This is going to be my... blog, of sorts. I'll just write about whatever I want on here. On the side are links to different blog posts! They are sorted from newest to oldest.
The Haunted Mansion is my favorite Disney ride, by a long shot (probably because it wasn't originally made by Disney!). I've only gone to Disney World once in my life, have done the ride twice, and revisited it countless times through POV shots of the ride. I may be... quite biased as to my beliefs of what could constitute a good adaptation of this ride into a movie, so I dove headfirst into two of the ride's adaptations, made 20 years apart. If you're looking for an in-depth review, this isn't the place! These are just my personal feelings on how they work or fail as adaptations!
Coming out only mere months after Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, it's not a stretch to imagine they wanted to find another standalone ride they could adapt into a movie, and its no wonder they chose the Haunted Mansion. However, I think it still works great as a standalone live action Disney movie, especially for those chilly Halloween evenings, or for people who know the ride in depth.
The soundtrack has a strong throughline of Grim Grinning Ghosts (I mean, why wouldn't it...). It's a very silly movie, often being a little too... goofy, especially with Eddie Murphy's comedic acting, but it still succeeds at bringing a creepy atmosphere throughout the whole movie. It's a perfect mix of scary and funny that are, to me, a staple of late-90's/early-00's kid's horror movies.
Of course, as an adaptation, it adds many elements from the ride into its plot and set design. The crow, Leota, the hitchhiking ghosts, the thunderstorm... However, the story itself seems to have taken the most liberties, without ever feeling out of place. It works its gothic setting into its plot, incorporating a ghostly love story and a curse into the mansion. The Bride's character is reworked a bit, her murderous inclinations entirely gone. It's probably the best course of action they could've taken to adapt a ride into a mostly original story!
It manages to give the things adapted from the ride a look that is different, but still identifiable. The dining room, of course, is definitely the most recognizable, but there is never an obvious 1:1 room (no descending room, though one has a similar shape; there is a cemetary, but it's also the garden at the entrance of the ride in Disney World!). Everything is still so ornately decorated, and it feels as lived in as a mansion full of ghosts could be. There are also so many colors! It never felt boring to look at, everything was bright and well illuminated even in dark scenes.
My only real and true gripe with the movie: Where did Heaven and Hell come from? I suppose a kid's movie needs a good ending, and that the ghosts in this version don't want to spend another eternity in the mansion, but...
And don't forget: the butler did it!
Oh Disney. Now here we are 20 years later. What happened to you?
As much as I went into this movie with good expectations (I had just watched 2003! I was happy! It was so bright and joyous and creepy!), but I knew this would be a different experience when UHAUL reared it's ugly head and our main character was dead set on being a man of science who doesn't believe in ghosts. It was also noticeably darker and less colorful in every way. And I cannot tell you how hard I screamed of panic when I saw Jared Leto cast as the Hatbox Ghost (mo, I didn't know).
Immediately, the way the Hatbox Ghost is pitted as a major antagonist and major figure of the house... well, it couldn't be good. The Hatbox Ghost is well known on the Internet in creepypasta circles for his disappearance and sudden reappearance, and, to quote the movie, to have "colorful theories". However, he is not a major part of the ride itself. Quite a minor character, especially compared to the Bride, who appears at his side in the ride, and has a somewhat minor role in the movie.
I appreciated Grim Grinning Ghosts appearing in the soundtrack again, as well as the multiple setpieces that directly referenced or were pulled straight out of the ride. However, they feel more like a... cameo, rather than a meaningful addition. Maybe I may just be jaded from the countless Marvel movies that have the same feeling as this one did. And, call this a nitpick, but... the ghosts don't really follow you home. Except the hitchhikers. I didn't really get why the portrait ghosts did (the Mariner and Black Prince, namely). I probably just know this ride too much.
On a movie-itself standpoint, I think the emotional story was just... such a miss. A problem of modern ensemble movies, I think, but they never really take the time to present to us the problem at the beginning of the movie, and fix it by the end. Rather, they present it at some point throughout the middle of the movie, and expect us to care when its resolution comes at the end. I just... didn't particularly care.
The special effects and CGI in this movie were... well, they were Disney in the 2020s. They were bad. Not much else to say here. At least 2003 had fun with their bad special effects.
I think Disney had a good formula of live action adaptations in the early-00s, when they cared more about making a fun, bright movie that had an incredible set design than they cared about making an exhorbitant amount of money while mistreating their non-unionized CGI artists. It is actually crazy to me that a movie made 20 years ago looks better and brighter than the movies we have today.
The Haunted Mansion (2003): 7/10 - I had fun, but it loses a few points on the cringe-worthy cucking plot and jokes at times. More points on the good jokes, however.
The Haunted Mansion (2023): 4/10 - Jared Leto does not fucking deserve the Hatbox Ghost. It was kinda nothing. Points on the ending where the ghosts stay in the Mansion and have fun forever.
Edit (6/8/23) - I forgot to mention, but I mentionned UHAUL in the 2023 movie, and the "product placement" and name dropping of brands in that one was SO bad, especially after coming out of the 2003 movie. It's crazy what 20 years will do to the corporate landscape. It was incredibly egregious during a specific scene of 2023, where they name-dropped at least 3-5 different brands. It is not necessary to the story.