Justin Simien’s Haunted Mansion is full of references to the Disney park ride. Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, and Owen Wilson.
In 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl defied all odds. Gore Verbinski’s fantasy epic seemed doomed, since pirate movies had faded out of popularity decades prior and a theme park-inspired blockbuster was still a weird, novel concept. But when it splashed into theaters, it made more than $650 million worldwide and launched a five-movie franchise, with more rumored on the way.
Here’s the thing, though: Apart from the Disney fans who followed the saga of the film’s production, not many people even realized it was a theme park movie. Verbinski made the wise choice to not build the movie around the ride. Sure, diehards might be able to squint and point to smaller references, like the dog holding a keyring in its mouth. But Pirates of the Caribbean is an adaptation in name only. And in 2003, that worked.
By contrast, The Haunted Mansion, the movie that came out the same year, is full of characters from and references to the corresponding Disney ride. The film earned some cult love, but it was critically panned, and while it made blockbuster money, it couldn’t compare to Pirates of the Caribbean’s box-office booty.
Making a theme park movie in 2023 is very different than it was 20 years ago. In 2023, theme parks are more expensive than ever, but also more accessible via social media. People who can’t afford Disney park vacations can still watch ride-throughs on YouTube, and fan sites keep readers up to date on every minute change and plan for the parks and their attractions.
So instead of shying away from references and in-jokes, Justin Simien’s 2023 version of Haunted Mansion goes even harder than the 2003 movie. The new film, starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, and Danny DeVito, is full to the brim with theme park nods — from the wallpaper pattern in the haunted mansion to the main ghostly characters, from the soundtrack to the portraits hanging on the walls.
