In 2021 Disney released another pseudopod of the Muppet Franchise out into the world of streaming. At just under 50 minutes, Haunted Mansion had the unenviable job of trying to get and keep people’s attention AND tell a good Muppet story.
Gonzo and Pepe the king prawn visit the Haunted Mansion (based on Disney’s ride in Disneyworld) and they have to survive the night or be stuck forever in the mansion. Gonzo powers through with the power of friendship, blah, blah, blah, happy ending. The rest of the Muppets are sidelined at a halloween party, so while a few muppets make appearances as ghosts, this was no where near filled to the brim with Muppet Goodness like the original movie.
Thankfully, this was MUCH better than Muppets from Space, where Gonzo was the main character too. I laughed out loud several times and overall had a fun filled time. Besides Will Arnett, I didn’t recognize a single actor making a cameo though. I’m guessing they all were tied to Disney’s apron strings in one way or another though. Which would explain why I didn’t recognize them.
When I saw it was going to be only 50minutes I wondered if it was going to be too short. It was just the right length for the story they had though. Any more and the holes and thinness would have shown. Once again though, it is very evident that Disney just doesn’t know how to handle the Muppets. Some things really stuck their landing while other bits fell completely flat.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with this and if it ever comes out on disc I’ll probably buy it before Disney disappears it like they tend to do. But first, they have to actually release it on disc. That’s by no means a given here. Definitely more kid oriented than the previous 2 movies (The Muppets and The Muppets Most Wanted) but still good enough for a dedicated Muppet fan.
Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road 
A franchise I checked out on after The Muppet Movie. But I’m glad somebody stuck with it.
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The 70s one or the 2010s one?
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The first one. Was that in the ’70s? The Rainbow Connection and all that.
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Yep, full on 70s 🙂
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You don’t recognise Crissy Metz? Edward Asner? Craig Robinson? Danny Trejo? Man, where have you been?
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Reading books 🙂
I did recognize Trejo but he’d been on Muppets Now vs the Swedish Chief, so that’s why
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A great review Stooge, I bet the people are going to be pleased to see actual words on a post of yours again. Glad to see this worked out for you.
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Yeah, no more having to fake the comments section 🙂
This was the last Muppet thing for me so now I have to decide what’s next. Not Sherlock though, hahaha
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Funny! I just shared a new Sunday post… Was thinking if we are ready yet for season two lol…
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Hahaha!
I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch season 2 even for fun.
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No worries then🙂.
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Gonzo was my favourite muppet, glad he gets a starring rôle.
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He’s so weird that he can be put into any situation and it’s not too outrageous 🙂
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Thanks for reminding me I haven’t watch this, now off we go!
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I hope you like it.
Do you have much of a Muppet history?
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I like and agree that the story length are just right.
Kinda reminds me of local puppets show in Thailand that we have local animals as each puppets though.
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I did know there was a Muppets version of The Haunted Mansion
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While not bad like a couple of the other movies, there are other ones that are so much better.
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With such a positive reaction, I imagine any future Muppet movie/show will get on your watchlist now, huh?
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Absolutely. I might get to whatever muppet “thing” comes out a year or two after the fact, but I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground.
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