Haunted Mansion Director Teases Disney Ride References in the Film

As any Haunted Mansion fan can tell you, the attraction is home to 999 spirits, with director of the upcoming Haunted Mansion Justin Simien recently recalling how he aimed to deliver nearly that many Easter eggs to beloved elements of the Disney attractions. With the rides themselves being jam-packed with artifacts from nearly a thousand spirits, Simien had to pick and choose which elements he would incorporate and also expressed the challenges of trying to translate something that’s effective in real life into a more cinematic experience. Haunted Mansion is set to land in theaters on July 28th.

What many Disney guests might not realize is that much of the Haunted Mansion ride actually takes place underground, with guests starting their journey in a room that appears to start stretching upwards, though is actually taking them below the ground level. Simien spoke with Entertainment Weekly about trying to adapt this event into the film’s narrative.

“We have this set piece in the middle of the movie that was really cool and we’re trying all these things, and I’m like, ‘Stretching room. That’s the candy. That’s the thing we’re all looking for,’” Simien shared with the outlet. “It was about taking that effect and figuring out how to work it into the story … As we all know, there’s 999 haunts in this house, and they have slightly different objectives. As the cast figures out if the hauntings are for good or for ill, who’s working for who, and who’s helping us and who wants us to stay here, the stretching room becomes a missing piece of that puzzle. They start to figure out exactly who it is that’s after them and who’s with them. The other thing was about how do we make it cinematic? It’s a cool effect when you’re sitting in that elevator and moving from floor to floor [on the ride], but how do we make that adventure and escapism? How do we take some of the ideas in those paintings and expand them into a real set piece that feels satisfying?”

Just as iconic as any visuals related to the film is the organ-driven “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” with Simien promising this tune is also embraced in various ways.

“There are other musical cues, too, but you’re hearing all these interpolations of ‘Grim Grinning Ghosts.’ Our composer, Kris Bowers, turned those simple phrases into one of the most lush, exciting movie scores I’ve heard,” Simien expressed, while noting that the movie will be “extrapolating it through classical music, jazz age, and second line band” throughout its run time. He also professed, “We don’t do it any short shrift, I promise you that.”

As for the exterior of the mansion, Simien noted that, while both the Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disney versions embrace a Gothic revival style, the mansion in the film instead honors the Colonial style of architecture, as it is meant to be located in New Orleans.

“The script firmly plants it in the New Orleans mansion. That’s not to say there are not other mansions in the movie, I’ll just say that,” the filmmaker confirmed. “We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland, wanting to get just the angle right, when we see it through the gates and we see the pillars, that angle has to hit. That’s how specific we were. When you first glide through the dining hall and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right, because that’s the one where you gasp on the ride.”

As evidenced in the film’s official trailer, there are plenty of other Easter eggs in the movie, from “doom” buggies to floating candelabras. 

Haunted Mansion is set to hit theaters on July 28th.

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