Top 10 Things You Missed in Disney's Haunted Mansion Movie
These details in "Haunted Mansion" slipped by like a ghost. For this list, we’ll be looking at Easter eggs, references, and hidden tails from Disney’s second theatrical take on their signature spooky ride.
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00:00 "I summon Madame Leona!"
00:02 "I can show you what happened, but it will cost you."
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 things you missed
00:10 in Disney's Haunted Mansion movie.
00:12 "I've been dying to go to this place for years."
00:15 "Mystery lurks around every corner."
00:18 For this list, we'll be looking at Easter eggs, references,
00:21 and hidden details from Disney's second theatrical take on their signature spooky ride.
00:26 If you foolish mortals dare proceed, beware of any spoilers.
00:30 Did you catch any ghoulish Easter eggs? Let us know in the comments.
00:34 Number 10. The Sea Captain
00:38 Returning home, Lakeith Stanfield's Ben finds that a ghostly sea captain has hitched a ride.
00:44 Leaving him up a creek without a proton pack, Ben ventures back to the mansion for answers.
00:48 "Hey, Wagner, you got any luck on...uh, what's his name?"
00:54 At one point, Imagineer Ken Anderson intended a character named Captain Gore
00:59 to be the Disneyland ride's antagonist. This idea got scrapped,
01:03 but a sea captain was still worked into the attraction as an homage.
01:07 "We can see that a hearse has crashed through the wall,
01:09 and different party guests are arriving out of the crashed vehicle. We see a ship captain."
01:14 Not only does a captain emerge from a hearse in the Great Hall,
01:18 but a tombstone reading "Bartholomew Gore" was later added to the Magic Kingdom version.
01:22 The film's captain also resembles the mariner from a portrait hanging in the
01:26 Disney World locations loading area. Just like this mariner,
01:29 the sea dog who haunts Ben sports a trusty harpoon.
01:33 "Yeah, I mean, that's dramatic. But look around.
01:35 I mean, the guy practically lives in a clue board."
01:39 Number 9. The Duelists
01:41 Ben and company cross paths with many ghosts at the mansion.
01:45 Nine hundred and ninety-nine, to be precise.
01:47 Two of these ghosts pack pistols, engaging in a duel that persists beyond the grave.
01:52 "These ghosts definitely don't want to leave."
01:55 These characters draw inspiration from the duelist paintings that can be found in Disneyland,
02:00 Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. On the ride, the duelists appear to be
02:05 upper-class gentlemen who both shot first.
02:07 "The dueling brothers, they're also in the film quite dangerous."
02:11 In the film, one of the duelists resembles his ride counterpart with a dapper top hat,
02:15 but the other one looks more like a pirate captain. Although still a neat nod to the ride,
02:20 it's kind of a missed opportunity that the duelists weren't played by Lin-Manuel Miranda
02:25 and Leslie Odom Jr. Or would that have been too on the nose?
02:29 "Here's an itemized list of 30 years of disagreements. Sweet Jesus."
02:34 Number 8. Hitchhiking Ghosts
02:36 "Why don't you bring your friends with you?"
02:37 "Friends? What friends?"
02:39 Whenever someone who stepped inside the mansion tries to leave,
02:45 they're sure to be followed by ghosts.
02:47 There are three in particular that we were waiting to hitch the ride.
02:51 "That family might want to move. Take us with you?"
02:55 It's only a matter of time until Ben crosses paths with the haunted mansion's signature
02:59 hitchhiking ghosts. They don't properly introduce themselves to Ben. In the ride's lore, though,
03:04 these three are named Phineas, Ezra, and Gus. The trio aren't the only ones that Ben unearths
03:10 outside. Also present are the mansion's caretaker and his faithful dog.
03:14 On the ride, the groundskeeper and dog are among the mansion's only living residents.
03:19 In the film, though, both have met the same fates as their fellow ghosts.
03:23 Did the hitchhikers run them over?
