The Haunted Mansion Movie

Anybody who knows me, knows I absolutely love The Haunted Mansion. The creepy atmosphere and droning funeral dirge are compelling, effectively drawing guests into its clutches as it has for over three decades. The effects are old and campy, but they were state-of-the-art for their time, and regardless of the age, there's a certain charm, nostalgia, and magic to it all.

It came as quite a pleasant surprise for me when it was announced that the attraction would be turned into a production for the silver screen (along with The Country Bears and Pirates of The Caribbean). This was a great opportunity to see folks tell the story of the mansion through a different medium, to share the experience with hundreds of movie-goers, and to delve into the lives of the 999 ghostly inhabitants of the old manse.

The movie will be released nationwide Wednesday the 26th, and I'm not looking forward to it, because after previewing the inner workings of the production and casting for the movie, I realize this is NOT my Haunted Mansion--not a proper representation of the attraction I've come to know and love. Critic reviews have come in already. Some applaud the frequent if brief nods to the classic attraction, but nearly all predict the movie will be a huge disappointment at the box office.

In an article by Brian Linder of IGN.com back in July 2002, director Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little) was quoted saying "There are some images from the ride that we are going to incorporate into the storytelling, but really the goal is that you'll watch this movie as its own thing. It's not about a ride."

Minkoff's statement carried a certain "aura of foreboding". The movie concept is very much about a popular Disney attraction--why would you take something with great potential and rehash the whole concept? Perhaps you're hoping to reap the esteem and prestige a wonderful film like Pirates happen to give Jerry Bruckheimer? If so, you sure went about it all wrong, Minkoff. Take notes, folks: the following are the reasons I predict the Mansion movie is destined for an untimely demise.

1) Eddie Murphy. In the official Disney HM book The Haunted Mansion: From The Magic Kingdom to The Movie, author and Imagineer Jason Surrell writes that Murphy himself had interest in the lead role, having "been developing his own 'old dark house' movie, inspired by an early stand-up comedy routine of his about how African Americans would react in a haunted house." Casting must have reasoned Murphy to be a suitable actor for a family comedy. Then there was the fact that a big name star like Murphy could potentially boost movie sales. In this manner, Disney Pictures certainly cheated us out of something fresh and creative in exchange for a quick buck.

In my opinion, Murphy, for all his comedic and acting talents, is an overactor better suited for roles with descriptors like "loud-mouthed" and "smart alec"--because generally, those are the characters that he plays. Look at the track record: 48 Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop, The Nutty Professor, Dr. Dolittle, Shrek, Showtime, I-Spy--it really speaks for itself. I'm not saying Eddie Murphy couldn't have his "old dark house" movie--I'm just saying the "old dark house" SHOULDN'T be The Haunted Mansion. The attraction doesn't deserve an actor better known for his low-brow comedy.

2) Jennifer Tilly. The original Leota was a combination of the face of Disney Imagineer Leota Toombs and the remarkable voice of Eleanor Audley (Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty). In this fashion, one could surmise that Jennifer Tilly is not the actress of choice for many Mansion aficionados to represent a classic HM character, and this becomes even more evident as Leota's character in the movie is turned into a wise-cracking comic sidekick. Leota was a menacing figure in the Mansion (often considered, in most HM folklore, to be the primary reason the manse was haunted to begin with), and Tilly's rendition paints Leota as less than that.

In a comment in a TV Guide interview in March (you can find the article copied in this thread in the DoomBuggies.com forum), Tilly said "If the movie's really successful, Disney's gonna revamp the ride and I'll be the head in the ball at the beginning of it! They're gonna totally update it... I'm hoping I'll become another American icon." Not only do these comments reflect Tilly's ignorance to the attraction, but to many Mansion purists, these are blasphemous words.

3) Moral of the Story. Disney movies have always emphasized the family-friendly moral of the story--likely spurred by the success of such films as The Lion King (remember who you are) and Lilo & Stich (ohana means family). In the case of The Haunted Mansion, Murphy, a workaholic real estate agent, learns that his family is more important than his job. Sure, it's a good lesson. Yes, it's cliché. And was it necessary to use a story like the Mansion as the vehicle for the message?

