Opened
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Like its source material -- a Disneyland attraction -- "The Haunted Mansion" is a pleasant and atmospheric family romp, offering enough mildly chilling thrills to keep everyone entertained during its brief running time. Boxoffice fave Eddie Murphy toplines as a go-getter real estate agent who sidelines a family trip in hopes of landing a wealthy client, finding instead a world of restless spirits, creepy zombies and other special effects. The film is sure to scare up strong results for Disney over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and should continue to be a family draw in ensuing weeks.
Jim Evers (Murphy) and his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), are partners in a New Orleans real estate company, and she's increasingly frustrated by his workaholic tendencies. To make amends for missing their anniversary dinner, Jim is taking Sara and their two kids Marc John Jefferies and Aree Davis) for a restful weekend at the lake. But when Sara is summoned by the owner of a manse in a tony part of town, Jim can't resist stopping by to make a sales pitch.
The real stars here are the production design by Oscar winner John Myhre ("Chicago") and the visual effects work from vast teams of artists, led by Jay Redd and makeup designer Rick Baker. From its creaking gate to its moss-shrouded trees and backyard cemetery, the titular mansion-with-a-secret is an amalgam of classic spooky-movie elements, with a Louisiana accent.
In a plot line intricate enough to keep parents engaged, the inevitable rainstorm makes overnight guests of the Evers family, who gradually uncover a web of unresolved, not to mention dysfunctional, love. The house's two pale inhabitants, owner Edward Gracey (Nathaniel Parker) and his humorless, raspy-voiced butler (the unexpected Terence Stamp), believe Sara is the reincarnated Elizabeth, the love of Gracey's life. Her untimely demise long ago cast the mansion's ghostly residents in a state of purgatory, and the plan is to lift the curse by uniting the two lovers at last.
With the help of a mouthy spirit in a crystal ball (Jennifer Tilly) and the house's constantly startled servants (Wallace Shawn, Dina Waters), Jim and the kids race around the premises to save Sara from a wedding made in hell. Their adventure's most effective set piece (which might be too frightening for very young children) involves a descent into the mansion's well-populated crypt. There's an especially winning touch of whimsy in a barbershop quartet of cemetery busts who consider every uttered word a song cue.
The story doesn't quite bear up to the scrutiny of logic, even its own spirit-world variety -- viewers might wonder, for example, why Elizabeth herself isn't a restless ghost haunting the mansion. But scripter David Berenbaum ("Elf") delivers the family-togetherness message with humor and a light hand, avoiding schmaltz and tossing in a few over-their-heads cracks for the grown-ups in the audience.
Director Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King", "Stuart Little") keeps the tale moving, orchestrating the multiple visual layers with seamless efficiency and energy, abetted by Mark Mancina's unobtrusive score and strong contributions from costumer Mona May. Remi Adefarasin's cinematography captures it all with an appropriate emphasis on ghoulish, autumnal tones.
A low-key, affable Murphy acquits himself well as the Realtor-on-a-roll, and young Jefferies displays keen comic timing as a boy reluctantly facing his fears. Supporting work is mostly bland, though, with Stamp and Tilly enjoyable but disappointingly one-note in their jokey roles.
THE HAUNTED MANSION
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Rob Minkoff
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Don Hahn, Andrew Gunn
Executive producers: Barry Bernardi, Rob Minkoff
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: John Myhre
Music: Mark Mancina
Costume designer: Mona May
Editor: Priscilla Nedd Friendly
Visual effects supervisor: Jay Redd
Special effects makeup designer: Rick Baker
Cast:
Jim Evers: Eddie Murphy
Ramsley: Terence Stamp
Master Gracey: Nathaniel Parker
Sara Evers: Marsha Thomason
Madame Leota: Jennifer Tilly
Ezra: Wallace Shawn
Emma: Dina Waters
Michael: Marc John Jefferies
Megan: Aree Davis
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Wednesday, Nov. 26
Like its source material -- a Disneyland attraction -- "The Haunted Mansion" is a pleasant and atmospheric family romp, offering enough mildly chilling thrills to keep everyone entertained during its brief running time. Boxoffice fave Eddie Murphy toplines as a go-getter real estate agent who sidelines a family trip in hopes of landing a wealthy client, finding instead a world of restless spirits, creepy zombies and other special effects. The film is sure to scare up strong results for Disney over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and should continue to be a family draw in ensuing weeks.
