What in Haunted Mansion Was Guillermo del Toro’s and What Was Katie Dippold’s?
“This house is dripping with souls.”
I believe in my history of hobby-based writing (like the kind that exists on this website), I have made it clear that I have an affinity and interest in the movies that are based on Disney theme park attractions. For example, I’ve written about my hope for some adaptation of the Magic Kingdom twice before (once with Jon Favreau and once with Ron Moore; both seem dormant) and have been hoping for it for over half my life now (it was first announced in 2010). Additionally, I have carefully followed the development of other, more subset-based entries in the Disney Parks pseudo-franchise. I adore Pirates of the Caribbean and am curious how a Margot Robbie-led film would fare. I believed in Tomorrowland for as long as I could. I had a Google alert for the Jungle Cruise adaptation for years until Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt finally took over for Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. I have an alert for the alleged “it’s a small world” adaptation that everyone has collectively gaslit me into forgetting. And, as it is my favorite Disney attraction, I was invested in the long-gestating production process of finally doing justice to a Haunted Mansion film after the 2003 Eddie Murphy disaster.
It began as a Guillermo del Toro project back in 2010. This was my first exposure to who del Toro is, but it seemed like theme park and cinema fans alike were riveted by what the modern horror maestro’s vision for the classic, story-centric attraction would be. Over time, this concept seemed to progress with Ryan Gosling’s rumored attachment and an apparent interest in featuring the Hatbox Ghost until it ultimately stalled and del Toro (though, this is unconfirmed) retooled his pre-vis into 2015’s Gothic horror film, Crimson Peak. The idea of a revived Haunted Mansion laid six feet under until just a couple years back when Katie Dippold (The Heat, Parks and Recreation) was announced as taking another pass at the script, which would eventually receive direction from Justin Simien (Dear White People). With a stellar trailer, it was back on, baby!
Finally, at the end of July 2023, Haunted Mansion was released to the world. With Barbie and Oppenheimer in their second weeks of theatrical viewing and the actors’ strike underway, Haunted Mansion received little fanfare — unless you were a total theme park/Haunted Mansion nerd, like me. I was one of the few who saw it in the movie theater and I found a lot to like. It was definitely an improvement over the Eddie Murphy version (Muppets Haunted Mansion still stands supreme) and I enjoyed the naturalistic integration of the ride’s lore, the New Orleans-stylized production design, the intentionally spookier segments of the film, and the acting from the stellar cast — chief among them being LaKeith Stanfield. However, I was also a bit let-down with the slightly hamfisted story, occasionally lazy writing, and the bloated, hard-to-follow, CGI-laden third act. Once again, it seemed like Disney could not help themselves from “eventizing” what could have been really engaging as a smaller, more intimate haunted house story.
Instead, it seemed to inch closer to Doctor Strange by the end than The Haunting or The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. While there was much to love (Stanfield is genuinely phenomenal and giving one of my favorite performances of the year), there was still something holding it back from being as iconic as a well-done Haunted Mansion movie could be.
As we bask in the Halloween season, I wanted to write about this, as it was my premier “spooky” film of 2023 (that is, it was my most anticipated for this time of year; The Fall of the House of Usher is a miniseries, remember) and also the latest entry in Disney’s ongoing theme park-to-big screen endeavors (I feel compelled to write about them as they occur, especially since I’ve followed it for so long and do sincerely care for their quality). Yet, I did not want to reduce it to a simple “Pros” and “Cons” list. Instead, I wanted to write about what I think (this is all me surmising; I don’t know for certain) came from del Toro in this movie and what I think came from Dippold. It does seem like del Toro’s story found its way — in bits — to the finished narrative. I was curious to see if I could parse them out.
