The Haunted Mansion is a classic Disney attraction. It's film counterpart, yeah not so much. What if I were to tell you that this wasn't the first time The Haunted Mansion been considered as a film. You see during the early '90s, screenwriters Jim Hill and Shelia Greenberg had written up a script filled with Haunted Mansion mythos and lore.
They sent the script to Disney. Hill and Greenberg got a call from Disney saying that they were interested. They even met with the gaming division of Disney because even if Disney didn't want to make a film, there was a chance that they could have gotten to make a video game based off of their script. Jeffery Katzenberg was attached to this project as well. Well that was until he saw how Hocus Pocus under performed at the box office.
Things began to look grim for Hill and Greenberg but not all was lost. For you see, through all of the meetings that they had with Disney, they had made some connections. Several years passed but then Hill received a phone call from a talent agency telling him that Disney was interested in adapting Haunted Mansion as movie again but rather this time, it would have been done as TV movie and aired as part of The Wonderful World of Disney. As stated at the end of my previous review, it would have also been a follow up to Tower of Terror.
It is believed that the plans for this Haunted Mansion TV movie got canned because Tower of Terror didn't pull in good enough ratings and Disney wasn't willing to try another attraction based film just yet.
Now other than what I have told you here, very little is known about this project. I would like to think that it would have been better than the rubbish we got starring Eddie Murphy.
Now that I have the story of what happened, I want to share my thoughts on how you could make The Haunted Mansion work as an adaption.
With them saying Follow up to Tower of Terror, I do not know if they meant a sequel but in some regards if that were the case, I think it would have been a decent enough film. I mean I do not know how they would tie the two together but see something along the lines of Buzzy going to the Mansion to write a story about it. Sure, it sound similar to the Tower of Terror plot but at the same time I could see them making it feel fresh having Buzzy interact with the ghosts of The Haunted Mansion. Though if there were to be adapted to TV, I think it would have been better had they gone for the mini series route a la Dinotopia. Because I feel even as a movie, there is too much in The Haunted Mansion to try and cram in and in some areas, it's worse with a TV film.
If they had gone with the mini series approach, I think not only would they have more opportunity to explore the Mansion but I also think that they would have given them the chance to interact with more of the ghosts. There are 999 ghosts in the Mansion and I doubt there is anyway you could fit them all into all film unless it were some form of cameo. Going for the mini series approach, would at least allow the audience more time with the ghost that are considered important to not just the plot of the film but also the ride such as the Bride and Madam Leota.
I think part of the problem with the Eddie Murphy film besides lacking the spirit of Mansion was that it crammed way too much in at once. I think that would be an even bigger problem for a TV movie because not only are there budgets smaller than that of theatrical release but sometimes they try to put more in than they should. I personally think if Disney had gone in a mini series direction with Mansion, it would have been successful and I could see them making a follow up to that that takes place in say The Phantom Manor
For those of you who do not know, this is the Mansion in Euro Disney. It has it's own unique story and borrows elements from Phantom of the Opera to tell it's story.
Now I've never been on this version and I know very little about it but I do think it would be intriguing to explore a different Mansion. Now as of late, news have been given that Gullimo del Toro is working on a new script for a new Haunted Mansion film. Which he promises to actually be scary and focus more on the characters from the rides. Which is good and I have heard that he is a fan of Mansion, which gives me hope. That and the fact that he said they aren't returning Eddie Murphy's calls. Also he has stated that he will be using The Hatbox Ghost, a ghost who had a very short history in the ride as he broke down each time he was in the ride but I have a feeling if this Mansion film is successful and I think it will be, we will see the return of The Hatbox Ghost to Mansion.
So in the end, while this version of Mansion was never made perhaps it is for the best because who's to say that this wasn't wouldn't have been any better than the Eddie Murphy film. What do you think and how would you go about adapting The Haunted Mansion for TV? Tell me in the comments. You know what I need to end this on...
May not be the original but I still think that it's pretty good and I can't do a Haunted Mansion article without this song. Until next time, Happy Haunts.
In case your interested here is a link to a copy of the working script for this film that never got off the ground.
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