Categories: Comedy Films

The Haunted Mansion (2003)

Taglines: Two bathrooms: His and hearse.

Frightfully funny Eddie Murphy leads an all-scare cast of ghosts and ghouls in Disney’s spookiest comedy ever, “The Haunted Mansion.” Workaholic real-estate agent Jim Evers (Murphy) drags his family up to the big, creepy Gracey mansion in hopes of rebuilding it into a lavish new condo development.

When they get there, however, the family quickly finds that they’re not alone… not when 999 grim, grinning ghosts come out to socialize! With all these happy haunts that won’t leave until their unfinished business has been completed, it’s up to Jim to break the curse -and rediscover a family that needs him – before the clock strikes 13.

The Haunted Mansion comes alive like never before with incredible visual and special effects in this all-new, fun-filled comedy adventure. Shrouded in fog and mystery, the mansion was once a stately antebellum palace that hosted New Orleans’s wealthiest. Now it’s the creepy and crumbling home to a love struck 19th century gentleman, 999 ghosts, and a hilarious and hair-raising battle for “home rule.”

Realtor Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) and his wife and business partner Sara get a call late one night from mansion owner Edward Gracey, who is looking to sell his property. Smelling the biggest deal of their career, Jim, Sara and their two children pay a visit to the mansion, located on a remote bayou.

A torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands the Evers family in the old mansion with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler Ramsley, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen. At first, Jim scoffs at Gracey’s stories about ghosts, until he unearths the mystery of the mansion and finds that his wife Sara has unexpected connections to its haunted past.

The Haunted Mansion

Directed by: Rob Minkoff
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Tilly, Terence Stamp, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly, Dina Spybey-Waters, Rachael Harris
Screenplay by: David Berenbaum
Production Design by: John Myhre
Cinematography by: Remi Adefarasin
Film Editing by: Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
Costume Design by: Mona May
Set Decoration by: Rosemary Brandenburg
Music by: Mark Mancina
MPAA Rating: PG for frightening images, thematic elements, language.
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Release Date: November 26, 2003