In the Surrell HM book, producer Don Hahn (The Lion King) says, "... the inspiration is more important than a literal interpretation. We weren't slavish to The Haunted Mansion but slavish to the spirit of The Haunted Mansion... we wanted to make a movie that celebrates a whole genre of moviemaking--the haunted house movie." It's a noble idea, but I think Hahn missed the mark. In my opinion, if I go to view a Disney movie called The Haunted Mansion about a Disney attraction called The Haunted Mansion, I want to see THE Mansion, not something LIKE the Mansion.

And here's a personal theory: The Country Bears movie (produced by Jeffery Chernov, Andrew Gunn, and John G. Scotti) carried a strong moral about family and finding out who you truly are. It subsequently bombed at the box-office. Pirates of the Caribbean, on the other hand, had the moral of, um, don't steal Aztec gold... seriously, folks, there really was no moral to Pirates, it was just a fun story about a bunch of blood-thirsty cutthroats and Johnny Depp in a role that will be remembered for years to come--it was a downright success. In short, you don't have to play Aesop and turn your movies into fables just to have a profitable run at the box office.

For a while, I thought perhaps my worries were unsubstantiated. Just because reviews were poor doesn't necessarily mean the movie was a complete disaster. In fact, I thought special effects makeup designer Rick Baker had done an absolutely fantastic job redesigning the happy haunts for a live-action film while staying true to the attraction. I thought maybe, just maybe, the movie would turn out alright.

Clinging to my last shred of hope, I then heard the single for the movie.

4)"Iz U" by Nelly. A hip-hop song and The Haunted Mansion. I guess a remix of the classic Grim Grinning Ghosts was to be expected from some big name artist except... this isn't a Grim Grinning Ghosts at all. According to an article on vh1.com, the rap artist decided to use a sample from the television show "The People's Court" in his new single, "I just heard it and I was like, 'Yo, I gotta do something to this.' It's more of an up-tempo, kind of bouncy joint. I didn't want to do too much with it. It's basically [about] girls hollering at you. They wanna be going where you're going." Dispensing with the sarcasm, this clearly has nothing to do with The Haunted Mansion. Here's a lyric sample: "She said, 'Is you is or is you ain't gon' give me a ride?'/She said, 'Is that you with the Lamborghini, is that your car parked outside?'/ I said, 'Yeah, that's my car, girl, and if you want to you can go,/but let me know if it's getting too late, and if not I can catch me another hoooeee!'"

The music video even worse--depicting Nelly and his gang in a haunted house (with scenes from the Disney movie spliced in) trying to make out with girls and having the ghosts cramp their style. The video was even featured on the official movie website for a brief while before the outcry from HM fans at DoomBuggies.com pulled the video from the site. Both the video and the song depict the standard rap norms, including sexual references. For what's supposed to be a family-friendly film, it's grossly inappropriate, and just another example of how Disney is again selling out. What better way to bring in more numbers for a movie than to tack on a poplar rap artist? The fan base is huge--there are people who would go just for the new song.

When you have a passion, like The Haunted Mansion, that not many people understand, there's always a fear of sharing it with others. Personally, I worry that the audience the movie may draw wouldn't be as aware or as educated about the history and wonder behind the attraction itself. They won't appreciate it--they may even hate it. Worse still, if the movie is a success, people may even want to try to change the Mansion--a classic Disney icon with a venerable history, one of the last attractions that Walt himself worked on before his death. Maybe they'd want to replace Leota Toombs with Jennifer Tilly, or add an Eddie Murphy Audio-Animatronic (it's not that far-fetched--they created an Ellen DeGeneres AA for the Universe of Energy at Epcot).

The whole thing frightens me more than a pop-up ghost.