Jim Evers (Murphy) and his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), are partners in a New Orleans real estate company, and she's increasingly frustrated by his workaholic tendencies. To make amends for missing their anniversary dinner, Jim is taking Sara and their two kids Marc John Jefferies and Aree Davis) for a restful weekend at the lake. But when Sara is summoned by the owner of a manse in a tony part of town, Jim can't resist stopping by to make a sales pitch.
The real stars here are the production design by Oscar winner John Myhre ("Chicago") and the visual effects work from vast teams of artists, led by Jay Redd and makeup designer Rick Baker. From its creaking gate to its moss-shrouded trees and backyard cemetery, the titular mansion-with-a-secret is an amalgam of classic spooky-movie elements, with a Louisiana accent.
In a plot line intricate enough to keep parents engaged, the inevitable rainstorm makes overnight guests of the Evers family, who gradually uncover a web of unresolved, not to mention dysfunctional, love. The house's two pale inhabitants, owner Edward Gracey (Nathaniel Parker) and his humorless, raspy-voiced butler (the unexpected Terence Stamp), believe Sara is the reincarnated Elizabeth, the love of Gracey's life. Her untimely demise long ago cast the mansion's ghostly residents in a state of purgatory, and the plan is to lift the curse by uniting the two lovers at last.
With the help of a mouthy spirit in a crystal ball (Jennifer Tilly) and the house's constantly startled servants (Wallace Shawn, Dina Waters), Jim and the kids race around the premises to save Sara from a wedding made in hell. Their adventure's most effective set piece (which might be too frightening for very young children) involves a descent into the mansion's well-populated crypt. There's an especially winning touch of whimsy in a barbershop quartet of cemetery busts who consider every uttered word a song cue.
The story doesn't quite bear up to the scrutiny of logic, even its own spirit-world variety -- viewers might wonder, for example, why Elizabeth herself isn't a restless ghost haunting the mansion. But scripter David Berenbaum ("Elf") delivers the family-togetherness message with humor and a light hand, avoiding schmaltz and tossing in a few over-their-heads cracks for the grown-ups in the audience.
Director Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King", "Stuart Little") keeps the tale moving, orchestrating the multiple visual layers with seamless efficiency and energy, abetted by Mark Mancina's unobtrusive score and strong contributions from costumer Mona May. Remi Adefarasin's cinematography captures it all with an appropriate emphasis on ghoulish, autumnal tones.
A low-key, affable Murphy acquits himself well as the Realtor-on-a-roll, and young Jefferies displays keen comic timing as a boy reluctantly facing his fears. Supporting work is mostly bland, though, with Stamp and Tilly enjoyable but disappointingly one-note in their jokey roles.
THE HAUNTED MANSION
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Credits:
Director: Rob Minkoff
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Don Hahn, Andrew Gunn
Executive producers: Barry Bernardi, Rob Minkoff
Director of photography: Remi Adefarasin
Production designer: John Myhre
Music: Mark Mancina
Costume designer: Mona May
Editor: Priscilla Nedd Friendly
Visual effects supervisor: Jay Redd
Special effects makeup designer: Rick Baker
Cast:
Jim Evers: Eddie Murphy
Ramsley: Terence Stamp
Master Gracey: Nathaniel Parker
Sara Evers: Marsha Thomason
Madame Leota: Jennifer Tilly
Ezra: Wallace Shawn
Emma: Dina Waters
Michael: Marc John Jefferies
Megan: Aree Davis
Running time -- 88 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 12/11/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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