]" and every "Clueless" outfit ever), so dressing the part will be easier than you imagined.
Finding easy character costumes to replicate this year should be a breeze with TV shows and movies like "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," "Succession," "Stranger Things [9]," "Black Panther [10]," "The Umbrella Academy [11]," Star Wars, and more. Ahead, take a peek at the best DIY Halloween costume ideas for some of the most legendary TV and film characters to grace our screens.
— Additional reporting by Lauren Harano
Related:
Cowgirl Barbie From "Barbie"
- Movie character costumes: Margot Robbie's Barbie from the "Barbie" movie.
Barbie and Ken From "Barbie"
- Movie character costumes: Barbie and Ken from the "Barbie" movie.
M3gan From "M3gan"
- Movie character costumes: The robot M3GAN from the scary movie of the same name.
Regina George From "Mean Girls"
- Movie character costumes: Regina George's spring fling outfit from "Mean Girls [13]."
Princess Rhaenyra from "House of the Dragon"
- Movie character costumes: Emma D'Arcy's character Princess Rhaenyra from HBO's "House of the Dragon."
Shiv From "Succession"
- Movie character costumes: Sarah Snook's Shiv from "Succession."
Roger and Jessica Rabbit
- Movie character costumes: Roger and Jessica Rabbit, who first appeared in Disney's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in 1981.
Deirdre, Evelyn, and Joy From "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
- Movie character costumes: Deirdre, Evelyn, and Joy from the Academy Award-winning film "Everything Everywhere All at Once." [14]
Doric From "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"
- Movie character costumes: Sophia Lillis's character Doric from "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves."
Bowser From "The Super Mario Bros. Movie"
- Movie character costumes: Bowser (who was voiced by Jack Black [15]) from "The Super Mario Bros." movie.
The Ghostbusters From "Ghostbusters"
- Movie character costumes: The Ghosbusters crew from the horror-comedy movie franchise.
Elliot and E.T. From "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"
- Movie character costumes: Henry Thomas's character Elliot and the famous extra-terrestrial from 1982's "E.T."
Garth and Kat From "Saturday Night Live"
- Costumes from TV shows: Fred Armisen's Garth and Kristen Wiig's Kat from their long-running "SNL" skit on the "Weekend Update" segment.
The Women Prisoners From "Orange Is the New Black"
- Costumes from TV shows: The ladies from Litchfield Penitentiary in Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black [16]."
Beetlejuice From "Beetlejuice"
- Movie character costumes: The creepy titular character from "Beetlejuice."
Dionne and Cher From "Clueless"
- Movie character costumes: Best friend-duo Dionne and Cher from "Clueless."
Han Solo and Princess Leia From "Star Wars"
- Movie character costumes: Han Solo and Princess Leia from the "Star Wars" movie franchise.
Jack Skellington From "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
- Movie character costumes: Jack Skellington from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Darla From "Finding Nemo"
- Movie character costumes: Brace-faced Darla from "Finding Nemo."
Peter Pan and Wendy From "Peter Pan"
- Movie character costumes: Peter Pan and his love Wendy from "Peter Pan."
Mia Wallace From "Pulp Fiction"
- Movie character costumes: Uma Thurman [17]'s Mia Wallace from "Pulp Fiction."
Elle Woods From "Legally Blonde"
- Movie character costumes: Reese Witherspoon [18]'s Harvard grad, pink-obsessed character from the "Legally Blonde" franchise.
Wednesday Addams From "The Addams Family"
- Movie character costumes: Wednesday Addams, daughter of Gomez and Morticia, in "The Addams Family" franchise.
Cruella de Vil From "101 Dalmatians"
- Movie character costumes: The iconic fictional villain from "101 Dalmatians."
Romy and Michele From "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion"
- Movie character costumes: Mira Sorvino's Romy and Lisa Kudrow's Michele from 1997's "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."
The Plastics From "Mean Girls"
- Movie character costumes: Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners, and Regina George from "Mean Girls [19]."
