In 2003, Disney released two movies that were based on rides from the Disney amusement park. The first movie to be released, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, came out in July and was very successful. I saw that movie twice in the theater and now own the DVD. I think the first time I saw a preview for the other movie based on a Disney ride, The Haunted Mansion, was when I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The preview looked interesting to me, and I was recently able to go see it.
Jim Evers was a successful real estate agent. He and his wife Sara were in business together. Lately, Jim had been more obsessed with work and he wasn’t spending much time with his family. He wanted to provide a good life for his family. He was late for dinner with Sara on their anniversary because he was talking with potential new clients. He couldn’t turn away from the possibility of selling another house. Sara was upset by his behavior lately. Jim decided that the family would go to the lake for the weekend.
Sara received a call from someone who wanted to talk to her about selling a house. The person who called wanted her to come up the next day, when they were going to go to the lake. Sara said no at first, but then Jim got back and found out what the call was about. He got dollar signs in his eyes once he found out where the house was. He convinced Sara that they should stop by to talk to the owner on the way to the lake.
The house was a huge, creepy looking mansion with a large cemetery in the back. The butler, Ramsley, was less than pleased to see that Jim and the kids, Megan and Michael, were with Sara. Master Gracey, the owner of the mansion, wanted to discuss the possible sale of the house over dinner. Sara didn’t want to stay, but again Jim insisted on it. Jim tried to take over the conversation, but Ramsley and Master Gracey seemed only interested in dealing with Sara. Master Gracey seemed to be very interested in her. He said that the mansion had been in his family for years, but he wanted to sell because of the bad memories. He mentioned that it was haunted. Jim played along at the time, but he really didn’t believe in ghosts. The family was forced to stay at Gracey Manor because the road became flooded. Sara was not happy with Jim. Megan and Michael weren’t too happy to be stuck there either.
Jim went off to talk to Master Gracey in the library. He discovered a secret passage and was wandering around the mansion. He encountered Madam Leota and saw some very strange things. Sara spent some time with Master Gracey learning about the history of the family and the manor. Megan and Michael ended up in some sort of attic where they met two other servants, Ezra and Emma before running into their father. They found out that the manor was cursed and Sara played a part in plans that Ramsley and Master Gracey had to end the curse. Jim and his children had to do some things to try to break the curse and rescue Sara.
CAST
Eddie Murphy - Jim Evers
Terence Stamp - Ramsley
Nathaniel Parker - Master Gracey
Marsha Thompson - Sara Evers
Jennifer Tilly - Madam Leota
Wallace Shaw - Ezra
Dina Waters - Emma
Marc John Jefferies - Michael
Aree Davis - Megan
Rob Minkoff - Director
The Haunted Mansion was released in November of 2003, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The movie was 99 minutes long and rated PG. The movie was based on a ride at a Disney amusement park. I have never been on the ride, so I have no idea what from the ride may have made it to the movie.
The Haunted Mansion is a scary movie that the whole family can watch together. There aren’t that many scary movies that are alright for children to see. This could be a good movie for families to watch around Halloween. I did wonder why the movie wasn’t released in October instead of November. There were a few things in the movie that could be a little too scary for really young children, but overall the movie is good for families. I think it would be better for kids than Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was. There were some skeletons that were chasing some characters a few times, but that didn’t seem too scary to me. I was more bothered by all the spiders that showed up in one scene. Anyone who is really afraid of spiders may have a problem with that scene. The spiders looked real to me. There were some things in the movie that were meant to make the audience jump, but there weren’t that many of them.
The plot of The Haunted Mansion was fairly predictable, but I still enjoyed the movie. It was entertaining. There were some things that happened that were surprising, but I did think that the main part of the plot was predictable. I thought that the movie was aimed more at children than adults, which could be why the plot was more predictable to me. It might not be as predictable to children. I don’t know if any of the plot concerning the curse and the plan to break it was some how part of the ride. If those things were, then the movie would probably be more predictable to those people who are familiar with the ride. Anyone who is looking for a really suspenseful, scary movie should look for a different one to watch.
The Haunted Mansion wasn’t a hilarious movie overall, but it had several funny moments in it. Some of those came from characters’ reactions to what was going on. Madam Leota was some sort of ghostly fortune teller that was inside a crystal ball. She said some funny things, and caused a few other funny things to happen. Several unbelievable things happened in this movie. There were ghosts and walking skeletons. People need to keep an open mind to really enjoy the movie. People who don’t like movies with strange or unbelievable things should stay away from this one. There really wasn’t any violence in the movie. There was a little bit of swearing, but it wasn’t extreme.
The acting in The Haunted Mansion was alright, but it wasn’t anything that wonderful. Eddie Murphy was fine and believable as Jim. He seemed to go a little overboard at times, but that didn’t bother me too much. He used this big fake looking grin several times, but that fit in with Jim. Terence Stamp was good as Ramsley. He was very creepy at times. I thought that Marsha Thompson was good as Sara. She looked familiar, but after I did some checking, I found that I haven’t seen her in anything before. Jennifer Tilly did well as Madam Leota, especially since she was just a head. Wallace Shawn didn’t have too many scenes as Ezra, but he was funny most of the time he was on the screen. A few things he said reminded me of his character from The Princess Bride. He and Jennifer Tilly did voices in the movie Monster's Inc. Marc John Jefferies and Aree Davies, who played the children, did a good job. They weren’t annoying like some child actors are.
CHARACTERS
Jim Evers - He was a successful real estate agent. He was very focused in on selling a lot of homes and making a lot of money. He was working too much and missing things with his family. He did love his family. He was working so much to provide a better life for his family. He didn’t seem to realize that they would rather have him around more.
Sara Evers - Jim’s wife. She was also a real estate agent. She and Jim owned their own agency. She wasn’t as obsessed with work as Jim was. She wanted him to spend more time with her and their two children. She was understanding most of the time, but she got very annoyed with him at times.
Michael - Jim and Sara’s son. Michael was terrified of spiders.
Megan - Jim and Sara’s daughter. She was older than Michael. She wasn’t scared of spiders.
Master Gracey - The owner of Gracey Manor. The mansion has been in his family for years. He is drawn to Sara for some reason.
Ramsley - The butler at Gracey Manor. He wasn’t happy that Jim and the children came with Sara. Ramsley was in charge of the other servants. He had a plan that he was determined to carry through.
Madam Leota - A ghostly fortune teller. She was a head inside a crystal ball. She told Jim some things to help him figure out how to break the curse.
Emma and Ezra - Two servants at Gracey Manor. They seemed to be afraid of Ramsley and didn’t like his plan. They helped Jim and the children.
I have seen better movies, but I was entertained by The Haunted Manson. It was funny and scary at times. I think it is a good family movie.
Here s the fright-filled comedy adventure loaded with hair-raising laughs and eye-popping special effects! Eddie Murphy stars as a real estate agent w...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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