GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) – Buzz Lightyear may be somewhat controversial as animated characters go this year, but his likeness apparently is popular when it comes to celebrating Halloween in North Carolina.
All Home Connections, which is part of AT&T, analyzed Google trends data to create a projection about what will be the most popular Halloween costumes in each state, as it has done since 2020.
North Carolinians apparently want to go “to infinity and beyond,” as Buzz Lightyear has made famous. No matter what people say.
Buzz created some buzz this year because of Disney’s “Lightyear” movie – the sky-flyer’s breakout solo movie following his run in four versions of “Toy Story – when two apparently same-sex characters had a kissing scene, prompting outrage.
But if you think our costume-wearers alone are kissing up to Buzz, don’t. The survey shows that five other states prefer Mr. Lightyear, too, including California, Colorado, Tennessee, Georgia and Maryland.
That’s a long way from the most popular costume in the survey, though, with traditional cats (12) and witches (11) – probably inspired by another new movie, “Hocus Pocus 2” – leading the way. There were also five vampires and one zombie (West Virginia, as it were), which follow the usual script for Oct. 31.
Cats were liked from coast (Virginia) to coast (Washington state), but witches dominated primarily in the states that comprise college sports’ Big Ten Conference, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
There were other oddities and vagaries and one-off choices. Our favorite might be the choice shared by Mississippi and Nevada, a tag team of states that appears odd in itself.
But thank you, thank you very much, that favorite is Elvis, who was born in Mississippi but at least once was known for singing “Viva Las Vegas” and then performing live there during his later years.
Fearsome few funnies
- Jon Snow, a character from the TV series “Game of Thrones,” was the choice in Alabama and Oklahoma. The related dragon fired up the celebrants in Idaho.
- Wednesday Addams – daughter of Morticia and Gomez in the “Addams Family” package of movies, stage and television – is tops in Montana, for whatever reason. Don’t confuse that family with the Adams – one D – family from Montana that owns about 100 newspapers.
- “Encanto” is another animated Disney movie, about the Madrigal family, so you have to wonder which of its many characters are favored in Arizona, New Mexico, Connecticut, Kansas and Florida.
- “Top Gun” – jet fighter pilots are perhaps ubiquitous – is tops in Rhode Island, and in Maine they prefer “Eleven,” which would appear to be that creation/character from the Netflix series “Stranger Things.”