Walt Disney once said "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world." I fully acknowledge the possibility of change, but I do so with a hope that when the time comes to update the old manse, the changes that come aren't merely done to make the ride more appealing to a larger demographic. I hope that, through change, the mansion can be improved to make it more mysterious, more supernatural, and more magical than Walt and his Imagineers could have ever imagined, without ever losing their original vision.

Until next week folks, keep on ridin'.

But there could be crowds hoping for a "PotC" repeat. Still, the ads haven't been all that interesting and I think people will pay more attention to the reviews than they did to "PotC" or "Cat in the Hat." Then there is history, which shows that the market cannot sustain three family movies at one time. With "Elf" and "Cat" out there, will "HM" look enough like a family movie to hurt those two?

My guess, which is basically a crapshoot at this point, is that it will do fairly well, but nothing big. Then it will drop off massively in week two. How well in week one? With five days, I'm thinking in the 40s. I could be way off and I totally wouldn't be surprised. This one has too many variables.

It just ain't true.

Cat in the Hat - yeah, the critics are beating that with the ugly stick. But Pirates was mostly well received.

The film received primarily positive reviews, and it made a ton and a half of cash. How the public didn't listen to the reviews on that one is beyond me.

'Haunted Mansion' in good spirits
Disney scores again in designing a movie after a theme-park attraction, as Eddie Murphy leads a fun cast in a breezy family comedy-chiller.

This review is by Kevin Thomas (who also liked such fare as "Pearl Harbor" and "Boat Trip," for what it is worth).

Given Ken Turan's poor review of "Pirates" and its ultimate success, I'd say that this positive review does not bode well for Disney.... But I'm a sarcastic journalist. What do I know? ;-)

if you think Jen Tilly's voice for Madame Leota is bad wait untiel you hear Leota Tombs voice on the special CD.Of course i did like Odda Ladd as Madame Leota at the wild west verson of the HM Phantom Manor she did sound abit teenage when i visted that ride

First of all, to the guy who said Eddie Murphy got the job because hes a "person of color", you Sir are an idiot. He got it because he's funny and people like watching him on the screen(at least they used to, his latest movies seem to suck the more he moves towards family movies and away from edgier comedies).

To Mr. Joe Lane, I can see your point and how you are worried that the new movie will somehow be 'blashphemous' to the history of the ride. But seriously, "Lowest Common Denominator"? Jeeze.

What exactly would you have preferred? Isn't the goal of Disney movies to be fun? It seems like Disney went with a comedy, sort of campy aspect, which is fine with me. Sorry, but a Haunted Mansion movie that takes itself extremely seriously, and attempts to be exactly like the ride and uses only serious actors, not 'low brow' comedians like Eddie Murphy might've been entertaining for you and a select group of hardcore fans. For the rest of us though, we just want an entertaining movie that keeps the spirit of the ride. I have yet to see the movie(and it might be horrible for all I know, im just arguing based on the points Mr.Lane wrote about) but from the Previews, it appears to completely fit in with the spirit of the ride. The ride is a fun ride through a Haunted Mansion, what more do you want? I doubt many people(other than small children) are actually SCARED by the ride or somehow take it in as some sort of work of art in the history of themeparks, they just like it cuz its FUN and CREATIVE and I think thats the way Walt would've liked it. The ride doesnt take itself too seriously and neither should the movie.

In fact, I was a bit letdown by the Preview because there were no particularly funny moments involving Eddie Murphy. All I can hope is the movie wasnt toned down too much for the typical Disney family fare and Disney is just withholding the funnier parts for the actual movie(for example: sorry, but I thought POTC movie looked like it sucked from the previews, but once I saw it, I thought it was great).

And as far the rap song goes, yes it is incredibly idiotic, as most Nelly songs tend to be. Why the people who decide such things decided to use it in the HM movie, I have no idea. But will it ruin ruin the movie and the ride? I think not. If it does ruin it for you, I think your taking this all to seriously. And if you think any teenagers will actually go to see a specific movie just because theres a certain song in it or because the movie is in a certain music video, you are SERIOUSLY out of touch with the youth today.