Guillermo del Toro’s Version:
The Grief Angle: One aspect that I bucked against in the 2003 version of The Haunted Mansion was that it had a neatly constructed plot, but was lacking when it came to thematic reach. (Though, after learning about the Clue-esque cult following that Eddie Murphy version has, maybe I’m due for a revisit.) The most you can find — if you contort yourself — is a story of someone who needs to be more present, which isn’t any grander than the ambitions of, say, Hook.
For a ride that was so thoughtful, I do hope for more than a simple story that could unfold in the same way as a pre-school book. In Haunted Mansion, I found that. Sure, grief may be an easy way into a horror story these days (thanks, Mike Flanagan and “The Raven”), but it’s also universally resonant. Following the story of Haunted Mansion concurrently with the story of LaKeith Stanfield’s Ben Matthias learning how to live for something again after the tragic death of his wife, Alyssa. It is thematic sentiment that is woven soundly into the story and parallels some of the ghosts’ journeys, too (namely William Gracey). Furthermore, it’s as much a part of the film’s resolution — when Ben finds closure and acceptance when facing off with the Hatbox Ghost.
Taking this sentimental and human lens to an innately supernatural story is an admirable decision to make, but based on del Toro’s similarly sentimental previous films, it was also distinct in that it made for a lush, tangible character aspect for the audience to grasp.
A Non-Familial Central Performer: Speaking of Ben, the casting of LaKeith Stanfield was also vital for the successes Haunted Mansion did have and I anticipate that was part of del Toro’s vision for the film (and perhaps a bit imbued by Simien, too). We heard rumors that del Toro was eyeing Ryan Gosling for the lead role in the movie, which indicated that the 2023 iteration would be moving away from the “family” aspect that the 2003 version embraced. Family-friendly hijinks have their place, but by centering the new film on a character who is removed from a family, it just inherently becomes a more mature take on the film. I think that’s what a lot of people were hoping for — and what del Toro was aiming for — since those who seek a family as the centerpiece of the story already had the earlier version to enjoy.
Interestingly, Stanfield is also playing another grief-stricken character thrust into a world of supernatural uncertainty right now on television. Apple’s The Changeling is a flawed series, but Stanfield — as he does in Haunted Mansion — elevates it far beyond what it could have been. He is undeniably the best part of Haunted Mansion.
Lore for the Hatbox Ghost: As someone who has still only been to Disney World in Orlando, but not Disneyland in Anaheim (I appreciated that the film paid homage to both versions), del Toro’s conceptual stage of the Haunted Mansion adaptation was the first time I learned of the Hatbox Ghost. I had no idea what this specter was, but it was noted that del Toro was fascinated by the creation and had tangible plans to include the character in the film.
Because of how much he gushed over the Hatbox Ghost, I feel like the conjecture that this phantom’s embellished role in Haunted Mansion came courtesy of del Toro is well-founded. In a sense, the Hatbox Ghost becomes the “big bad” of the movie and the film does make the occasional stab towards unpacking all the lore that goes into this figure.
Granted, there is the real-world, theme park lore of how the Hatbox Ghost was something the Imagineers just couldn’t crack for a long time. However, the 2023 film unpacks the Hatbox Ghost as Alistair Crump, who suffered from abuse, social isolation, and eventually decapitation. Dark concepts, to be sure, but I imagine they’d have been even more chilling in the great “what if?” of del Toro’s version of the movie.
Katie Dippold’s Version:
A Sillier Supporting Cast: Again, all of this is speculative and I’m not actually sure which creative is responsible for which aspect of the film. However, unless del Toro was always on the same page as Disney, I struggle to believe that the silly supporting cast around Stanfield came from his concepts for the Haunted Mansion movie.
The casting of some of these supporting players seems much closer to the Eddie Murphy energy of the 2003 adaptation, in the sense that the movie is filled with excellent character actors and comedic talents, but it’s clear that none of them feel the drive to make Haunted Mansion a key part of their résumés. Owen Wilson is a conman priest; Tiffany Haddish is a psychic; Danny DeVito is a Tulane professor. All wonderful performers, yes, but none are doing anything for career highlight reels here. It seems that they were cast to bring a sillier sensibility to the film as a balance to the lack of levity in Ben’s grievous storyline.
