Haunted Lighthouse

The only thing haunted about "Haunted Lighthouse" was the fact that about 30 minutes of my life has now passed on and I will be forever reminded about how I cannot ever get it back.

The "Spy Kids" series, Warner Bros. cartoons, and the Muppets constantly show that you can do family entertainment that will appeal to everyone and avoid heavy shipments of cheese.

I would say the writing was primarily what was at fault here. I've never read any of R.L. Stine's books but I am familiar with the genres the author deals with (early teen thrillers). I can't get on the actors here too much. The kids were.. well.. not every kid can be Haley Joel Osment.

The adults were primarily Christopher Lloyd and Michael McKean since Lea Thompson only had a scant two or three lines and Weird Al was mainly scenery for while he was present. Lloyd and McKean did performances that were right on par with what the film was supposed to be. The problem was the material they were given to work with wasn't up to par with them.

The 3-D effects featured were well done and the '4-D' interactions (water spraying, buzzing vibrations from the seats, wind blowing, etc) were pretty effective. It's just a shame that the entire package that was delivered could not compare to the wrapping that encased it.

For anyone visiting Busch Gardens I recommend seeing it once (because I think every flick they have in the Globe should be viewed at least that many times) but similar to their "Auction at Castle O'Sullivan" in Ireland... once is more than enough for "Haunted Lighthouse".

Neat idea, needed more of a plot than what was likely enscribed on the back of a napkin in 5 minutes by the author.

I have seen this on a recent trip to Sea World in San Diego, CA. and thought it was a neat little movie. The story was cute, and the 4th dimension made it fun. There are a couple of scenes which will have you jumping out of your seat. Of course, I probably wouldn't go back to see it again, but it made for a good rest stop in the park. Just a warning if you end up seeing this movie. Try not to bring any babies to it. They can get a little upset with the 4th dimension.

I drove four and a half hours with great hopes of somehow getting the chance of travelling through time. I saw a commercial advertising this so called "4D" experience, well call me professor stephen hawking, but isn't 4-D supposed to deal with time in some way? They didn't even TRY. All it was, was water splattering at me, and my chair was shakin, i mean ive never travled through time before, but im pretty sure thats not time travel. So if you are ever in busch gardens, thier is no reason to see this movie, ever. See the ice show instead, it doesn't use false advertising- because you know what, it's called the ice show, and guess what it is... A show on ice. I recommend the ice show.

Please understand that this movie was created mainly for kids. Sometimes, kids appreciate fantasy movies more than adults do. Perhaps the adult has lost part of that imagination he/she used to possessed as a kid. I liked this movie and I am sure a lot of kids would like it too. I recommend it if you are going to Sea World or Disneyland where they show it in 4-D.

While this isn't terrible, I think the main problem is it's too short. There could've been a whole lot more backstory built into every one these characters, and the end result would've been more satisfying. Even another 15 minutes would help. There are a couple of loose ends I'd like to see tied up--how does Bobby Edner's character cast a shadow on the beach, anyway? Not only backstory, but in the "present day" there should've been more for each character to do. Every performer seems only to be barely scratching the surface of his/her role, and the whole thing could've been a whole lot more fun. Maybe this long version could've even been protracted to 2 installments (there's an idea--keep people coming back!) Not only that, but with Christopher Lloyd & Leah Thompson (who share more screen time here than they did in the entire BTTF trilogy), I kept expecting a McFly, Tannen or DeLorean to show up at any second!