03:24 "I'll just warn you that it's- they're filled with mystery,
03:27 they're ready, and you better beware."
03:28 Number 7. Doom Buggy Chairs
03:31 Everything about the haunted mansion attraction is iconic, including the seating arrangements.
03:37 Approaching the Omnimover system, riders hop aboard black carriages known as "Doom Buggies."
03:42 "You have multiple rails designing the different rotation of all the vehicles,
03:46 a lot of vehicles that are all strung together, you have to drive all the vehicles through a
03:50 very large layout, up and down hills."
03:53 While the Doom Buggies aren't prominently featured in the movie,
03:56 the filmmakers do pay tribute to them. When a seance goes south,
04:00 Tiffany Haddish's Harriet is taken on a wild ride, not of the Mr. Toad variety.
04:10 Her chair comes to life, sending Harriet charging out of the room and through the front door.
04:15 With a large, circular back post that practically engulfs Harriet,
04:18 the production designers clearly had the Doom Buggies in mind while crafting this chair.
04:23 The major difference? Harriet's chair doesn't have a safety bar that automatically comes down.
04:28 Now there's a safety violation.
04:30 Number 6. Ghosts Come Out to Socialize
04:39 "One quick door squeak and the tombstones wake,
04:42 spooks come out for a swinging wake."
04:45 With every trip to the haunted mansion, we always look forward to the Grand Hall set piece
04:49 where we find the ghosts at their most social. The film borrows a fair deal of imagery from
04:54 this part of the ride. One ghost is seen playing a pipe organ, causing small spirits to emanate
04:59 from the instrument. Another ghost hangs from the chandelier, proving to be the life of the party,
05:04 even in death. Fun fact, this ghost is named Pickwick according to the
05:08 Imagineering notes. He was first visualized in a piece of concept art by Mark Davis,
05:13 which was essentially cut and pasted into the attraction.
05:16 The movie ends with the living and dead assembling for a swinging wake in the ballroom,
05:20 complete with ghosts waltzing from up above. If these grim sights don't leave you grinning,
05:25 we guess that you're just not the social type.
05:27 Number 5. The Stretching Room
05:35 Every tour of the haunted mansion begins in this gallery, although in the film,
05:39 the room doesn't start stretching until the climax.
05:42 "Guys, is anybody else seeing this?"
05:44 "Yeah, I'm seeing it."
05:46 The production designers faithfully recreate the stretching room, right down to the wallpaper.
05:51 The room is also decorated with paintings that aren't revealed in full until the floor descends.
05:56 Or is it the ceiling that moves upward?
05:58 "Oh, it's wild."
05:59 "Wow."
06:00 "Oh, look at the pictures moving!"
06:04 "Hey, he sold this one!"
06:05 "Oh, yeah!"
06:06 In any case, the portraits resemble the ones on the ride.
06:10 From the bearded gent in his undergarments to the three men sitting on each other's shoulders,
06:14 the stakes are raised for the characters, however.
06:17 You know the alligator under the woman standing on the tightrope?
06:20 Well, it comes to life and its appetite hasn't been satisfied.
06:24 We'll take the other way out, thank you.
06:26 "If we don't solve this mystery, we're stuck here for eternity."
06:32 Number 4. The Bride
06:34 Actress Lindsay Lamb strikes fear into the characters,
06:37 and audience, as the film's axe-wielding ghost bride.
06:40 "You're not that scary, you're really not."
06:42 "You're pretty terrifying."
06:45 At Disneyland Paris's Phantom Manor,
06:47 a dearly departed bride named Melanie Ravenswood plays a key role in the ride's story.
06:52 However, this film's bride draws more from Constance Hatchaway,
06:55 who can be spotted in Disneyland and Disney World.
06:58 Although a ghostly bride had been a Haunted Mansion staple for years,
07:03 Constance didn't make her official debut until 2006.
07:06 "The daughter who was going to become married soon
07:09 was left to roam the halls of the manor bemoaning the loss of her parents.
