Muppets Haunted Mansion

Premiered October 8, 2021.

One hundred years ago, on All Hallows' Eve, the a magician known as the Great MacGuffin disappeared in a haunted mansion.  In the present day, on Halloween night, Gonzo The Great (Dave Goelz) and his friend Pepe the King Prawn (Bill Barretta) are participating in a fear challenge in the very same mansion, which is believed to be the most haunted mansion in the world.  Gonzo is especially excited about this, since MacGuffin is his favorite magician.  Pepe is along for the ride because he believes the mansion will be filled with partying celebrities.

At the same time, their friends Kermit the frog (Matt Vogel) and Miss Piggy (Eric Jacobson) are hosting the Muppets' annual costume party.  They're disappointed Gonzo and Pepe won't be attending. 

Upon arrival at the mansion, Pepe and Gonzo are greeted by the caretaker (Darren Criss) and several ghosts. 

Inside, they meet their "Ghost Host" (Will Arnett), who gives them a tour of the mansion and explains the terms of the challenge: Inside the mansion's walls, they must face all their fears bravely.  Pepe and Gonzo must stay in the mansion all night but if they fail to do so, they will be trapped inside forever!  The host says the house is filled with spirits that will respond to their "sympathetic vibrations."  

Throughout the evening, they will encounter lots of interesting characters, including:

Madam Pigota, the spirit of a psychic medium who speaks in rhymes.  She gives clues to Gonzo and Pepe that may help them find a way out of the mansion.

Gauzey the Hat Box Bear (Eric Jacobson), a comedian who performs at the mansion's vaudeville show.

Constance Hathaway (Taraji P. Henson), who tells Pepe she wants to marry him. 

And John Stamos! 

Unbeknownst to Pepe, Constance has killed all five of her previous husbands and their ghosts are now stuck in the mansion.  She plans to kill Pepe after marrying him.  Gonzo figures this out and tries to intervene.

However, Gonzo has his own problems.  The ghost host informs him that if he wants to survive the night, he must go to room 999.  Inside that room, Gonzo must face his greatest fear.

Will Gonzo and Pepe make it through the night?  Or will they be trapped in the Haunted Mansion forever?

J.A. Morris says: 

Since the Jim Henson's death, the Muppets haven't always been handled well.  Muppet movies and TV have been very inconsistent in recent decades.  What Henson and his collaborators understood was that Muppets programming needed a combination of child-like sentiment and a little bit of edgy humor.  I'm happy to report that Muppets Haunted Mansion reminds me a lot of the humor of The Muppet Show and the early Muppets films.  

Gonzo and Pepe get the spotlight here, instead of usual "leads" like Kermit or Miss Piggy.  Dave Goelz (of the the original Muppeteers) and Bill Barretta do a nice job carrying the special.  All the other Muppet performs are good as well, especially puppeteers who play the Electric Mayhem band.  Their performance of "Dancing In The Moonlight" is a nice moment.  

The human actors in Muppets Haunted Mansion are also entertaining.  Will Arnett brings just enough spookiness and mystery as the mansion's ghost host.  Taraji P. Henson is great as the murderous Constance Hathaway.  Most of Henson's scenes feature her interacting with Pepe.  It takes a lot of talent to believably interact with a king prawn.  

Lots of famous actors make cameo appearances as ghosts.  I don't have the time or space here to name of all of them, but it's worth noting that the late Ed Asner plays one of the ghosts.  It's one of his final roles and it was nice to see him here

The only problem I had with Muppets Haunted Mansion was the performance of the song "Grim, Grinning Ghosts," a song that originated at Disney's Haunted Mansion theme park attraction.  It's one of the best original songs written for their parks. 

I didn't have a problem with Darren Criss' performance of the song, I just thought "Grim, Grinning Ghosts" deserved a bigger number than what we get here.  The special's major production number is reserved for the original song "Life Hereafter," which I also enjoyed.  

I enjoyed Muppets Haunted Mansion more than any recent Muppet production and I hope it's the start of a new "golden age" of Muppets film and TV.  It's highly recommended to fans of Muppets fans of every age and it's something I figure I'll watch often around Halloween in the future.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 jack o'lanterns!

