Kirk Thatcher
Cast
Will Arnett - The Ghost Host
Yvette Nicole Brown - Hearse Driver
Darren Criss - The Caretaker
Taraji P. Henson - Constance Hatchaway
Kim Irvine - The Maid
Dave Goelz - voice of Gonzo
Bill Barretta - voice of Pepe
I don't think it's a revelation to say the Muppets have never been quite the same since their creator, Jim Henson, passed away in 1990. That's not necessarily the fault of the Jim Henson Company nor Disney which currently owns the franchise.
To Disney's credit, they've been working to keep the Muppets alive and well, and in front of audiences as best they can despite the best years of Henson's creations being behind them.
The successful Muppet Show, which really made their popularity skyrocket, ran for five seasons from 1976 to 1981. It still holds up today.
Subsequent programs came along after the success of The Muppet Show but didn't have quite the staying power.
His show The Jim Henson Hour ran for one season on NBC in 1989. It has a similar style to the classic TV anthology series Walt Disney Presents. Henson hosts the show and offers audiences a look behind the scenes to show off new innovations and ideas.
After that, the Muppets returned to prime time television with Muppets Tonight in 1996. New characters were introduced. Some of which have stuck around the Muppet Studios to this day. And much to the show's credit, it won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding children's program.
It has a similar variety show format as The Muppet Show but is certainly more updated in style. Muppets Tonight ran for two seasons on ABC. The show was purchased by the Disney Channel, which ran a few more episodes not seen on ABC.
After several years, the Muppets made a sort of television comeback on ABC with the show The Muppets. It's a docu-style (or mockumentary, as it's often called) sitcom much like The Office. The writers switched the variety show theme with a late night show motif hosted by Miss. Piggy.
The series, which ran for one season, follows the behind-the-scenes office work of the Muppets. And like most of their past programs, this series features regular guest stars.
I found it somewhat entertaining, but the laughs definitely didn't follow too many of their jokes.
The streaming service Disney+ airs the current series Muppets Now which premiered in 2020. I've only seen the first two episodes. It consists of multiple segments in an unscripted style viral video or web series format.
Despite all the best efforts, I don't think the Muppets will ever have quite the spark and spirit that they possessed when Henson was running the show. But that's not to say they're no longer entertaining nor completely lost their humor.
Now, with the Halloween season upon us, Disney decided to pair the Muppets with one of their classic Disneyland attractions, the Haunted Mansion.
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| The Great Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn as themselves in The Muppets Haunted Mansion. |
The story centers on Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn.
In stead of attending the annual Muppet Halloween party, Gonzo and Pepe decide to head over to a fear challenge event over at a haunted mansion.
Gonzo is excited as its the same mansion his favorite magician, "the Great MacGuffin," had mysteriously disappeared from 100 years ago.
They're escorted over to this event in a hearse driven by Yvette Nicole Brown.
When they arrive, they immediately run into a groundskeeper (Darren Criss) and his scrawny looking dog. Soon, they encounter several ghosts popping up from the cemetery on the grounds, along with singing busts as seen on the ride at Disneyland.
After a catchy song from the groundskeeper and the ghosts manifesting around them, Gonzo and Pepe make their way into the mansion where they're greeted by their "ghost host" (Will Arnett).
The host tells Gonzo he's been summoned to the mansion in order to see if they can survive one over-night stay within.
If they can, they're welcomed to leave the next morning. If not, he and Pepe will be doomed to stay inside the mansion... forever! (Cue thunderclap.)
Gonzo is sure of himself that he fears nothing. Pepe, meanwhile, is terrified by everything he encounters within the mansion.
After exploring the house, and encountering several ghosts who resemble the other Muppets back at their Halloween party, the "ghost host" tells Gonzo that to survive the mansion he has to face his fears in room 999.
It's the first Halloween special to feature the Muppets. And though it's not the sort of horror I've been reviewing here, it has ghosts and talking prawns and such, so...it counts.
The Muppet Haunted Mansion reminds me a bit of another Muppet special - A Muppet Family Christmas. This aired on ABC back in 1987, and is truly one of the best Holiday TV specials out there as it brings all the characters from Jim Henson's mind - Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and the Muppet Babies - into one special.
Like A Muppet Family Christmas, this Halloween special doesn't have much of a storyline. Actually, it doesn't necessarily need any big story. Rather, it has just enough to move things along and keep the audience invested. Otherwise, the self-aware humor as the Muppet characters react and interact with the familiar ghosts of the haunted mansion is the stuff of classics.
In true Muppet fashion, celebrity guests are sprinkled throughout without stealing the spotlight from either the ghosts nor Kermit and his pals.
It's worth mentioning actor Ed Asner's appearance as one of the mansion's happy haunts, making it his final work as he passed away in August, 2021.
Director Kirk Thatcher has worked with the Muppets before, and quite successfully. He worked as supervising producer on Muppets Tonight. He directed the Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody YouTube video in 2009 which won the "Viral Video" category at the Webby Awards. Thatcher also directed the Muppets' Jungle Boogie and Kodachrome music videos. Their first Halloween Special was certainly in good hands.
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| Will Arnett as "the Ghost Host". |
The songs in this special are catchy, and the jokes garner laughs. In particular, the running joke about timing which involves a skeleton and mummy attempting bolster the fear of the moment had me laughing.
But most significantly, the special works with the Muppet's self-aware humor, breaking the fourth wall, as Gonzo and Pepe interactant with all the familiar Haunted Mansion scenes and characters.
Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine has a cameo as a maid, and shares a scene with Miss. Piggy who plays the psychic medium, Madame Leota, who conjures the spirits from within her crystal ball.
It's a significant cameo as her late mother, Leota Toombs, portrays Madam Leota in the séance scene during the Haunted Mansion ride. Nice touch, Disney!
Nothing in the Haunted Mansion is left ignored. Fans of both the attraction and the Muppets are surely going to get what they want out of this TV special, especially as it travels through the whole ride. It doesn't drag on, and none of it feels overdone. It's a fun watch and certainly one of the better Muppet programs around.
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