Twisty From "American Horror Story"
- Costumes from TV shows: Twisty the disgraced clown from "American Horror Story [20]: Freak Show."
Margot Tenenbaum From "The Royal Tenenbaums"
- Movie character costumes: Gwyneth Paltrow [21]'s Margot Tenenbaum from "The Royal Tenenbaums" movie.
Hermione Granger From "Harry Potter"
- Movie character costumes: Emma Watson [22]'s Hermione Granger from "Harry Potter [23]."
Mary Poppins From "Mary Poppins"
- Movie character costumes: The magical English nanny from "Mary Poppins."
Wonder Woman From "Wonder Woman"
- Movie character costumes: The titular superhero character from "Wonder Woman."
Pink Ladies From "Grease"
- Movie character costumes: The pink ladies from the classic movie "Grease."
Squints and Wendy Peffercorn From "The Sandlot"
- Movie character costumes: Squints and Wendy Peffercorn from "The Sandlot."
Marty McFly and Doc Brown From "Back to the Future"
- Movie character costumes: Marty McFly and Doc Brown from the "Back to the Future" movies.
Neytiri From "Avatar"
- Movie character costumes: Zoe Saldaña [24]'s Neytiri from the "Avatar" franchise.
Gomez and Morticia Addams From "The Addams Family"
- Movie character costumes: Gomez and Morticia Addams from "The Addams Family" movies.
Effie Trinket From "The Hunger Games"
- Movie character costumes: The colorful District 12 escort, Effie Trinket, from "The Hunger Games" movie series.
Mia Thermopolis and Lilly Moscovitz From "The Princess Diaries"
- Movie character costumes: Mia Thermopolis and Lilly Moscovitz from "The Princess Diaries" movie franchise.
Erica Sinclair From "Stranger Things"
- Costumes from TV shows: Priah Ferguson's Erica Sinclair from Netflix's "Stranger Things [25]."
Ashley O From "Black Mirror"
- Costumes from TV shows: Miley Cyrus [26]'s Ashley O from "Black Mirror"'s "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" episode.
The Child From "The Mandalorian"
- Costumes from TV shows: The child from "The Mandalorian."
Fleabag From "Fleabag"
- Costumes from TV shows: Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character Fleabag from "Fleabag."
Lola and Bugs Bunny From "Space Jam"
- Movie character costumes: "Space Jam"'s Lola and Bugs Bunny.
Sabrina Spellman From "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"
- Costumes from TV shows: Sabrina Spellman from Netflix's "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."
Dora the Explorer From "Dora the Explorer"
- Costumes from TV shows: Dora the Explorer from the staple Nickelodeon series of the same name.
Carmen Sandiego From "Carmen Sandiego"
- Costumes from TV shows: The titular character from Netflix's "Carmen Sandiego" series.
Chip and Joanna Gaines From "Fixer Upper"
- Costumes from TV shows: "Fixer Upper" stars Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Detective Pikachu From "Pokémon Detective Pikachu"
- Movie character costumes: The famous Pokémon character from the 2019 film "Pokémon Detective Pikachu."
Agent M and Agent H From "Men in Black: International"
- Movie character costumes: Tessa Thompson's Agent M and Chris Hemsworth's Agent H from fourth "Men in Black" installment.
Archie From "Riverdale"
- Costumes from TV shows: Archie from The CW's "Riverdale [27]."
Dorothy From "The Wizard of Oz"
- Movie character costumes: Dorothy and her dog, Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz" musical.
The Terminator From "The Terminator"
- Movie character costumes: Arnold Schwarzenegger [28]'s Terminator character from the sci-fi action film franchise.
Joel Goodson From "Risky Business"
- Movie character costumes: Tom Cruise [29]'s Joel Goodson character from "Risky Business" featuring his iconic shirt and underwear outfit.
Zero From "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
- Movie character costumes: Zero from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Ariel From "The Little Mermaid"
- Movie character costumes: Ariel from Disney's "The Little Mermaid."