I will say, though, that I enjoyed Rosario Dawson and Chase W. Dillon as the mother, Gabbie, and son, Travis, who move into the haunted house initially and enlist these apparition experts to help them be released from the house’s “999 happy haunt” death grip. I might have been more interested in a version of Haunted Mansion that focuses solely on them and Ben. Considering Dippold’s more comedic background, it seems like the more comedy-oriented surrounding team (and barrage of cameos from Jamie Lee Curtis, Winona Ryder, Daniel Levy, and Hasan Minhaj) might have been more in her wheelhouse.
Family Friendly Finale: I believe that if del Toro had a family friendly finale in his version of Haunted Mansion, Disney would have absolutely allowed him to make it in his own vision and a list like this would be irrelevant. However, considering the fact that this is the ending we received with nary a del Toro involved, it seems like it might have been more of a “same page” scenario the studio felt with Dippold.
Much of my umbrage with Haunted Mansion came in this third act. So much of the film had these large swaths of grief meditations and meticulous, careful explorations of spooky corridors and unknowable pranky spirits (speaking of: the “no flash photography” bit was a very clever way to allude to an aspect of the ride that not many would think to); I loved this vibe. It completely fell apart in the third act and instead embraced that annoying tendency for every character to have some lame quip they utter before doing battle with one of their opponents (it is a lazy aspect of stories that are all plot and no emotion, like Sky High or the season four finale of Community).
Furthermore, it also turned a movie that was gentle and contemplative into one that was brash and loud. I was disappointed Disney gave Haunted Mansion the same third-act CGI-fest that everything from the fifth Pirates movie to Quantumania to Rise of Skywalker had; it occasionally seems like a uniquely Disney problem. Just indistinguishable floating landscapes and “action” choreography that has a nonexistent bearing on neither the story nor the character work. It just felt like a studio note to me and I imagine del Toro would’ve balked at it.
Out-of-Body Experience: I feel like I’ve been a bit harsh on Dippold. There is much about her screenplay that I did enjoy! Ben’s character arc couldn’t have existed as gorgeously as it does without her, after all. And there is another aspect of Haunted Mansion that works really well and that I imagine was a Dippold contribution to the story.
During a séance at about the midway point of the movie, Ben endures an out-of-body experience that transplants him into the realm of the ghosts in the home. There, he exists on their plane of reality and begins to explore the mansion from the visages’ vantage point. Story-wise, he starts to unlock details and key exposition points about why they’re trapped there, how they can be released, and why the Hatbox Ghost is the one to fear.
Style-wise, though, it’s magnificent. Beyond the emotional motivations of Haunted Mansion, this sequence is expertly structured and designed with a captivating production design that is familiar, but unreal to both us and Ben. Watching him navigate it was highly engaging, especially since the aesthetic of the sequence is a unique concept I’d not seen depicted on screen before; I’d never even seen it portrayed in the ride! It was such an original concept that I imagine Dippold (and perhaps with some visual flourishes and flairs from Simien) was the one to shepherd it, considering it was as fully-formed as it was.
All in all, Haunted Mansion avoided a negative outcome, for me, but it also did not reach the ceiling that it could attain. Maybe we can try again in 2043? Who’s to say? Either way, it’s streaming on Disney Plooos now, so if you were someone who did not see it in the theater (and judging by the box office, you probably were), Czech it and make up your own mind about it — whether you align with Dippold’s vision or del Toro’s. With the recent announcement of Behind the Attraction’s second season on the way, it’s clear to me that one of the all-time perks of the streaming era is that there is finally a place for all these wonderful stories about the Disney theme parks to live. I’m as giddy for it now as I would have been when I was six; it’s just that some jokes (and some spooks) would have landed differently instead.
