Credit: DisneyWalt Disney Pictures shifted gears at the turn of the millennia by no longer attempting to focus on creating original content for their theatrically released films. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) cemented the restructuring of their business model. The film grossed $654 million worldwide ($1.84 billion today) and became a cultural phenomenon, as well as a cinematic classic. While Country Bears (2002) failed financially as one of the first attraction-inspired movies, Pirates demonstrated that there was an audience for these kinds of adaptations. The next Disney ride-based project, Haunted Mansion (2003) starring Eddie Murphy would become legendary, but not for the right reasons.
Director, Justin Simien (Dear White People), had the daunting task of having to meet the expectations of a passionate fanbase while separating the reboot from its failed predecessor. Simien expressed in an interview how the 2003 movie would inspire the upcoming 2023 adaptation. He stated that there was a lot of love and a lot of intention in that [first] movie. The director disclosed that he poured over copious production notes, images and references from the previous film and understands why there are fans who defend the original. Simien continued that there were “some elements” from the first movie that he wanted to include, but ultimately, the story is a complete departure.
He elaborated that this new Haunted Mansion will be more visually faithful to the Disneyland attraction. While it is an original story, he made sure to work with the storied mythology and treasured characters. Simien gave all credit to the screenwriter, Katie Diploid, who had a deep knowledge of all the story elements before he signed onto the project. He was also earnest to mention that he had to avoid the notes and concept art left over from the shelved Guillermo Del Toro adaptation. The director revealed that he primarily wanted this to be an ensemble comedy because he excels in those kinds of stories.
Much of the criticism that 2003’s Haunted Mansion received was due to the creative choices made by the director, Rob Minkoff. The Lion King filmmaker made the daring decision to not draw from any specific look or storylines from the beloved Disney attraction. Additionally, the movie is not only criticized for its failure to pull from its source material, but it also had a poor evenness in tone. The story was written by Elf screenwriter, David Berenbaum, who was hired to write a family-friendly film about a haunted house. The end result featured ill-placed slapstick humor that would take away from its adult themes of death, racial intolerance and murder. It walked a fine line between family fun comedy and horror-mystery, but could not balance either elements of the genre.
2023’s Haunted Mansion will attempt to succeed where the former failed. Its fate will not mark the end of ride-based Disney movies, but it will be an important stepping stone for building a built-in audience. Justin Simien’s intention seemed to create a perfect balance between adventure and horror. He set out to use the hilarious, yet endearing ensemble cast to frame the body of the story, while the iconic imagery of the world-famous attraction will be its soul; or more aptly its “spirit.”
Haunted Mansion will open theatrically to foolish mortals July 28, 2023.