Disney’s Haunted Mansion First Reviews Praise a Scary, Hilarious and Unexpectedly Emotional Movie

Disney’s Haunted Mansion may not have had the premiere it planned on, with the actor’s strike forcing the unconventional sight of a red carpet full of Disney park characters to replace the usual parade of famous real stars, but it seems that the first reactions to the movie have not been hindered by that in the slightest.

Haunted Mansion is the second attempt by Disney to bring their iconic park ride to life on the big screen, in the hope of repeating the success of the likes of Pirates of the Caribbean after the less than successful Eddie Murphy movie from 2003. It seems that any fears of a repeat performance have been exorcised with the first online reactions to the film, which calls the Justin Simien directed movie a surprisingly emotional comedy-horror movie for the whole family.

While there is a lot of competition at the box office right now, the very positive reaction to Haunted Mansion could give Disney another hit to sit alongside The Little Mermaid and Elemental. The movie premiere was held in Disneyland on Saturday, with characters from the park such as Mickey Mouse, Maleficent and Snow White’s Evil Queen walking down the red carpet instead of the likes of Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson and Rosario Dawson. The premiere also did not allow the usual interviews with the director and others, so was therefore a straight-forward showing of the movie for those in attendance.

Whether looking for ride Easter eggs, a good selection of jump scares or plenty of laughs, it seems that Haunted Mansion provides all of this and more in abundance, making it seem like a must-see movie for both fans of the ride and those who have no previous experience with the ghostly goings-on of the creepy attraction. Check out the reactions below.

Related: Disney Negate SAG Actor’s Strike With Unique Red Carpet at Haunted Mansion Premiere to Instant Backlash

Haunted Mansion Looks to Have Broken the Ride’s Big Screen Curse

While there have been several successful adaptations of Disney park rides into movies, including last year’s Jungle Cruise, back in 2003 an attempted to bring the fan-favorite Haunted Mansion ride to the big screen was a complete misfire. Starring Eddie Murphy, The Haunted Mansion was expected to be Disney’s next big ride-based franchise following the hugely successful Pirates of the Caribbean. However, reviews panned it and the box office came in with a total of just $182 million from its $90 million budget.

This time around things could be different, certainly on the review side if the early reactions are to be believed. It seems that a big part of that difference comes from director Justin Simien using the 2003 movie as a guide for what not to do in his new adaptation. He previously said:

“[We looked at Eddie Murphy’s Haunted Mansion for how we could] go awry. We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland, when we see it through the gates and we see the pillars. That angle has to hit. That’s how specific we were. When you first glide through the dining hall and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right, because that’s the one where you gasp on the ride.”

Haunted Mansion is released on July 28.