As far as the Jennifer Tilly and Eddie Murphy becoming a part of the ride, we both know thats stupid and isnt going to happen. Its a TV Guide interview man, you're reading too much into this.

For what its worth,
Chris Donaldson

Unfortunately, there's the matter of Jennifer Tilly, whose reputation precedes her, apparently. No one person who has experienced The Haunted Mansion itself can say that Tilly's voice pays any tribute to the original. In fact, as I watched the film, I didn't see Madame Leota, I saw Jennifer Tilly pretending to be Madame Leota. The voice, the look, it all made up for a young gypsy, rather than the old medium we see in the attraction.

As for rumors of Tilly becoming the new Leota in the attraction, here's an article in USA Today in which Tilly again states she will be replacing Leota Toombs and Eleanor Audley in the classic attraction. According to the article, Tilly "negotiated her contract to stipulate that, if the film is a hit, her head and voice would replace the decades-old theme park versions in Disney Haunted Mansion rides. 'It would be a shame,' Tilly conceded. 'The (original) voice is the same woman who did the voice of the evil queen in Snow White. I hate for tradition to fall by the wayside, but I would rather it was me!'" Talk about your ignorance showing: Eleanor Audley did the voice for the wicked Stepmother in Cinderella and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty, but credit for the voice of the queen in Snow White goes to Lucille La Verne.

There was a rather significant number of plot issues, due mostly to some scenes being cut short or deleted altogether. And while all those cast as mansion residents seemed to do a remarkable job (again, with the exception of a figure as notable as Madame Leota), I found the acting of the wife and kids (Marsha Tomason, Marc John Jefferies, and Aree Davis) to be weak and at times robotic in comparison to the acting of Murphy, Nathanal Parker, Wallace Shawn, and Dina Waters.

Of course, anytime there was anything on the screen that emulated the beloved manse, I was enthralled. The opening credits alone are fantastic, the graveyard scene, all the little nods and gestures towards the attraction was absolutely fantastic... but is that not what I came for? Is the Haunted Mansion not the reason I went to see the movie? I certainly didn't go for Murphy or Tilly or dare I say it, Nelly. Imagine how things would've focused more on the mansion and the story of its residents? For a fan such as myself, I think things could've been "ghoulishly delightful".

I've been accused, not surprisingly, by a large majority of people, telling me I'm taking things far too seriously and my stance is skewed. I feel rather much like Cory Doctorow's character Julius in his book "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom". The plot is rather intense, but in short, part of what Jules has to deal with is an "attack on the artistic purity of the Magic Kingdom". Maybe I am a fool for taking something I love so seriously. Maybe I am out of touch and reading far too much into things. I quote myself, "this is NOT my Haunted Mansion--not a proper representation of the attraction I've come to know and love". I think many folks would feel the same way, if they understood what the ride meant to me and the potential consequences of this film.

p.s i LOVED all the ride elements the ballroom dancers,the graveyard party,Madame Leota,the changing picture hall with looking busts,the singing busts,the Phantom Manor tomb zombies,the attic,the phantom(Ramsley),the ghost carriage,the CGI floting candle at the begining,the hanging master Gracey with a woman's sceram,the breathing door(now that was scary and reminded me of 1963's the Haunting),and the Hichicking Ghosts as well as the black Raven all in the ride as well as the matching band(seen floting the Madame Leota part of the ride)chasing Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) now that was funny and very well done and the WELCOME FOOLISH MORTALS by the ride's Ghost Host at the start of the film and the beautful music that was though out the film reminded me alot of the music in Phantom Manor and even the orgin music following Ramsley that's in both the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom rides as well as the WDW libery and the singing busts dapper dans verson of Grim Grinning Ghosts and the scene with Madame Leota at the very end of the film saying HURRRY BACKKK HURRY BACKK BE SURE TO BRING YOUR "DEATH" CERTIFICATE IF YOU DECIDE TO JOIN US.MAKE FINAL ARRANGEMENTS NOW WE'RE BEEN "DYING" TO HAVE YOU

Hey, maybe they'll do a re-release of the fantastic Barenaked Ladies cover. That'd be cool.

