Kimberly J. Brown and Daniel Kountz Celebrate the Impact of Halloweentown : 'Continues to Blow My Mind'

Halloweentown's Kimberly J. Brown and Daniel Kountz are celebrating 25 years of Disney Channel Original Movies — but they never thought they'd be part of such a lasting legacy!

The newly engaged couple — who costarred together in Disney Channel's Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge — recently spoke to PEOPLE to celebrate the DCOM milestone and reflected on what it means to be involved with such a legendary film series.

As fans know, Brown, 37, played young witch Marnie Piper beside Debbie Reynolds' Aggie Cromwell in three installments of the film: 1998's Halloweentown, 2001's Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge and Halloweentown High in 2004. Kountz, 43, appeared in the second installment as Kal, the son of evil warlock Kalabar (Robin Thomas).

"I'm so honored. One thing that Debbie Reynolds impressed upon me as a young girl was, she really showed me what a gift it is to be able to be in the position of making people happy through performing," Brown tells PEOPLE exclusively. "It is such a gift to bring joy to people and to have this relationship with people over the movies and share the magic over the years."

"I love Marnie as much as everybody else does, and she was definitely a part of me," she continues. "It's just so touching. I'm so grateful to all of the fans and everything for making the movies what they are. And I'm so grateful to continue to be able to spread some joy in the world."

Adds Kountz, "We've done some fan events and one of the things that strikes me the most is the 'Being normal is vastly overrated' [line] and how much that quote has meant to so many people. So many people come up and they say, 'I just want you to know that got me through my childhood because I felt that I was different... but it made me feel better.' It almost brings a tear to my eye now. Thinking how they took that, and they kept it in their power, and they grew up with it knowing, 'Hey, it's okay if I'm different because different is good.' That's wonderful."

Disney Halloweentown II

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Thinking back to when they were first cast in the Halloweentown films, Brown says she had no idea it would become such a beloved classic.

"Absolutely not," she says. "I was so thrilled to not only be able to play a teenage witch, because it was such an exciting role to come along for a teenager, but then to also find out that Debbie Reynolds was starring in it was even more thrilling."

"I guess we knew it was a special movie in the sense that we had so much fun making it and the cast all genuinely got along really well and just had a great time doing it and were excited to have everybody see it," she continues. "But Disney Channel was so new at the time ... so they weren't even in every household yet. It was really interesting to watch Halloweentown grow, but also watch Disney Channel really blow up into what it is now."

Disney The cast of Halloweentown

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Kountz says he'd "seen the first movie and it was great, but I didn't really expect much."

"I just was a young actor, like, 'Oh great, I got this part in this Disney movie, super cool.' And then flew up to Vancouver and got to work with [Brown] and all the amazing cast," he recalls. "Everybody was so nice and warm and welcoming. It was great."

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For Brown, starring in three films led to countless memories with her costars — but one particular memory from the first installment with Reynolds stands out among the rest.

"I think any day with Debbie was a day well-spent. You would be doubled over in laughter and hanging on her every word because she just was so spunky and fun and just genuinely loved being there every day," she recalls of her costar, who died in December 2016. "One of my favorite days from the first Halloweentown was when we shot the broom flying scene. That was actually our last day of filming, and that was the first time that Debbie and I got to spend some one-on-one time together."

"The whole afternoon, we were up on a big stool in front of a big blue screen, and we just got to hang out. And she told me stories and made me laugh. Little did we know, it was a preview to all the time that we would spend together," she continues. "The next two films, Marnie and Aggie really went on the adventures by themselves in a sense. We had more solo time, and she watched me grow up and just always treated all of the kids like we were peers. But that was a really special day that I'll always remember for sure."

As for Kountz, "I had the scene where I came out of the block. That was awesome because they had to put plaster all over my face to make a mold in my face. I had those straws up my nose, and I couldn't move for an hour. And I'm like, 'Okay, don't freak out, don't freak out' ... And then finally, they turned that into a styrofoam."

He adds, "And I got to work with Debbie because she was obviously in the scene. We had a good time. It was fun.... How lucky I was to be able to spend any time with her at all, much less work with her, because she was such a phenomenal talent in person."

Disney Debbie Reynolds and Kimberly J. Brown in Halloweentown

When it comes to her favorite installment, Brown says, "I don't think I could narrow it down to just one."

"The first one is the original, and that's where we really laid the foundation for everything, and it's so special," she says. "But the second one, it was fun to grow up with Marnie... and it was fun to explore the darker side of Halloweentown."

"The third one, I loved that we brought Halloweentown to high school and showed how much all of the issues that teenagers go through in high school is universal — whether you're a monster or you're human, and that you just have to love yourself and not worry about what other people think of you," she adds. "And that appearances can be deceiving. I love the way they did that with the Halloweentown magical twist on it."

Disney Halloweentown

As for their all-time favorite DCOM? Kountz is certain his is Cadet Kelly, even though he jokes, "I actually auditioned for that, and I didn't end up getting the part."

Brown says her favorite is The Color of Friendship, noting that it was "something different for a DCOM." She also loves "all the Halloween ones, like Phantom of the Megaplex, Under Wraps, all the Halloweentowns, even High School Musical."

Regardless of which film tops their DCOM list, Brown says the impact has been beyond anything she could've ever imagined.

"It's just crazy to think about the impact that it has had on culture as a whole. It's a Disney film, and yet they're so revered and beloved," she says. "It continues to blow my mind, no matter how many messages I get online, or when people approach me. It really has been a huge part of people's lives."

"I'm so touched that people have just kept it alive all of these years. The fans are a huge reason why we're sitting and having this conversation because they've really just given it this whole life," she adds. "It's incredible."

Disney Halloweentown

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All three Halloweentown films are now streaming on Disney+.