top of page
Writer's pictureL.D. Walters

"Haunted Mansion"

Updated: Mar 27, 2021



A 2003 childhood favorite. I recently rewatched this on Disney+ after viewing Offhand Disney videos. For those of you that don't know, Offhand Disney is a Youtuber who loves the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland which the 2003 movie is based on.


Link below:


Haunted Mansion follows the story of a workaholic named Jim Evers played by none other than Eddie Murphy famous for another role in Shrek as Donkey.


When Jim misses an anniversary because he was busy selling a house, he makes it up to his family by taking them on a family vacation to the lake. However, before they can even go, his wife Sara gets a phone call about a man wanting to sell a Louisianan mansion.


They take a detour of their family vacay to see the mansion and talk to the seller Mr. Gracey who owns the house. As they eat dinner in a lavish ballroom, a storm breaks out flooding the roads forcing the Evers family to stay the night.


What the family doesn't know, is that there are 999 ghosts occupying the mansion. 👻


Some of the jokes don't hold up and are seen as goofy at times. But my favorite part has to be when the three hitchhiking ghosts actually hitch a ride in the vintage hearse carriage.


Phineas: "Can they see us?"


Gus: "No of course not."


Eddie Murphy: "Yes, I can see you. I'm staring at you right now with your big ugly hat."


Gus: "Don't listen to him, he's lying!"


Phineas: "I could swear he was looking right at me."


Gus: "He's psychic!"


I cracked up so hard. That part never gets old. 👻🤣🤣🤣🤣


There are some questions that never get answered in the movie such as why is Elizabeth's spirit the only ghost orb? Why would Mr. Gracey's suicide curse an entire mansion? Where did the other 994 ghosts come from? Were they the party guests from the beginning or are they, family members? And why were they cursed too? Why wasn't Ramsely the only one who was cursed? After all, he was the true murderer. And the only one who seemed to have done an evil deed. Were the zombies Mr. Gracey's corpse and the other party guests? If so, how did he get reanimated if his spirit dwelled in the mansion?

Why didn't Madame Leota and the singing busts join the other spirits that ascended to heaven?


Just so many unanswered questions. I always assumed the main zombie in the mausoleum was Mr. Gracey because of the original bonus features on the DVD. It's an interactive tour of the mansion you take with Ezra, the servant played by Wallace Shawn. If you take a wrong turn, you end up in the mausoleum where the corpses come to life and one of them flashes Ramsely's face as his corpse is climbing out of the ground.


So, you can see why I assumed the main zombie was Mr. Gracey if his butler was buried there as well.

I will also be filming my first video blog about this particular subject.


15 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page