RigbyMel says:

Having a nostalgic affection for both the Muppets AND Disney's celebrated Haunted Mansion dark ride, I was quite intrigued when this Muppets special was announced for Disney+.   I was also a little bit nervous about it because, as J.A. Morris points out above, post-Henson Muppets output has been on the uneven side.  

It turns out that this new special contains enough Muppet mayhem and Haunted Mansion spookiness to make my nostalgic heart very happy indeed. 

Not only was the story fun, but there were all kinds of cool little Easter eggs (Halloween treats?) sprinkled throughout.   

For instance, we see Mah Na Mah Na candelabra in the stretching room near the beginning of Gonzo and Pepe's adventure. 

When Statler and Waldorf show up, they heckle the proceedings from a "Doom Buggy" - the mode of transit park guests take during the actual Haunted Mansion dark ride

There are also appearances by some pretty old school Muppets like Wayne and Wanda.   

Plus the "casting" of the Muppets in various ghostly Haunted Mansion roles was pretty darned inspired -- and we even get non-sequitur screaming goats thrown into the mix for good measure!

It is quite evident from all the clever meta-humor and an optimal balance of spooky and funny that the writers (Bill Barretta, Kirk R. Thatcher, and Kelly Younger) love the Muppets and the Haunted Mansion and they've done a great job of bringing the spirit of Jim Henson and his creations to the screen in this special. 

 

Muppets Haunted Mansion is the Muppets/Halloween/Haunted Mansion (monster?) mash-up we didn't know we needed and is recommended viewing for Muppet fans and Haunted Mansion fans of all ages. 

RigbyMel's rating: 

4 jack o'lanterns! 

Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space

Premiered October 26, 2009

"This isn't just any night, it's OUR night, and when it finally comes we gots to terrify."
- The Missing Link

"Modesto? Why is it always Modesto?" 
-Susan "Ginormica" Murphy

This TV special is a sequel to Dreamworks' feature length animated film, Monsters vs. Aliens, which was released in March 2009. 

A flying saucer enters Earth's atmosphere and dumps green slime on a pumpkin patch.   Jeb (Peter Ramsey), the patch's owner, hears an odd noise and goes outside to investigate. Suddenly, he is attacked and wrapped in pumpkin stalks!  The next day, pumpkins are being given away at Jeb's farm. (Free for all "Humanz"!)   Dozens of families take them home to make jack o'lanterns.

Our heroes, the monsters, are now working as special ops agents for the U.S. government.  They are hanging out in their secret base and discussing Halloween.  The Missing Link (Will Arnett), B.O.B.* (Seth Rogen) and Insectasaurus are looking forward to the holiday and discussing what their costumes will be.  Link has missed Halloween for years (since he was cryogenically frozen).  He's excited about participating, saying that as they are monsters, Halloween is their night, and he can't wait to go out and scare people.  Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie) isn't so enthusiastic about the occasion and feels that "All Hallows Eve is more trick than treat."  His disillusionment stems from when he was a little boy and was beaten up by a gang of bullies on Halloween night. They took all his candy including his swirly pop!  Ever since then, he has avoided celebrating Halloween.  Susan a.k.a. "Ginormica" (Reese Witherspoon) returns from a false alarm call involving a yeti and joins in the discussion, her zombie cheerleader costume idea doesn't impress Link, but Susan thinks they should all get out and have some fun.

Their boss, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) shows up and tells them a UFO has been sighted near Modesto, Susan's hometown.  The gang are ready for action.   Monger tells them to be quiet about it, and just act like they're in town to celebrate Halloween with Susan's parents.

The Murphy home --- all ready for Halloween

Susan's parents out on their porch

We cut to Modesto where Susan's parents, Wendy (Julie White) and Carl Murphy (Jeffrey Tambor) are decorating their house for Halloween.  Their home looks like a Halloween card come to life - they are just about ready for their big Halloween party!

The Murphys' yard - Children of the Candy Corn!

Death By Chocolate Fountain in the Murphys' yard

Susan and the others arrive, and rather unconvincingly try to stick to their "cover story" of just being in town for Halloween.   Dr. Cockroach produces a threatening looking ray gun and scans Susan's parents (and assorted trick-or-treaters) to make sure they are actually human and not aliens. Susan claims she "finally managed to get a night off."   Her parents joke that they thought Modesto would have to be invaded by aliens again for them to get to see her.   Susan says that's ... just ... ridiculous!   (Oops!)

