Originally Posted By ctdsnark "Wait---isn't he a little late in posting this?Wouldn't it had made more sense to put this up four years ago,when it was released?" I suppose it would've---and when the movie was released four years ago,I remember there was a great deal of discussion over it,most of it negative.The film's less-than-stellar box office would seem to bear that out.I must admit,at the time,I didn't really have anything to say about it,other than I didn't like it,and just wanted to forget about it and move on. In many ways,the recent release of POTC 3 has something to do with this.I babysat my two preteen nieces this weekend;both were exuberant about seeing it{we all liked it,by the way},and in the half-a-day we waited to go to the theater,they insisted on watching their DVD of the HM movie.This gave me the opportunity to reflect on something I hadn't four years ago---WHY I didn't like it,and if I had the power,I would change.I mean---they play HIP-HOP music over the closing credits!"What's wrong with that?"Is there hip-hop,or any sort of current popular music played over the closing credits of any of the POTC movies---or The Chronicles Of Narnia,or the Harry Potter films,or the Lord Of The Rings trilogy?These are meant to be fantasy films for the ages,not a capitalization of a current trend! If the HM movie had been made in the late 70's,would we have welcomed a disco rendition of "Grim Grinning Ghosts"? Now that I got that out of my 43-year-old system,let me start off by saying that the main plot of the movie was a good oneresumably,sometime in a past century,the lord of Gracey Manor set out to marry a woman that,unbeknownst to him,was seen as unworthy in the eyes of his butler,so he took it upon himself to dispatch her,and make her death look like a suicide,which caused a grief-stricken Gracey to kill himself,plunging the mansion,and all who dwell within,into a curse.Fast forward to the present,where Mr. and Mrs. Evers arrive at the long-abandoned mansion,where they experience all sorts of otherworldly phenomena,and Mr. Evers learns that they were lured there by Gracey's butler,because he planned to marry off Mrs. Evers to his dead master,because of her resemblance to the intended Lady Gracey,thus freeing the traitorous manservant from the curse he unwittingly brought on himself.Fortunately,Evers and the ghostly Gracey join forces to foil the sinister butler's plan,the butler is dispatched,and both Evers and Gracey are united with their true loves. Now,had I the ability to do so,here's what I would change. {1}The casting of Eddie Murphy as Mr. Evers.I wouldn't cast him,or any comedian,or even any actor who'd give any sort of overstated performance.The Mansion and its ghostly inhabitants should be the focus of this movie---it's "The Haunted Mansion",not "The Crazy Adventures Of {insert name here}In The Haunted House".After all,what was the main focus of the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie?While I readily have no suggestions as to who would play Evers,I can say that I'd like to see him as an everyman---ordinary,a little blase,somewhat pleasantly dull in a 1950s sort of way,the type of person who would reassure his wife,"Don't worry,sweetheart---there's no such thing as ghosts!"His initial reaction to the supernatural would be one of comical fear,but he's no coward.When his wife is threatened with marriage to a spectre,he rises to the occasion to defend his love.Also,the Evers would have no children---the reason for that is forthcoming. {2} The ghosts should be CGI imagry,not actors in makeup.When I saw the famous trio of hitchhikers in the trailer,I was somewhat put off by the fact that to my eyes,despite Rick Baker's best efforts,they really didn't look like what visitors to DL and WDW have been seeing for years.CGI would better represent these characters envisioned by Marc Davis,and realized in three dimensions by Blaine Gibson.As an example,look to the "Casper" movie,and how Bill Pullman and Cathy Moriarty appeared when their characters become ghosts. Also,I would consider virtual sets as opposed to real ones,as a possible way to realize a house whose interiors are shrouded in perpetual twilight,obscuring distant rooms and the opposite ends of hallways,even with daylight clearly visible in the windows.This would make the house even creepier. {3}The correction of the HM movie's one UNFORGIVABLE sin. When they reached the wedding scene,there were numerous references to hell,damnation,angels and heaven---which found me cringing in my theater seat.Upon pulling myself back up to a normal seated position,I had to fight the urge to throw my popcorn box at the screen.In a movie based on the Haunted Mansion,which is a Disney-created theme park ride that takes a darkly comic look at the supernatural,and the many different manifestations of its inhabitants,and NOT any sort of representation of any theology,there is NO---repeat,NO---place for RELIGION!!!I defy anyone to ride through any one of the four versions of this ride,and find ANY sort of deliberate religious icon!!! {I'm NOT sacrilegious---but there's a time and a place for everything.} {4}I said before the Evers should have no children---and here's why: I envision a new ending,one which I believe is more in keeping with the spirit of the attraction that inspired it.After Master Gracey is reunited with his lady love,and have departed for who-knows-where,the Evers breathe a sigh of relief---until they quickly discover that the Mansion still holds 999 ghosts!In a humorous panic,they rush to their car and quickly speed away,only to drive off a cliff/crash into a tree/meet some sort of quick demise.There are a few moments of stunned disbelief on the part of the audience,as we head back to the mansion.The final scene is a trip through the graveyard,where we see many of its familiar occupants---the five-member band,the singing busts,the opera singers,the mummy and his near-deaf companion,and so forth.The movie's final image is that of the deceased Mr. and Mrs. Evers,who have happily taken up residence in the cemetery of the Haunted Mansion!
