Recent
https://disneytips.com
Menu
Home » News

Disney’s New Haunted Mansion Movie May Be Inappropriate for Children

Posted by: Steven Wilk April 28, 2023

Haunted Mansion with The Ring Character

Children under 13, that is. The upcoming feature film has received a rating from the MPA of PG-13. For reference, that is the same rating as Poltergeist (1982), The Exorcism Of Emily Rose (2005), and The Ring (2002).

The Ring movie

Credit: DreamWorks Pictures

The “Hair Raising” Ride

As any Disney fan knows, the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland Park and the Magic Kingdom is more spooky than downright terrifying. Despite its ghosts, skeletons, axe-wielding brides, and mischievous apparitions, it never seemed to horrify adults (or children) as much as Snow Whites Scary Adventures or the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (both of which have been since removed from Walt Disney World).

Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom

Credit: Brittany DiCologero

Yet somehow, Disney has managed to make a film based on the classic dark ride that earned a PG-13 rating for “some thematic elements and scary action.”

RELATED: Does Walt Disney World’s Haunted Mansion Have A Storyline?

Addicted to Attraction Adaptions?

The upcoming movie has no connection to the previous Haunted Mansion (2003) with Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason, Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, and Jennifer Tilly. Although the Eddie Murphy version wasn’t received very well, Disney hopes that re-making a film based on a theme park attraction may pay off this time. The formula worked well for Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), garnering that franchise four sequels (with a fifth in production). However, it didn’t work out so well for The Country Bears (2002), based on the animatronic show in the Magic Kingdom, nor Tomorrowland (2015), starring George Clooney, which was based on… Tomorrowland.

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean

Credit: Disney

RELATED: Reviews of Jungle Cruise Say It Combines Pirates of the Caribbean and The Mummy

A More Macabre Mansion

The new Haunted Mansion (2023) film is set to materialize in theaters on July 28, 2023. It will contain a star-studded cast comprised of Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto, and many more. It will be interesting to see if this darker take on the intellectual property will be successful as more of a horror film vs. a kid-friendly comedy.

Jared Leto Haunted Mansion

Credit: VanityFair.com & Disney

All one can say is… foolish mortals beware…

About Steven Wilk

Steven has a complicated relationship with Disney. As a child, he visited Walt Disney World every few years with his family. But he never understood why kids his age (and older) were so scared of Snow White or Alien Encounter. He is a former participant of the Disney College Program (left early…long story), and he also previously worked in Children’s publishing, where he adapted multiple Disney movies and TV shows. He has many controversial opinions about Disney…like having a positive view of Michael Eisner, believing Return of the Jedi is superior to The Empire Strikes Back, and that Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge should have never been built (at least not at Hollywood Studios). Every year for the past two decades, Steven has visited either Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani or went on a Disney Cruise. He’s happy to share any and all knowledge of the Disney destinations (and he likes using parenthesis a lot…as well as ellipses…)