Movie Review: The Haunted Mansion (2003)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Story, laughs, light scares

Cons: Eddie Murphy

The Bottom Line:

Spooky yet funny

Perfectly blended for most

I really enjoy

"I Believe in Ghosts.  But That's Not a Good Thing to Put in the Listing."

The Disney theme parks are famous for their rides based on movies. But over the years, the park has created many original attractions to satisfy their guests. In the last few years, the company has started taking those attractions and turning them into movies. The most successful of these is the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. In another attempt to cash in on familiar attractions, the studio released The Haunted Mansion. It wasn't nearly as popular, which is a shame because it is really quite entertaining.

Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) and his wife Sara (Marsha Thomason) are successful realtors. In fact, they've just had their most successful month yet thanks to Jim's drive. Unfortunately, the success has come at the expense of his family. In an attempt to make it up to them, he promises the entire family a weekend at the lake.

Before they leave, Sara gets a call about a listing. When he sees the location, Jim flips. It's a mansion outside of town. The commission would be huge. Of course they have to stop for twenty minutes max. So with kids Meagan (Aree Davis) and Michael (Marc John Jeffries) in tow, they stop.

A quick twenty minute stop turns into an overnight visit when a rain storm comes up and strands them in the mansion. The family is soon separated and begins to realize that something sinister is going on in the mansion. For any of them to survive, they will have to work together to solve an old mystery. Can they do it?

This movie was released to theaters just a few months after the huge success of the first Pirates film. That led to unfortunate comparisons between the two that do leave this movie wanting. That first film was attempting to be an action epic, while this one is trying to be a slightly scary family comedy. As such, it succeeds.

Now I will admit to getting scared very easily. In fact, I'm still not a huge fan of the ride. This movie does provide some chills, mainly of the jump out and startle you variety. And it is slightly scarier then the ride. Parents will probably want to watch it first to make sure it won't frighten their kids, but most will probably be able to handle it.

The writer of the movie did a good job of providing a believable story to string together scenes from the ride. And the mystery has enough of a twist I was surprised my second time through. Everyone's actions are believable, which keeps the story grounded. And while there are some cliches of the family movie genre (Workaholic dad; child must face fear), they aren't overbearing.

Fans of the ride will be thrilled. The visuals are right out of the attractions. There are several moments that made me do a double take at how closely they rebuilt things. Madame Leota, played by Jennifer Tilly, plays an important part in the story. And the hitchhiking ghosts from the end of the ride make a cameo as well. My favorite gag involved the singing busts. Voiced by The Dapper Dans (the barbershop quartet from Disneyland's Main Street), they break out into a couple of barbershop classics. I may be the only one to get the joke, but I find it hysterical.

So let's discuss what doesn't work. I'm not a big fan of Eddie Murphy, and he's my biggest complaint about this film. He spends most of the first half playing things over the top. It is annoying to say the least. Granted, that is part of his character. But I still don't like it. Fortunately, that gets toned down as the movie progresses.

The rest of the cast is fine. Terence Stamp makes a wonderfully proper and creepy butler. And Wallace Shawn and Dina Spybey are obviously having fun as two servants who set out to help the Evers.

We can't leave off the visual effects. They are great and make the entire movie come to life.

One thing that really impressed me is the underlying theme. Without giving too much away, some issues of prejudice come up, but the movie never makes a big deal out of them. In fact, you can watch the movie without picking up on them.

The DVD features the standard assortment of behind the scenes features, bloopers, and commentaries. The behind the scenes stuff really shows how they achieved the effects. There is one deleted scene that frankly should have been included. It helps explain some of what is happening. We do get most of the information in the movie anyway, but this scene would have helped make everything clearer sooner. And I absolutely love the surround sound. It was great listening to the thunder rumble behind me.

This movie aims for the family audience, and I think it hits the target well. If it won't scare the kids, The Haunted Mansion would make for a great family Halloween tradition.