The Haunted Mansion (2003 film)
The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American supernatural horror comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and written by David Berenbaum. Loosely based on the Disneyland attraction of the same name, the film stars Eddie Murphy as a realtor who, along with his family, becomes trapped in the titular building. Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Marsha Thomason and Jennifer Tilly appear in supporting roles.
The film was released in the United States on November 26, 2003, by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. The film received negative reviews from critics but performed well at the box office, grossing $182.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. Despite its initial reviews, the film has developed a cult following over the years. Another film adaptation directed by Justin Simien was released in 2023.
Plot
Successful realtors Jim and Sara Evers live in Louisiana with their young children, Megan and Michael, but Jim's workaholic ways begin to alienate him from his family. After missing his and Sara's wedding anniversary to pursue a lead, Jim tries to make amends by planning a vacation to the nearby lake. Sara is subsequently contacted by the residents of Gracey Manor about negotiating a sale. Eager to make the deal, Jim has the family stop at the mansion on their way to the lake, where they meet the owner, Edward Gracey, and his servants; butler Ramsley, maid Emma, and footman Ezra.When a thunderstorm floods the nearby river, Gracey lets the family stay at the mansion for the night. Ramsley takes Jim to its library to discuss the deal with Gracey, but he becomes trapped in a secret passage. Gracey gives Sara a tour of the mansion, discussing his past and the death of his "grandfather" after the supposed suicide of his lover, Elizabeth Henshaw. The Evers children follow a spectral orb to the mansion's attic and find a painting of a woman resembling Sara. Emma and Ezra soon appear and identify the woman as the late Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, Jim meets Madame Leota, the ghost of a gypsy whose head is encased in her crystal ball. He runs into Emma, Ezra, and his children and returns to Leota for answers about Elizabeth's likeness to Sara. It is revealed that the mansion's inhabitants are ghosts, cursed a century ago by Elizabeth and Gracey's untimely deaths, that can only enter the afterlife when the couple is reunited; Sara is believed to be Elizabeth's reincarnation, though Leota cautions that things are not as they seem. She sends the Evers to the mansion's cemetery to find a key that will reveal the truth about Elizabeth's death. In a crypt beneath a mausoleum, Jim and Megan find the key, but inadvertently disturb its undead occupants. The duo narrowly escape with help from Michael, who overcomes his arachnophobia when they are locked in.
Leota then leads them to a locked trunk in the attic, in which Jim finds a letter that Elizabeth wrote to Gracey, revealing her intent to marry him and indicating that she was murdered. Ramsley then appears and it is revealed that he murdered Elizabeth to prevent his master from abandoning his heritage, as he believed their relationship was unacceptable. To hide the truth, Ramsley detains the children in another trunk and literally throws Jim out of the mansion, subsequently enchanting it to keep him at bay. As Gracey and Sara rendezvous in the ballroom, she is confused when he asks if she recognizes him and insists she is Elizabeth. The room then fills with dancing ghosts as Gracey reveals his true colors, but Sara denies being Elizabeth and flees to her room. Gracey starts to have doubts, but Ramsley insists that Sara is Elizabeth and will eventually remember as he then blackmails her into marrying Gracey in exchange for her children's safety. At Leota's encouragement, Jim breaks in to the mansion, rescuing the children and stopping the wedding. He then gives Elizabeth's letter to Gracey, who furiously confronts Ramsley, who rages at his master's apparent selfishness for loving Elizabeth and summons wraiths to attack the group. However, with the truth revealed, a demon emerges from the ballroom's fireplace and drags Ramsley down to Hell. He attempts to take Jim with him, but Jim is saved by Gracey.
Sara collapses, having been poisoned by Ramsley during the wedding ceremony. The spectral orb appears and, possessing Sara, is revealed to be Elizabeth, who could only be freed from her spectral form once the truth was revealed. She and Gracey reunite as Sara is revived. With the curse lifted, Gracey gives the Evers the deed to the mansion and departs to Heaven with Elizabeth and the mansion's inhabitants. Afterwards, the Evers set off for their intended vacation, accompanied by Leota and a quartet of singing busts that Jim and the children encountered in the cemetery.
