听 Eddie Murphy moves further away from his 'Raw' comedy roots to star in (yet another) cosy family comedy, The Haunted Mansion. Based on a Disneyworld ride, he plays second fiddle to a barrage of spooky special effects. Sadly, "only the set design shines in this house of hokum", but that didn't stop this from being a moderate hit with half term audiences.
Spectrecular!
Since the real star of this movie is the mansion, it's no surprise that this should be the focus of both behind-the-scenes featurettes. Secrets Revealed gives a broad overview of all the resident ghouls, including a legion of zombies - which we're told had to be scary while retaining that Disney-filtered "family feel". If that doesn't scare the pants off you, a disembodied Jennifer Tilly should do it.
The visual effects crew dig deeper in the Ghosts In the Graveyard featurette, with a point-by-point breakdown of all the CGI wizardry and steadycam choreography that went into creating one of the most showy scenes of the movie. With a second unit director named Thor Freudenthal heading production, there was obviously a lot to live up to.
Through The Keyhole
Spookily, there's no sign of director Rob Minkoff anywhere on this disc, although visual effects supervisor Jay Redd gets copious talk time in all the behind-the-scenes footage as well as the audio commentary. His view from behind the curtain is nicely balanced by producer Don Hahn and screenwriter David Berenbaum, who offer light-hearted titbits on the actors. These include the shocking revelation that Eddie Murphy has a thick Indian accent. No, really.
Always thinking of the children, the bods at Disney have added a glossy, virtual tour of The Haunted Mansion, hosted by servant ghosts Emma and Ezra. (You can find an enhanced version of this, and a host of other interactive features, in the DVD-ROM section.) Emma And Ezra materialise again to serve up a little comedy shtick in a deleted scene, but there are more laughs to be had in the five-minute outtakes reel - you haven't seen this much corpsing since Dawn Of the Dead.
Despite Minkoff's absence, The Haunted Mansion makes a stately transition to DVD that's both generously furnished and expertly polished.
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