The Haunted Mansion (2003)
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 The ride-turned movie that no one should mention.
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The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American supernatural horror comedy film based on Walt Disney's theme park attraction of the same name.
Plot
Workaholic real estate agent Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) is accused by his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), of neglecting his son (Marc John Jefferies) and daughter (Aree Davis), so he takes the family on a vacation. Along the way, the family stops off at a sinister mansion that Jim has been asked to sell, only to discover it's haunted by Master Gracey (Nathaniel Parker); his stern butler, Ramsley (Terence Stamp); and two other servants who need some help breaking a curse.
Why It's Haunted
- To address the elephant in the room, Eddie Murphy doesn’t fit in this type of film. He's an extremely talented actor and comedian, but here? He's not even trying and the audience can easily tell that he's pretty much going like "Am I still funny?" "Why am I in this movie?" "What have I done to my career?" due to the terrible script they gave to him. He is basically a victim of miscast.
- Similarly, a couple of questionable casting choices like Jennifer Tilly as Madame Leota. In fact, her voice (No disrespect to the actress) doesn't even fit the character. If one were to think of who could play Leota in a movie, Jennifer Tilly doesn't come to mind.
- Many of the jokes in the movie are not at all funny. They tend to land very flat on the ground and never recover from it.
- In fact, the movie could have been pretty funny if there was some dark humor added in to make the movie live up to the genre it's part of but unfortunately, there isn't any the movie has is unfunny jokes.
- There is even an unfunny and painful reference to The Sixth Sense.
- Even Wallace Shawn, who had some previous comedic moments in movies, isn't even funny here!
- The ghost host is not in the film, but for some strange reason, his voice is heard at the beginning of the movie. What was the point in having the Ghost Host's voice at the beginning of the movie if he's not even in the rest of it?
- Many of the characters tend to be pretty annoying, not helping the fact that the actors are bad as the characters.
- Ramsley is a rubbish main antagonist, who is extremely racist towards African-Americans to the point that his master, Edward Gracy would abandoned his white heritage and linage if he marries an African-American (implying this movie was probably made to be racist towards African Americans, wait what!). His death is just another cliched falling-to-their-death kind of thing.
- The Singing Busts, well known for singing the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts" with Thurl Ravencroft being the lead, are reduced to another part of the movie that is supposed to be funny but falls flat. While it is nice to hear Grim Grinning Ghosts in the movie, the moment is ruined by the Busts singing literally anything that is being said.
- Some of the CGI scenes are very awful such as Eddie Murphy's character, Jim Evers driving the car through the air, the graveyard, and the pit to Hell.
Redeeming Qualities
- There are a few people who might like this film.
- Additionally, it's 2023 remake is an improvement over this film despite being mediocre.
- There are still lots of funny moments here and there, such as Terrance Stamp's over-the-top acting and that weird, echo-y voice he does.
- A couple of references to the ride like the previously mentioned Madame Leota and the Singing Busts.
- There is at least one scary scene: the mausoleum sequence with the mummies, which was the only thing in the movie that wasn't CGI.
- This movie actually has bloopers/outtakes that are actually very funny too.
- Here's the proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJLwmHqVcEE
- The music is quite haunting.
- While a little annoying, the characters are unique and interesting.
- The plot is quite engaging.
Reception
The Haunted Mansion was panned by critics and fans of the original ride. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 14% based on 140 reviews and an average rating of 4.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Neither scary nor funny, The Haunted Mansion is as lifeless as the ghosts in the movie.". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 34 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. The movie currently holds a 5/10 on IMDB.
Jeremy Wheeler of AllMovie gave the film his below average star rating and described it as a terribly flawed fantastical comedy that neither entertains nor creeps.
Trivia
- On August 28, 2020, a remake movie adaptation of the ride was in the works with writer Katie Dippold. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich produced the new adaptation. It was released on July 28, 2023.
- There was originally going to be an animated special based on the adaptation by Gris Grimly to celebrate the ride's 45th anniversary. It was going to air on Disney XD and the Disney Channel, but unfortunately, it was canceled for unknown reasons.
- It has it's own tie-in game that is also based on the Disney ride of the same name, but unlike most tie-in games it has it's own characters, story, and other elements that weren't featured or based on the eponymous film, which was released shortly after the game. However, some elements and set designs from the film are incorporated into the game.