(c) Disney

Fittingly, the film really comes alive with the fleeting glimpses of the dead inhabitants of our favorite spook house, particularly when Murphy and the kids stumble upon the singing ’Mello Men’ busts made famous in the ride’s graveyard finale, here recast as a crooning quartet who converse in harmonious barbershop-song-speak. Frustratingly, these moments are few and far between, resulting in a depressing litany of missed opportunities.

In the end, The Haunted Mansion does avoid the full-fledged ‘re-imaging’ that crippled The Country Bears feature last year, but by limiting the exposure of the elements of the original attraction that have made it such a guest favorite for over thirty years now, the filmmakers have turned these grim grinning ghosts into mere spectral spectators in their own cinematic cemetery.

Death certificate or not, no need to “hurry back�? for this one.

• Eddie Murphy voiced Mushu in Mulan and starred in The Distinguished Gentleman, Metro and The Holy Man.
• Jennifer Tilly will next be heard as Grace in Home on the Range. She also voiced Celia in Monsters, Inc.
• Nathaniel Parker appeared in Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale.
• Wallace Shawn (manservant Ezra) voiced Rex in both Toy Story movies and the school principals in A Goofy Movie and the Teacher’s Pet series and upcoming movie. He will also be heard in The Incredibles co-starred in The Cemetery Club, My Favorite Martian, Noah and Mr. St. Nick.
• Dina Waters (maid Emma) co-starred in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn and the Freaky Friday remake.
• Marc John Jeffries provided additional voices for Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo.
• Rob Minkoff directed Tummy Trouble, Roller Coaster Rabbit and The Lion King, as well as the two Stuart Little films. His son Zach can be seen at the beginning of the film as the paperboy.
• Producer Don Hahn is best known for his work in animation, including Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Emperor’s New Groove and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
• Mark Mancina also scored Con Air, Tarzan and Brother Bear and contributed to the stage and screen versions of The Lion King.
• Prolific make-up designer Rick Baker also worked on Captain EO, The Rocketeer, Ed Wood (winning one of his six Academy Awards) and Mighty Joe Young.
• The Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square at Disneyland was actually built in 1962, but the attraction inside did not officially open until 1969. The Walt Disney World version opened in Liberty Square inside The Magic Kingdom in 1971, followed by Tokyo Disneyland’s (in their Fantasyland) in 1983 and Disneyland Paris’ (dubbed Phantom Manor and residing in their Frontierland) in 1992. Thus, the Haunted Mansion is the only attraction that is located in four different lands in all four Disney parks.
• Disney Legends George Bruns and Xavier Atencio wrote the Haunted Mansion’s unforgettable theme song, “Grim Grinning Ghosts�?.
• In what has become a curiously increasing trend in films of late, there’s a bonus for viewers who stick around through the end credits.

Coming Soon:

• Lizzie McGuire fans take note: two DVD collections of favorite TV episodes will go on sale December 9^th: Lizzie McGuire: Growing Up Lizzie and Lizzie McGuire: Fashionably Lizzie. And no, I don’t know how to get in touch with Hilary Duff …
• On December 16^th get ‘freaky’ again with the DVD debut of the summer hit, Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.
• The return of a classic family film star: Young Black Stallion premieres on IMAX and other Large Format screens on Christmas Day, December 25^th.
• ‘Toon’ in for the Toon Talk Top 10 - 2003 for a complete wrap-up of the year, plus the countdown of the best in Disney film and videos of 2003.