As for Miss Tilly. Don't be talkin' trash! She rocks! The audio commentary for "Bound" is absolutely hilarious. I have never seen her be very serious in interviews, so I wouldn't buy into whatever she is saying. BUT, it does sound that she would prefer the ride to say the same.

Steve... did you read what I wrote? I didn't say "PotC" got bad reviews. I said people might be hoping for a "PotC" repeat, meaning another enjoyable movie from a theme park ride. But the movie wasn't all that well-received. Its reviews were almost uniformly right down the middle. "Stupid but Johnny Depp is excellent." Which side of the line critics jumped to depended on how much they liked his performance. I certainly didn't hear many critics lauding the dumb plot, and the movie's length was mentioned many times.

But you can't rely too much on the critics. "Cat" found several good reviews to quote on their commercials, one from the well-known Jeffrey Lyons. Critics tend to agree on the really good or the really bad, but never on the stuff in between.

You said "...I think people will pay more attention to the reviews than they did to "PotC" or "Cat in the Hat." This implies that people must not have been paying attention to the reviews when they made Pirates of the Caribbean the second highest-grossing film of the year. Which in turn implies that the film's reviews were such that people SHOULD, had they been paying attention, dodged this flick like the plague.

I maintain that you're looking too hard for negative reviews that weren't there for Pirates.

But let's move off that. I saw Haunted Mansion, and really liked SOME of it. Visually, a lot of it was quite good, but I thought the script was awful. The thing felt like it was a first draft. The storyline, as simplistic as it was, felt wildly disjointed. The dialogue was pretty stilted, and the kid actors weren't good enough to make it any better. On top of that, I expect to see better continuity in a $90 million film. There was one sequence where Murphy and General Zod were having a conversation, and in one show Terrence Stamp's mouth was clearly not moving. That's a minor point, I know, but there's no excuse for such blatant laziness on the filmmakers' part.

And as far as Tilly goes, I honestly can't think of anyone else who would have done a better job. The post-credit "Hurry back" bit was actually eerily similar to the real voice (because yes, we popped in the CD on the way home - we're geeks).

Was it an older cover? I've got all their albums (but not the EPs) and I've never encountered it. After wandering around Amazon for a while trying to uncover it, my girlfriend told me to check the soundtrack. I thought that was crazy, but did as she told me. Sure enough, it's on the soundtrack to the movie (what's really funny is it doesn't appear that the Nelly song is. Or maybe I'm looking at the wrong soundtrack?)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001M3P/ref=nosim/statistieverywri

(I majored in gibberish)

(Sorry, sometimes the jokes are *too* easy....)

The Pirates Of The Caribbean rules but the Haunted Mansion sucks there happy
mAsTeRs!.

For the record, not only am I a Mansion purist, but I happen to be a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan, so I think it all balanaced out very nicely.

And seeing as I'm in Orlando anyways, I'm rather disappointed that I've missed the event every year and always hope it'll make the transition to Florida eventually.

And might I also point out that the HMH is a temporary event in any case and Leota will be back to her old evil hijinks eventually. Huzzah!

My biggest problem with it is how it is just an overlay and doesn't really incorporate the Nightmare story very well into the ride. And why haven't they done any of the songs yet? WHY????

Hey Robert. Where's my $20? Told you T. Holland and Kevin were friends!;-)

Haunted Mansion Holiday happens the same time of year that Not-So-Scary Halloween and Verry Merry Christmas occurs, and they sell out on the final days nearly every year (they did for NSS and they already have for VMC). We know Disney loves to spend as little money as possible, so if we have two events that are already selling out each year, why bring over an attraction overlay that'll cost more money we don't need to spend?

Of course, this is one instance where I'll actually be pleased if I'm proved wrong.

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