B.O.B. is excited at the prospect of CANDY!

The gang decides to split up to cover ground more effectively and maybe do a bit of trick or treating in the process.

Dr. Cockroach gets a swirly pop!

Dr. Cockroach tries to explain the nuances of trick-or-treating to B.O.B., who is a little slow on the uptake, but definitely on board with the idea of free candy.   B.O.B. forgets what he's supposed to say at the first house and stares blankly at a little old lady who opens the door.   Dr. Cockroach intervenes -  the old lady is impressed by his "costume" -- "it's really quite disgusting," she says.  She gives Cockroach ... a Swirly Pop!  Suddenly,  Dr. Cockroach is filled with childlike enthusiasm for Halloween and he and B.O.B. embark on a full-fledged quest for CANDY!

Link growls

Link wants to make up for lost time, he attempts to "scare the caramel" out of the neighborhood children.  He fails miserably -- people repeatedly mistake him for Shrek and Kermit the Frog.

Unimpressed kids in monster costumes

We cut to the home of one of the families who picked up a free pumpkin at Farmer Jeb's pumpkin patch earlier in the day.  They are preparing to carve their jack o'lantern -- their little boy suggests they name it "Wicked Jack".   Suddenly, the pumpkin comes to life, sprouts arms and legs and terrorizes the family!  Wicked Jack (Rainn Wilson)  then proceeds outside and rallies other, smaller pumpkins to join it in attacking the neighborhood.

Wicked Jack gathering the other mutant pumpkins

Wicked Jack grows into a giant and steals candy from children while fighting our hero monsters.  The monsters realize that the pumpkins gets bigger with every bite of candy they consume (don't we all?).  Eventually, the mutant pumpkins coalesce into one HUGE organism and gravitate towards the biggest supply of candy in Modesto: The Murphy house!    Chaos reigns! 

Can the combined might of Susan,The Missing Link, B.O.B., Dr. Cockroach and Insectasaurus defeat the mutant pumpkins?  You'll have to watch and see!

* B.O.B., if you're interested,  stands for "Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate", which basically translates to  "indestructible blob of goo."

Here comes trouble!

J.A. Morris says:

I'd say this is at least as good as the original Monsters Vs. Aliens movie.  And putting the "Monsters" in a Halloween special was a no-brainer.  They're all likeable characters and the voice actors are perfect in their roles.  Jeffrey Tambor and Julie White are also excellent as Susan's Halloween-crazed parents. 

Though it's aimed at kids, there are plenty of jokes and references to horror (and non-horror) movies that only adults will get.  Here are a few examples:
-A cell phone plays John Carpenter's theme from Halloween.
-Gen. Monger says that he loves "the smell of mutant pumpkin guts in the evening.  It smells like victory.", an obvious homage to Apocalypse Now.
-The theme music from Psycho pops up on the soundtrack.
-One of the Murphys' yard decorations is based on Children Of The Corn. 
-And in the image below, Dr. Cockroach resembles a certain Extra Terrestrial.

The plot itself, involving mutant pumpkins is reminiscent of many sci-fi films of the 1950s.

We also get a nice combination of comedy and action.  Cockroach, Link and B.O.B. provide most of the laughs, but the battle scene at the end against Wicked Jack is exciting (even if we don't expect the Mutant Pumpkins to win).

"No one ruins a Murphy Halloween!" 

I am hardly the demographic for Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, but I've enjoyed watching it every Halloween since its premiere.  Time will tell if it will ever be considered a "classic", but it's a lot of fun.
J.A. Morris's rating:
3 and 1/2 jack o'lanterns.

RigbyMel says:

I generally agree with what J.A. Morris had to say about this special - it's definitely fun Halloween viewing that works whether or not you've seen the Monsters vs. Aliens feature film, I think.  There are things to enjoy for viewers of all ages.   The characters are charming in their sit-com-esque quirkiness.  I loved the Murphys' over-the-top Halloween yard displays and the affection for B-movies as well as Halloween in general that is evident throughout.   I do wonder whether there may be a few too many pop cultural references to make this a "classic" in years to come, but as J.A. Morris points out, only time will tell on that score. 

Plus, this happens:

Insectasaurus as "Fat Elvis" - thank you very much!

RigbyMel's rating: 

3 jack o'lanterns