Cast
- Eddie Murphy as Jim Evers, a successful yet workaholic real estate agent who is often late for family gatherings, but tries his best to make up for it.
- Terence Stamp as Ramsley, the ghost of Gracey Manor's butler who serves as a father figure to Master Gracey. He is later revealed to be responsible for Elizabeth's death.
- Nathaniel Parker as Master Edward Gracey, the ghost of Gracey Manor's owner who longs for his lost love, Elizabeth Henshaw, to return to him after her apparent suicide. The character is a three-way combination of the Ghost Host, the Aging Man portrait and the eponymous character from the source material.
- Marsha Thomason as:
- * Sara Evers, Jim's disapproving wife and business partner.
- * Elizabeth Henshaw, the ghost of Master Gracey's long lost lover who bears a striking resemblance to Sara. She is loosely based on the source material's bride characters.
- Jennifer Tilly as Madame Leota, the ghost of a Romani woman whose head is encased in her crystal ball.
- Wallace Shawn as Ezra, the ghost of a bumbling footman who worries about getting into trouble.
- Dina Spybey as Emma, the ghost of a nervous but helpful maid who seems terrified of Ramsley.
- Marc John Jefferies as Michael Evers, Jim and Sara's arachnophobic son.
- Aree Davis as Megan Evers, Jim and Sara's impatient daughter.
- The Dapper Dans as the voices of the Singing Busts. The characters are depicted as a quartet rather than a quintet like in the source material.
- Deep Roy, Jeremy Howard and Clay Martinez as the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
- Corey Burton as the voice of the Ghost Host. Burton was cast as a tribute to Paul Frees, the character's original portrayer in the source material.
- Jim Doughan as Mr. Coleman, a picky client of Jim’s.
- Rachael Harris as Mrs. Coleman, Mr. Coleman’s open-minded wife.
- Steve Hytner as Mr. Silverman, an annoying client of Jim’s.
- Heather Juergensen as Mrs. Silverman, Mr. Silverman's equally annoying wife.
Production
In January 2002, it was announced Disney had formally greenlit The Haunted Mansion with the script written by David Berenbaum.The original concept for the film's setting was Upstate New York, with the mansion's exterior modeled after the Walt Disney World version. However, to keep the faithfulness of the original attraction's location in the New Orleans Square section of Disneyland, the producers changed the setting to New Orleans, Louisiana. To allude to the two versions of the attraction and create a more foreboding atmosphere, the production enlarged the film mansion, basing its designs on the original attraction while adding the iron and glass conservatory on its side from the Florida version of the ride. Director Rob Minkoff described the film's mansion's architecture as Renaissance-influenced with a mix of antebellum and Dutch-colonial revival style.
The mansion scenes were filmed at Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita, California. The main building was constructed over a period of weeks while the cupola and chimneys on the top of the mansion were computer-generated. The rest of film was shot in New Orleans and surrounding areas.
A quintet of Hidden Mickeys are seen throughout the film similar to the ride; the most notable ones being the padlock at the mansion's gates, the second when an axe wielded by a possessed suit of armor nearly hits Jim and a third which is briefly seen when Ramsley poisons a goblet of wine during the wedding ceremony. The other two are the couch in the library and the windows on the doors Jim passes when he is chased by musical instruments summoned by Madame Leota. Before leaving the mansion via a hearse to find the mausoleum, Ezra exclaims "there's always my way", a pivotal line of dialogue from the attraction.
The costume and special effects designers wanted the ghost characters to become "more dead" the farther they were from the mansion. While Ezra and Emma look human in the house, their leaving it causes them to become blue and transparent to show they are ghosts. The zombies in the mausoleum were described as the "deadest as they are farthest away". Rick Baker, the chief costume designer, did the prosthetic makeup for the zombies in the mausoleum, using skull-based heads for their designs. He also designed one of the zombies as an elderly man holding a cane in order to make the scene less frightening for viewers.