The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom are some of Disney's most iconic theme park attractions, so it wasn't that big a shock when it was revealed that the studio was going to take a second chance on bringing the ride to the screen. The first trailer for Disney's new Haunted Mansion is now here and it may have captured the attraction perfectly.
The trailer introduces us to the Haunted Mansion's ensemble cast of characters that includes Rosario Dawson as the new owner of the titular Haunted Mansion, Owen Wilson as a priest, and LaKeith Stanfield as a paranormal investigator. Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito round out the cast, and while the movie looks to be pretty funny, it's also looking surprisingly frightening. Check out the new trailer up top.
The one thing we were sure we would get from a Haunted Mansion movie was references to the popular attraction, and the trailer certainly gives us a few of those. The deadly bride makes more than one appearance here. We see the stretching portrait gallery, and a number of smaller references like the pipe organ playing spirit all are here.
The Hatbox Ghost is here as well. He's a relatively new addition to the ride (who will be coming to the Magic Kingdom version of the ride soon), though the effect is based on one that debuted with the ride before being pulled for not working as intended. It's believed, but has yet to be confirmed, that this ghost will be voiced by Jared Leto.
I have to say, there's something about this trailer that really feels right and it has to be the fact that, while this movie obviously has plenty of comedy, it's got what looks to be some legitimately scary moments as well. The screaming bride with glowing eyes reaching out from the mirror is not the sort of thing that. expect from a "Disney movie" but it's what a Haunted Mansion movie needs.
While Disneyland's Haunted Mansion certainly never gets as scary as a Halloween Horror Nights house at Universal Studios, what it does do is balance humor with a darker vibe perfectly. Yes, the ride ends with stone busts singing. jaunty tune, but it opens with a guy hanging himself from the rafters. If the movie can do that, it's got something.
This first trailer is still leaving a few things behind the curtain. Jamie Lee Curtis, who will be playing Madame Leota, the disembodied head seen floating in a crystal ball on the ride, is seen with head and body fully intact, but only in a brief shot. Hopefully, we'll get a better look at her when the full trailer arrives in a couple of months. Following the delay of The Marvels, the Haunted Mansion movie actually saw its release date moved up, so it will be here July 28.