Jessie From "Toy Story"
- Movie character costumes: Cowgirl Jessie from Pixar's "Toy Story."
Billy From "Stranger Things"
- Costumes from TV shows: Dacre Montgomery's character Billy from "Stranger Things [30]."
Moana From "Moana"
- Movie character costumes: The titular character of Disney's "Moana."
Black Panther From "Black Panther"
- Movie character costumes: The titular character from the Marvel franchise film.
Belle From "Beauty and the Beast"
- Movie character costumes: Disney princess Belle from the iconic "Beauty and the Beast" film.
Jasmine From "Aladdin"
- Movie character costumes: Disney princess Jasmine from "Aladdin."
Roxanne From "A Goofy Movie"
- Movie character costumes: Roxanne from the "A Goofy Movie" film series.
Woody From "Toy Story"
- Movie character costumes: Sheriff Woody from Pixar's "Toy Story."
Batwoman From "Batwoman"
- Costumes from TV shows: The titular character from The CW's "Batwoman [31]."
Snow White From "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"
- Movie character costumes: Disney princess Snow White from the classic film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
Alexis and Moira Rose From "Schitt's Creek"
- Costumes from TV shows: Alexis and Moira Rose from "Schitt's Creek [32]."
Klaus Hargreeves From "The Umbrella Academy"
- Costumes from TV shows: Klaus Hargreeves from Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy [33]."
Dwight Schrute From "The Office"
- Costumes from TV shows: Rainn Wilson's hilarious "The Office" character, Dwight Schrute.
Tiana From "The Princess and the Frog"
- Movie character costumes: Disney princess Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog."
Thor From "Thor"
- Movie character costumes: Chris Hemsworth's Thor from the Marvel movie franchise.
Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala From "Star Wars"
- Movie character costumes: Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala from the "Star Wars" movie series.
Clark Kent From "Superman"
- Movie character costumes: Clark Kent, aka Superman, from the DC film franchise.
Cher From "Clueless"
- Movie character costumes: Alicia Silverstone [34]'s Cher Horowitz from "Clueless."
Velma From "Scooby-Doo"
- Costumes from TV shows: "Scooby Doo"'s Velma.
Aladdin and Jasmine From "Aladdin"
- Movie character costumes: Princess Jasmine and Aladdin from the classic Disney movie.
Slytherin Student From "Harry Potter"
- Movie character costumes: A student from the Slytherin House in "Harry Potter [35]."
Tiana and Prince Naveen From "The Princess and the Frog"
- Movie character costumes: Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from Disney's "The Princess and the Frog."
The "Scooby Doo" Crew
- Costumes from TV shows: Shaggy, Velma, Daphne, and Fred from "Scooby Doo."
The Golden Girls Crew From "The Golden Girls"
- Costumes from TV shows: The beloved four-girl friend group — Rose, Dorothy, Sophia, and Blanche — from "The Golden Girls."
Harley Quinn From "Suicide Squad"
- Movie character costumes: The eccentric Harley Quinn from the "Suicide Squad" franchise.
Indiana Jones From "Indiana Jones"
- Movie character costumes: Harrison Ford [36]'s gun-toting explorer character from "Indiana Jones."
Danny and Sandy From "Grease"
- Movie character costumes: John Travolta [37]'s Danny and Olivia Newton-John's Sandy from "Grease."
Rapunzel From "Tangled"
- Movie character costumes: Rapunzel from Disney's "Tangled."
Veronica Corningstone and Ron Burgundy From "Anchorman"
- Movie character costumes: Veronica Corningstone and Ron Burgundy from the "Anchorman" franchise.
Kim Possible From "Kim Possible"
- Costumes from TV shows: The titular character from Disney Channel's "Kim Possible."
Holly Golightly From "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
- Movie character costumes: Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly from "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
Ms. Piggy From "The Muppets"
- Movie character costumes: Ms. Piggy from "The Muppets" franchise.