Muppets Haunted Mansion

Muppet Christmas Carol is my favourite movie of all time and I absolutely love the Muppets (and the Haunted Mansion is one of my favourite Disneyland rides) so I was both excited and nervous to watch this special.

I really enjoyed the first half -- the songs are fun and quite catchy, there are some pretty good moments and jokes (the goat's appearances made me laugh out loud) but the second half was really strange and creepy -- and not in a fun way. It definitely doesn't deliver the same level of pure joy as Muppet Christmas Carol but, to be fair, that is a high bar to meet.

Also, not enough Rizzo.

(I also miss Steve Whitmire's performances but sounds like they're better off without him, here's a paragraph from Wikipedia on his dismissal: "Brian Henson stated that issues with Whitmire began in the mid-1990s, and said that Whitmire would make "outrageous demands and often played brinkmanship", and additionally stated that Whitmire would "send emails and letters attacking everyone, attacking the writing and attacking the director". He also expressed guilt for not dismissing Whitmire and recasting Kermit before selling the Muppets to Disney in 2004, because "I knew that it was going to be a real problem". Lisa Henson stated that Whitmire was opposed to having an understudy for Kermit and refused to train one, which became problematic when it came to "B-level performances, such as a ribbon-cutting," at some of which she said he was unwilling to appear. She also stated that he "blackballed young performers" by refusing to appear in shows with them.")

Believing they're going to a celebrity bash, Gonzo and Pepe The Prawn spend the night in a haunted mansion.

While it hasn't all the dynamics of a film, it excels as at TV movie, director Kirk Thatcher utilising some clever modern technology and virtual sets delivers a sterling production. This tonally line films from the past including Muppets Treasure Island and A Muppets Christmas Carol. It has all the the charm, fun and wit you'd expect from The Muppets. Those who love the Disneyland attraction of the same name will find this a blast with its surprises and Easter eggs all the way through.

Although Rizo the rat only appears in paintings (his character being retired due to some off screen issues), Pepe is a good stand-in/replacement having grown a fan favourite over the years. The performers, voice actors, crew, writers and Thatcher bring all Jim Henson favourites to life; from Kermit to Miss Piggy, Scooter to Rowlf the Dog as and everyone in-between. Even adding some genuinely likeable new ghost characters too.

Just like the original Muppet Show it delivers a real family experience. Will Arnett is great throughout as they encounter all kinds of Muppet-inspired ghouls, celebrity cameos including, Taraji P. Henson, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Trejo (who appeared in Muppets Most Wanted) and Ed Asner in one of his final roles.

The Muppet version of The Haunted Mansion thankfully delivers all The Muppet goodness we love. Sharp, punchy, brilliant. It's The Muppets!

Overall this was cute and entertaining. The songs were good and the puppetry was alright. Unfortunately these later Muppet outings will never live up to what the original artists could deliver. Doubt that? Go and watch the original The Muppet Show, or The Muppet Movie. In this case, Kermit was all wrong. His voice was so far off as to be almost unrecognizable. Bring back Steve Whitmire! At least his Kermit voice was close to Jim Hensons. Miss Piggy was also off, not just the voicing, her character was missing all of its nuance. At least we had Dave Goelz there for Gonzo.

Muppets Haunted Mansion: my wife's favorite IP and Disneyland ride blended together; she was happy as a clam throughout. And to an extent, I enjoyed this vicariously through her. I liked it; it's a decent holiday special, good message, it's got plenty of feels.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that this is all that Disney plans to do with the Muppets: advertise other Disney stuff. That vertical integration has already leeched onto The Simpsons (cross-breeding it with Star Wars and Marvel) and that's toxic for these characters.

It's not lost on me that I should be happy we're getting new Muppet content at all, but at what cost? There's a GEICO commercial that features Animal, and it's not bad; and this property absolutely needs more pop culture visibility. But it feels dirty if they're just pimping the Mouse's wares.

I hope I'm wrong.

First thing I noticed was Kermit's voice. It wasn't like his normal one. I didn't really understand what was happening in this film, felt like there was no story. Bang average.