Originally Posted By DAR That write up was certainly more interesting than anything in the Haunted Mansion movie.
Originally Posted By Dznygrl Whenever I think of The Haunted Mansion movie, it always makes me sad, because it had the potential to be every bit as good as Curse of the Black Pearl. The best thing they could have done for it was to make it an all-out period film. Forget about this modern day stuff, and CERTAINLY forget about wacky Eddie Murphy and his wacky family. Make it more epic and romanticized. Don't let Jennifer Tilly anywhere NEAR Madame Leota (Perhaps having Gore Verbinski direct it wouldn't have been such a bad idea either!). I really wish there was a way to completely toss out the current movie, forget that it ever existed, and start from scratch.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle I agree. For me, Eddie Murphy was definitely the problem. Making it a "comedy" at all was another problem. Making it a non-funny comedy starring Eddie Murphy, and the whole thing just didn't work. I would have loved it to be another "Pirates", but it just wasn't going to happen with the way they created it.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Ditto. The approach to the subject matter and the cast doomed the film. Johnny Depp made Pirates I a mega-hit, and from what I've read, his interpretation was very different from what had originally been planned. Fortunately they let him go with it and a franchise was born. It seems that Eddie Murphy made the unfortunate decision to act the thing as written...
Originally Posted By mapleservo I've been thinking about this as well - definitely a missed opportunity. I don't think Eddie Murphy helped things at all, but I don't think casting changes alone could've saved this movie. If you take Johnny Depp out of Pirates and you've lost a lot, but there are so many wonderful characters, (major and minor) cool dialogue and clever plot twists, I think you could still have a winning formula. It's a smart movie, for smart people, with great action and a lot going on. Mansion had a plot you could figure out before the house lights went down. It was preachy and simple, and obvious. None of the characters were terribly interesting, and none of the lines were terribly memorable. Just a bland movie through and through. It was targeted at kids and it underestimated it's audience. I like the idea of a period Mansion though. Is it too late to call "Do-over?" (I thought the effects and makeup were pretty decent.)
Originally Posted By ctdsnark A period piece is an interesting idea,but I'd prefer to stick with the idea of latter-day mortals encountering ghosts,people who died in an earlier century.It wouldn't be set in the absolute present---if you recall,I mentioned the folly of putting current popular music in the film. There have been several modern fantasy films that,although presumably set in the present,have a retro-20th century look to them---Mouse Hunt,The Borrowers,the Lemony Snicket movie.What little we see of the outside world in the HM movie,since the majority of the story takes place at the Mansion,I would like to see have this look.As I mentioned above,I think the story was a good one.They just handled it wrong. It's a shame the pre-production rumors about Don Knotts appearing as the cowardly cemetery watchman weren't true.His presence would have jived perfectly with what this film should've been.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Eddie Murphy -- playing the movie as an SNL skit -- just as the Potc movies have the feel of a pirates theme with some comedy interplay - the HM movie seemed to put the slapstick comedy first- so it was near impossible to take anything in the movie seriously.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I saw the movie about a week ago out of coincidence, and I pretty much agree with everything that you guys said. My biggest problem was based on Eddie Murphy. He did not fit the feeling of the attraction at all, and really didn't even fit into the feeling of the rest of the film. The movie was clearly written with kids in mind, which made it boring for adults, especially considering how high the budget was this should have been avoided. I agree that the end needed to be cleaned up a little (like cut out when the butler shouts "Damn you all to hell!") and give it more a feeling of resolution. As it i, they really just made it feel like the movie stopped, not ended. As for the ghosts, I prefer a mix of CGI and real actors. Clearly, we need to believe at the beginning that they are real people, yet later on discover they are ghosts. I think filming live actors in front of a green screen, and then superimposing them into the scene (so they are real, but still appear translucent) would work for the real yet ghostly look. If we lost the kids, I don't think that would have been the end of the world, but it would be much more difficult to sell, since a lot of families would be interested in seeing the movie based off the attraction that they rode on vacation. Pirates did this, but it also clearly had a much more adult tone than either the Haunted Mansion or Country Bears movies. The lack of kids would also make the reason that the two need to stay together give the movie a much more mature tone, since right now they don't really seem to like each other that much and it's really only the kids keeping them together. As for the song at the end, I watched it with my mom (both of my parents are are big fans of cajun and New Orleans music), and she recognized it as an old zydeco song with a different arrangement. I know that most people would never pick up on this type of stuff (I sure didn't), but that does kind of excuse it. Even if they did keep it in its original form it would stick out, but at least add to the New Orleans setting of the film. As it is, "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't" (at least that's what it sounds like they're saying) just clashes too much with the way the rest of the movie sounds.
