Looks like CNN hired someone from the element...

[HB2K]

CNN.COM has it's review of the Haunted Mansion on line....

Click here for the review

Any thoughts?

 

[crusader]

Man, you've got to ease up on that "element".

One part of the writeup really concerned me:

The capable supporting cast includes Wallace Shawn and Dina Waters as ghostly servants and Jennifer Tilly -- who manages to outshine the rest of the cast -- as a gypsy fortune teller whose head appears inside a crystal ball.

If Jennifer Tilly is the best performance in this film then we've got problems.

I was reeling over the her casting.

 

[hopemax]

Actually, Jennifer Tilly's performance was pretty decent. I was worried too, but she basically just plays it a straight Madame Leota, not trying to put her own spin on the role. Her voice and head work in the film.

The thing that's most troublesome is that Tilly has said in interviews that Disney has been looking at using her head and voice in the attraction. That would be a big NO to me, no replacing Leota Toombs (head) and Eleanor Audley (voice).

 

[bretsyboo]

You want problems? You got problems when people start comparing this movie to Pirates of the Caribbean...you'd thinkit would help a whole lot to mention the country bears flop and not think of this as pirates II.

Disney's fault though, some of the previews now start with the Pirates logo and say "from the makers of..." before it even gets to the mansion. May help the idiot numbers from the opening weekend who can't tell they are completely different movies, but as far as how the film is perceived I'm betteting it will contribute to its "burial" in the public opinion poles.

Hopefully seeing it tonight! Who's comin'? Drive here and I'll buy your tickets! If you're over 1500 miles away, I'll throw in a small popcorn.

 

[crusader]

Hopemax -

I'm glad to hear your perspective and will take that under advisement. I seriously doubted the casting particularly given the voice of Tilly during the pilot.

Madame Leota is an impressionable figure for the fans. I felt whomever played that role needed a presence and voice which resonates in the same manner it does during the attractiion.

I'm still disappointed that Jennifer Tilly is what we're getting but given your comments, I'll reconsider.

bretsyboo -

I'd join ya in a heartbeat if I wasn't so darned far away!

Too bad.

 

[hopemax]

Of course, my reaction to Jennifer Tilly is relative to the rest of the film. If the entire film had better better, perhaps I would have found Tilly's performance as a weak link. Here's the short review I posted on Laughing Place:

While I got my tickets through Doombuggies, Radio Disney was also distributing tickets. At our showing a Radio Disney representive had a little trivia contest and gave away some HM prizes like posters, T-shirts and trading cards.

And while my review isn't as strong as the original poster's I did feel that "The Haunted Mansion" was a pretty mediocre movie. The movie opened pretty slowly and speed up mostly in regards to predictibility.

Pirates did a great job by being accessible to the viewer who had never been to Disneyland or the Magic Kingdom, never been on the ride. Having done so, just added texture and depth to the experience. This is not the case with "The Haunted Mansion." Much of my pleasure with the movie is a direct result of my familiarity with the ride. I really liked the Singing Busts, and according to the credits they were performed by The Dapper Dans!

The movie wasn't funny enough to be a good comedy, it wasn't scary enough to be a good freaky movie (parts of the movie seem too scary for younger kids, especially if the ride makes them nervous), it was too predictible to be a good story, and there really wasn't a good stand out performance, although Jennifer Tilly's Leota was better than I expected, and I always love seeing Wallace Shawn (Princess Bride).

Die-hard fans of the ride will probably find a matinee worthwhile. Or if you're a fan with a house of kids you need to occupy on a Saturday afternoon. But I don't think the public at large will embrace this film, and so I predict that its box office will be pretty ho-hum. Not a bomb, but if anyone's looking for Pirates type numbers, forget it.