Guillermo Del Toro's "Haunted Mansion"

He just walked out at the end of the Tron panel and announced his next film project. The main character will be the Hatbox Ghost. Let's see what Sideshow can do!

Maybe he'll bring back Eddie Murphy. Seriously though, I wish he'd get his ass in gear and do the damn Frankenstein flick he said he was going to do.

wofford29 said:

Seriously though, I wish he'd get his ass in gear and do the damn Frankenstein flick he said he was going to do.

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... although I do always look forward to pretty much everything he does....

Certainly sounds promising.

Very awesome!!! I can't wait!

Can't wait for this!!! GDT is a HUGE Haunted Mansion fan. Very excited!

I think it should be great, as long as he remembers that this can't (or shouldn't) be as dark as Pan's Labyrinth. It will probably be too intense for very young children, but being a Disney film, it should still be mostly family friendly.

He stressed that it was going to be scary, and if you bring little kids they will get freaked out. He also said that he's not returning Eddie Murphy's calls.

tomandshell said:

He stressed that it was going to be scary, and if you bring little kids they will get freaked out. He also said that he's not returning Eddie Murphy's calls.

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Yes, it should be scary, but in the same way the ride has been scary. Make a Haunted Mansion film that captures the same magic that The Curse of the Black Pearl did for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, if you take my meaning. That film had plenty of scary elements, and was certainly not for very little kids, but I don't think any 10-year-old was ever frightened by it.

Yeah that's what I had been thinking. Just because it's based on a Disney attraction doesn't mean it has to be a G-rated laff riot.

Pirates (Pearl, anyway) struck a great balance of catering to all the proper age groups, without having to sacrifice too much. Since Haunted Mansion is an inherently scarier property, this balance could prove trickier.

It's nice to see he's already got an idea of how scary he thinks it should be... hopefully he's not forced to budge.

That balance is the only thing that worries me. He has a penchant for dark, extremely scary, and even violent stuff. I wouldn't want too much of that in a "Haunted Mansion" film. If he wants to do that, that's great, but make it in some other property, not a beloved Disneyland ride film.

As for him budging, well, he'll either realize the balance he needs to strike up front, or else he will have to budge (or walk away from the project). This is Disney he's dealing with.

He loves the ride. I think he's the perfect fit. Chernabog, Maleficent, Burtion's Alice, Nightmare etc are all good representations of how Disney can be dark, and still family friendly.

That's why I think it's a great sign he has a vision already. Since he loves the ride, I think he would have a good idea of what makes up the ride's personality.

I think he has shown a ton of creativity in his movies, and I'm not too worried about his work suffering from having to remove certain, more horrific, aspects from his normal routine.

So when does it come out? I wanna buy my tickets NOW!

I was actually dumbfounded when I heard this. My brain couldn't take in the awesomeness.

If he is such a huge fan of the ride I think he'll find the right balance. The Haunted Mansion has always been a whimsical scary ride. Walt himself said that he didn't want the ride to be overly scary, he saw it more of a retirement home for ghosts than a traditional haunted house.

Agent0028 said:

If he is such a huge fan of the ride I think he'll find the right balance. The Haunted Mansion has always been a whimsical scary ride. Walt himself said that he didn't want the ride to be overly scary, he saw it more of a retirement home for ghosts than a traditional haunted house.

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That is so Walt.

And I do hope that he finds the right balance. I guess I am just a bit skeptical, because of all of the del Toro things I've seen, "whimsical" has never really been his strong suit (IMO).

This was a total surprise. I showed those that left Tron early! That and the Pirates video of Jack talking to the audience were very cool. First real look I've seen of Jack's new look (mostly noticed his hair is messier this time around).

Got the chance to meet him on Saturday at GG's booth...
Awesome guy, and awesome news!!
Can't wait to see what he does!! !

tomandshell said:

He just walked out at the end of the Tron panel and announced his next film project. The main character will be the Hatbox Ghost. Let's see what Sideshow can do!

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Can't wait for this movie. I love anything he does because he has such a sense of style and mood. I wish SS would do look into Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Still one of my favorite movies of the past 10 years.