Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien discusses getting the visual design of the mansion right, and all of the little details fans can expect.
Disney fans are not exactly an easy bunch to please. In fact, hardcore Disney fans might be some of the hardest fans to please because they notice the second that something is off. That’s why they pitched such loud fits whenever something gets changed at the parks; they can tell even if it was something they’ve known was coming for years [Splash Mountain]. So for a movie based on a ride that is iconic for its look, director Justin Simien knew he was going to have to work hard to make Haunted Mansion look right. People don’t just love the ride; they love everything about the haunted mansion, from the animatronics to the lore to the wallpaper. He explained to Entertainment Weekly that when he got the job, they extensively toured the ride and explained that the mansion in the movie is based on the New Orleans mansion in Disneyland…for the most part.
“When I got the job, the first thing we did was we extensively toured [the ride],” says Simien. “You really do meet the mansion the way you would as a guest at the park: through the eyes of a new cast exploring the lore along with you. … The script firmly plants it in the New Orleans mansion. That’s not to say there are not other mansions in the movie.”
Much in the same way that Disney stans are obsessing over every single detail of this ride, Simien explained that him and his team started doing the same thing with the house they were creating for Haunted Mansion, right down to how characters would enter certain rooms the same way we see into rooms while riding our Doom Buggy.
“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 when we see it through the gates, and we see the pillars. That angle has to hit. That’s how specific we were,” he says. “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.”
Whether or not Haunted Mansion works will likely decide the fate of the Tower of Terror film that we found out is still in development. It has a lot of competition on all sides, with a packed July and quite a few big releases in August as well.
Haunted Mansion: Cast List, Summary, Release Date
Disney’s comically creepy adventure Haunted Mansion will appear in theaters on July 28. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Justin Simien, the film features an all-star ensemble cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, and Dan Levy, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto as The Hatbox Ghost.
Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, Haunted Mansion is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. The film’s producers are Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, with Nick Reynolds and Tom Peitzman serving as executive producers.
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