Haunted Mansion's Greatest Success Is Its Respect for the Ride - But There's a Problem

The Haunted Mansion has seemingly caused divisions between audiences and critics, but it's fair to say its greatest flaw is also its best feature.

Haunted Mansion represents Disney's latest attempt to take a ride from its parks and adapt it to the big screen. While Pirates of the Caribbean has been a major success, Jungle Cruise failed to capture the imagination of audiences, and financially, Haunted Mansion is following suit. While the narrative is a strong one, and Disney fans have a lot of love for the original park attraction, somehow, that enthusiasm hasn't fully been translated to the box office numbers.

A huge reason for Haunted Mansion's lack of attention is linked to Hollywood's obsession with dropping Halloween movies outside of the Fall season. However, there is another divisive factor that should be taken into account when analyzing Haunted Mansion's performance. Hardcore fans are truly responding to the adaptation, while mainstream audiences aren't reacting in the same way. It appears to be the case that the movie's biggest asset has suddenly become a hindrance.

Audiences and Critics Have Been Split on Haunted Mansion

Audiences and critics are already split on Haunted Mansion. Reviews for the film have been lackluster, with writers suggesting that Haunted Mansion isn't scary enough to be a horror or funny enough to be a comedy. But perhaps those critics are missing something. Good word of mouth has been spreading, praising the Disney flick for its family-focused narrative and the charisma of its all-star cast. Indeed, it seems those who are going to the cinema are having fun with the piece, with the ghoulish antics of the 999 souls that inhabit those hallowed halls entertaining fans.

This division between the audience and the critics certainly isn't a new phenomenon, with plenty of recent Disney releases experiencing the same occurrence. The Rotten Tomatoes scores speak for themselves. While critically, the movie sits at 38 percent rotten, the audience score is as high as 84 percent. Yet, that positive perception from those who have gone to theaters still doesn't seem to be enough. That's perhaps because those reacting so well to the blockbuster are already fans of the ride.

Haunted Mansion Has a Deep Respect for the Disney Ride

Haunted Mansion continues to pay homage to the ride that inspired its narrative throughout its entire run. Hardcore fans will notice every detail that's been packed in. The plot naturally makes way for moments from the global attraction to play out. Disney's park guests will be well aware of the room that elongates, for example, revealing tragic events that have been captured in the surrounding portraits. They'll be very familiar with the various ghosts that roam the halls of the manor, from the Hat Box Ghost to the Bride, who has a habit of killing her husbands. And with the Doom Buggys replicated via the moving armchairs and Madame Leota taking a leading role, it's crystal clear that Disney left no stone unturned when trying to please fans of the ride.

In the past, Disney's adaptations of its attractions haven't kept to the original inspiration very well. Tomorrowland, for example, essentially took the basic premise of a whole area in the parks and created a new narrative around it that didn't fully connect. The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise essentially used the titular ride very loosely and expanded upon it with new characters and conflicts. Even Jungle Cruise barely features any nods to the same river experience, packing the piece out with the kind of genre tropes commonly found in action adventures. While the flaw of the original Haunted Mansion adaptation might have been a lack of respect for the source material, the modern incarnation has arguably surpassed its peers in delivering an authentic experience that fans of the parks will recognize and enjoy. This dedication has alienated a more mainstream crowd, though.

Haunted Mansion's Greatest Success Is Also a Flaw

Those criticisms concerning the humor and horror of Haunted Mansion pinpoint the real problem behind the film. If a viewer hasn't had the opportunity to ride the titular attraction, they might not fully understand the tone and vibe of the experience. Haunted Mansion perfectly encapsulates the aura of the ride and toes the line perfectly. But, for people who don't know, everything about the film will seem a little off. In some ways, the movie is inaccessible for those who don't get the references. The sudden appearance of alligators, specific ghosts or the Doom Buggys might seem confusing, for example, and funny references that Disney boffins will find hilarious won't even land with the general public. These key elements will increase the enjoyability for hardcore fans, boosting that audience score and contributing to good word of mouth. But there are so many people who just cannot connect with the film in the same way because they haven't had that trip to the "happiest place on Earth." The argument can totally be made that there's still something for people to enjoy in Haunted Mansion regardless of their previous vacation destinations. But compared to the competition, the strength of those fan-pleasing inclusions is also a major flaw.

To enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean, the best case study of a ride being adapted to the big screen, audiences didn't actually have to visit a Disney Park. In fact, Captain Jack Sparrow has actually been added to the ride retrospectively because the lore of the movie franchise outweighed the narrative of the ride. There are layers of originality in Haunted Mansion, but when the basis of the movie is so built up on its respect for the ride, it weakens the overall release. When adapting other materials, such as comics or video games, movie studios find a crucial balance between honoring the source and creating something unique for cinema. Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe and HBO's The Last of Us have thrived on that formula. Audiences might come to care about Ben, Gabbie and the rest of the crew, but Disney is gatekeeping these emotional aspects of the film thanks to a desire for its audience to have stamped a ticket to ride. Faithful adaptations should be absolutely celebrated, and The Haunted Mansion did a good job of bringing its ghosts to life. Unfortunately, the references and links to the source material should never limit how the viewer engages with the story being told, which may be the case here.