Disney Plus ‘haunted Muppets’ mansion was a dream in the making for 30 years

Longtime Muppet writer and director Kirk Thatcher has wanted to make a Halloween Muppet special for most of his career.

Thatcher, whose career began in the 1980s with Industrial Light & Magic before turning to Jim Henson’s adorable puppet gang, believes that Haunted Mansion of the Muppets could be the “fifth iteration of a Halloween-themed special” that he wrote with Henson Company editor Jim Lewis over the years. Previous locations have included parodies on classic monster movies and a ghost hunters-esque adventure, but never came to fruition because of the studio giving priority to other projects. Since Disney owned the Muppets this time around, Thatcher could fit in one of his favorite theme park attractions: the Haunted Mansion.

Haunted Mansion of the Muppets, which premieres on Disney Plus on October 8, follows Gonzo the Great and Pepé the Shrimp as they spend a night in a spooky mansion full of grim, grinning ghosts who take the form of Muppets and celebrities. The special makes Thatcher’s loop: he has been going to Disneyland since he was a child, and attractions like the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise have shaped his taste for film and television. He always felt that the Muppets suited different genres perfectly.

“Everyone has their approach to the Muppets. I love seeing them in different places, ”he says. “They’re like Monty Python! They make gender images!

Image: Disney

Like any longtime park fan, Thatcher knows the Haunted Mansion isn’t just a merry-go-round; the attraction has its own traditions and basic characters. Mixing up the world of the Muppets and the Haunted Mansion ended up being an absolute joy for him. Kind of like in Muppet’s movies like A Christmas Carol from the Muppets and Muppet Treasure island, the Muppets play the various characters within the Haunted Mansion, so Thatcher had to “cast” those roles. Some parts came more naturally than others.

“We immediately knew Piggy had to be Leota,” he said, naming the ghost fortune teller stuck in a crystal ball. “We call her Madame Pig-ota. Just the idea of ​​Piggy being in a special being stuck in there, as she says stuck in a fishbowl, it was so much comedy to extract.

Gonzo and Pepe lent themselves perfectly as Muppets venturing into the mansion – and not just because they’re two of Thatcher’s favorite Muppets to write for. “Gonzo is not afraid. He thinks it’s great and Pepe is terrified, so you get this classic Hope and Crosby, Abbott and Costello – two completely different visions of what it’s like to be in a spooky place.

As a huge Haunted Mansion fan, Thatcher wanted to include all the notable sites, from: Madame Leota to the Singing Graveyard and the ballroom full of dancing ghosts. There was so much to draw, and once the pieces started to fit together, the world of the Muppets intertwined perfectly with the Haunted Mansion. For example, using the Mansion’s large ballroom stage as a performance venue meant that Kermit naturally became an MC and Fozzie could take on the iconic role of the beloved Hatbox Ghost, repurposed for that special artist as a comedian. stand-up.

“The disappearance of his head and hat became part of his act,” Thatcher explains.

Amidst all of the characters, settings, and iconic elements of the Haunted Mansion, however, there was one big thing Thatcher specifically didn’t want.

Image: Disney

“[We did not want it to be] the Muppets go to Disneyland. They go to a haunted mansion, no the Haunted mansion, ”he explains. Each of the different haunted mansions in Disney parks has a different exterior appearance to fit in perfectly with the area of ​​the park in which the attraction is located. For example, the antebellum-style mansion South at Disneyland Anaheim is in the park’s New Orleans plaza, while the neo-Gothic haunted mansion in Magic Kingdom resides on Liberty Square (and the Tokyo mansion is essentially a replica). ). Meanwhile, the Parisian version is at Frontierland – which is called Phantom Manor and designed with a darker, more spooky storyline – evokes Second Empire-style architecture.

“My backstory, which is not really mentioned, but is that it is the same architect. Whoever that rich person was in the 1800s hired the same architect because he had built these mansions for other people. With that in mind, Thatcher and his team reverted to the original ideas for the attraction, when it was just a concept art set.

“Where we started was [Disney artist] Harper Goff’s original sketches. It was part of the great thing to have Imagineering on board – we got to see all these old things [from] when it was originally designed, ”Thatcher explains. “[Goff’s] mansion was run down and battered, but it was Victorian style architecture. We liked it. But then again, we kind of agreed with Walt that he didn’t want any of the mansions to look battered and look like your typical haunted house. We stuck with it and made it look very well maintained.

Working closely with Production Designer Darcy Prevost and documenting “very specific” with the Imagineers’ Mansion lore, Thatcher designed a totally unique Haunted Mansion venue that always paid homage to theme park must-haves. The Haunted Mansion in the special is unlike any of the existing Haunted Mansion attractions in the world – and it’s fully digital, too. (“They are not designed for filming,” Thatcher adds, of the actual attractions in the park). The use of entirely virtual sets – as well as the transformation of some characters into ghosts – meant that the production had to shoot the scenes in layers.

Image: Disney

“We couldn’t shoot ghosts and people at the same time. So some musical numbers are like three or four layers, with background ghosts shot separately, ”he says, comparing the process to George Lucas filming the Star Wars prequels. “Our actors must have done musical numbers with no one there. They signed up and had an eye on someone who wasn’t there. As, Kermit is going to be there. But he won’t be here now. But you have to sing for him and watch him. ”

While bringing the actors and puppeteers together as ghosts and mortals, it was difficult to combine the Muppets with the Haunted Mansion was incredibly easy, as the concepts worked so well together.

“Part of the joy of the Haunted Mansion itself is this fun sense of it – it’s scary but it’s not scary,” Thatcher says. “We said the Mansion was“ Grim Grinning Ghosts ”and the Muppets were“ Goofy Grinning Puppets. ”This feeling of joy permeates the Mansion and also the Muppets.

Haunted Mansion of the Muppets arrives on Disney Plus on October 8. Look at it… if you dare.

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