Originally Posted By ctdsnark >The Country Bears movie< Don't even MENTION that piece of schlock---all you have to do is watch the TRAILER to see they COMPLETELY MISSED THE BOAT on that one!
Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs I've only seen snippets of the Country Bear movie on TV. I, for the life of me never understood why they couldn't add all the bears, or at least rename Beary to Oscar. I think it would have been a great visual aid to have all the bears (including Ernest and Trixie) at the end for once. As for the Mansion film...I might have to rent that again and get another feel for it. The story worked out well (Sarah Evers looking like Gracey's fiancee), but perhaps Eddie was out of place. Come to think of it, I was just looking for the ride references in the movie. I guess their nod to Paris' Phantom Manor was having four singing busts instead of five. Jennifer Tilly as Leota...hmmm. Visually it looked good, but I think it's obvious she was out of place. I did like her advice line to Eddie though. Maybe the plot could have been better if Gracey and company came across some pirate gold that they found in the bayous of New Orleans and were doomed to the Mansion until they could harvest 1000 souls... or not. Perhaps a theatrical (not direct-to-DVD) remake of both Mansion and the Country Bears could do well. As for the latter, I would redo the "save the Grizzly Hall" bit, but include all the bears. I'd cast Ernest as an arrogant in-love-with-himself snob who travels with the Sun Bonnets. Liver Lips would resume his Elvis role, while Big Al, Wendell, Max, Melvin, Buff, Randy (the skunk) and Sammy all help out Henry at Grizzly Hall. The obligatory cameos from country stars would also be included. And if that film did well, the sequel could be a nod to the cross-country race and Southern trucker films like The Great Race, Smokey and the Bandit and Convoy. I think snark's version of the Mansion movie is very feasible, right up to it's morbidly amusing ending. Of course we all know why the Country Bears movie failed in the first place: The LPer cameos weren't long enough.
Originally Posted By kennect What would Pirates have turned out to be if they had tried in any way to throw in a comptemporary setting to base the overall story on? Exactly like Bear's and Haunted Mansion turned out...NOT GOOD....But I must admit I love all of the effort of the production design for Mansion...Shame the story didn't get the same care...
Originally Posted By ctdsnark The movie's mansion sets were great,but in the "real" Haunted Mansion,perpetual darkness only allows you to see a fraction of the house's antique opulence---hence my suggestion of virtual sets.Not only would it be foolish to build elaborate sets that would largely go unseen,a virtual environment gives you total control over its appearance,even in defiance of logic---why would there be darkened rooms in a windowed house seen in the daytime? Just think how creepy that would look!
Originally Posted By lesmisfan this might be a little out of place but i always thought that madame leota should have been played by angelica houstin.
Originally Posted By ctdsnark But it's a Haunted Mansion movie---wouldn't being creepy be an asset? As for Angelica Houstin,why not?She's already played the evil empress in "Captain EO",and the wicked stepmother in "Ever After".That is,if she doesn't mind a role that consists largely of just her face.Of course,flashback sequences of Leota when she was still mortal would rectify that.
Originally Posted By ChampDisney The director of the movie was Rob Minkoff which also directed movie such as the Stuart Little movies & the Disney classic the Lion King. Now, I after watching this movie I really thought it would have done better if they have gotten a better director because honestly I think Rob Minkoff should stay with animated movies because Lion King is one of my favorites. Eddie Murphy didn't do well & I hated the actor that played the role of Master Gracey. I also thought the ended sucked because they made the Haunted Mansion ghost free & when you visit Disney parks its the Mansion we know & love with 999 grim grinning ghosts. So I really would have thought they went with a story on how the Haunted Mansion became "Haunted" or they can just work on a prequel that has better actor for Master Gracey & Madame Leota.
Originally Posted By kennect If Angelica had been approached with what turned out to be the finished script she and any other actress would have said no....The idea for such a film had such great potential...It simply didn't happen though...
Originally Posted By ctdsnark FiveBearRugs---I forgot all about that! ChampDisney---You're right,the ending did suck;hence my suggestion for a new ending regarding the childless Evers' meeting a quick death,allowing them to join the cadre of grim,grinning ghosts.
