Muppets Haunted Mansion: Beloved Characters Bring Gentle Chills, Big Life Lessons

By Karen Gordon

Rating: B

Muppets Haunted Mansion puts Gonzo the Great on the hot spot, in a celebrity studded Disney+ movie aimed at little kids. Hallowe’en, as it turns out, isn’t just for scares or collecting buckets of candy. There are also gentle life lessons to be gleaned for the little ones.

Rather than spending Hallowe’en at a party thrown by Kermit and Miss Piggy (no surprise, Piggy has chosen their costumes), Gonzo has taken up a challenge to spend a night in a haunted mansion where, it’s said, no one gets out alive. The legend is built around a magician named The Great MacGuffin, who went in and allegedly never came out.

Along for the ride is Pepe the King Prawn who, no matter how many times Gonzo (or anyone else) explains it, is convinced he’s going to a party with a Famous People’s Room.

Their chauffeur, played by Yvette Nicole Brown, drops them off at the grounds, arranging to pick them up in the morning, but is clearly skeptical that she will see them again. At the mansion the two are first greeted by the Caretaker, played by Darren Criss, who is surprised that they’re willing to take up the challenge of spending the night in such a haunted place.

At the door they meet their host, a ghost of course, played by Will Arnett, who shows up repeatedly as a good host should attempting to explain what’s what. The two split up: Pepe to find the Famous People’s Room, and Gonzo to explore the mansion.

Along the way the run into a variety of (lightly) spooky figures, played by a host of celebrities including Danny Trejo, Chrissy Metz, and the late Ed Asner, Sasheer Zamata, Justina Machado, Craig Robinson and Pat Sajak (!)

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

Pepe finds his Famous People’s Room and falls under the spell of the beautiful widow Constance Hatchaway, played by Taraji P. Henson. In the meantime, Gonzo, who is of course a world-famous daredevil who likes people to think he’s fearless, faces his fears. Again, gently. The message of Hallowe’en — at this Haunted Mansion anyway — is as much about encouraging kids to not be scared and that it’s OK to face your fears as it is about friendship and kindness.

The film, which is surprisingly the Muppets first ever Hallowe’en movie (how is that possible?) is inspired by Disney’s Haunted Mansion attractions at various Disney Parks, includes new songs, and, according to the producers, Easter eggs for Disney fans.

The look of the mansion is old school Hallowe’en, with long corridors and Victorian-style mansion furnishings. The story is easygoing. The writers have put a lot of jokes in the mouths of their characters that are there to make parents chuckle. This is all for fun.

Muppets Haunted Mansion. Directed by Kirk R. Thatcher. With Will Arnett, Danny Trejo, Taraji P. Henson, Chrissy Metz, Ed Asner, and Sasheer Zamata. Debuts October 8, on Disney+