07:13 She too eventually passes away and continues to haunt the home to this day."
07:19 Constance spends much of her afterlife hanging around the attic,
07:22 which is where Ben also encounters the bellowing bride.
07:25 Despite being a relatively new addition to the attraction,
07:28 the hatchet happy bride has become one of its most familiar elements.
07:32 She wouldn't miss this party, but she might miss your head.
07:35 "Hey, are you afraid?"
07:37 "You should be."
07:39 Number 3. The Hatbox Ghost
07:41 The film's most haunting spirit is the Hatbox Ghost, played by Jared Leto.
07:46 This ghoulish foe has come a long way since his inception.
07:53 The character originally appeared in the attic alongside the Beating Heart Bride
07:57 when the Haunted Mansion first opened its doors in 1969.
08:01 However, the Imagineers couldn't get the vanishing head trick down,
08:05 forcing them to almost immediately remove the Hatbox Ghost.
08:08 Yet the character gained a cult following, popping up in souvenirs and artwork.
08:13 He even appeared in a comic series where he was named Randall Pace.
08:16 "There is a ton of fans for the Hatbox Ghost.
08:18 He's one of the most popular figures in the mansion and doesn't even exist there."
08:23 With technology catching up to what the Imagineers initially envisioned,
08:26 the Hatbox Ghost finally returned to the ride in 2015.
08:30 Now he's the villain of a major motion picture, adopting the name Alistair Crump.
08:35 "Is this the man who mugged you?"
08:36 "Wow! You just did that just now?"
08:39 Number 2. It's a Small World After All
08:42 Trying to piece together the mystery of the Hatbox Ghost,
08:46 our heroes venture to another mansion where they meet two tour guides,
08:50 Winona Ryder's Pat and Dan Levy's Vic.
08:52 "You're all in for a treat."
08:55 35 years after Beetlejuice, Ryder still can't get away from haunted houses,
09:00 but David Rose has upgraded from motel dweller.
09:02 "You get murdered first for once."
09:04 "No, you get murdered first."
09:06 "David, you get murdered first."
09:08 "No, you!"
09:10 As Ben and his friends sneak away from the tour,
09:13 Vic can be heard playing a familiar tune on the piano.
09:16 No, it's not the Haunted Mansion theme,
09:18 although that can be heard various times throughout the film.
09:21 Vic is singing along with another Disney attraction, It's a Small World.
09:25 It might seem like an odd fit for a scary movie,
09:28 but listen to the song enough times, it'll become your worst nightmare.
09:32 "It's a small world after all."
09:35 "No! No! Anything but that."
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09:54 Number 1. William Gracie
09:57 "Now, if I can communicate with William Gracie, I suspect he will have the answers that we need."
10:04 As the characters unravel the mystery of the mansion,
10:07 they find that the happy and not-too-happy haunts are tied to William Gracie.
10:11 In the ride's history, one of the first tombstones to be included in the family plot read,
10:16 "Master Gracie," honoring Imagineer Yale Gracie.
10:19 "He was the illusioneer behind all of the fun gags and all of the fun illusions that
10:25 went through the Haunted Mansion. We enjoy these things to this day
10:29 and still don't even know how they're done."
10:31 In the SLG comics, elements of Captain Gore were recycled for a composite character called
10:36 Captain William Gracie. A character named Edward Gracie is also revealed to be the
10:40 mansion's original owner in the 2003 Haunted Mansion movie.
10:43 "Being a Gracieman, I bet you were denied nothing. The world was yours."
10:48 In this new version, William Gracie is given a similarly heartbreaking backstory linked to a
10:52 woman named Eleanor. This could be a nod to Eleanor Audley, who voiced Madam Leota in
10:58 the Haunted Mansion attraction, not to mention Lady Tremaine and Maleficent.
11:03 "Well, this is a pleasant surprise."
11:07 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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11:18 [Music]