Look alive, foolish mortals! Walt Disney Studios is dying to share the teaser trailer for the comically creepy adventure Haunted Mansion, appearing in theatres on July 28, 2023.

Watch Disney’s Haunted Mansion teaser trailer below, which is loaded with familiar faces – both spirits from the dark ride attraction and fan-favourite Hollywood superstars! There were plenty of spooktacular nods to the iconic and beloved attraction. If you’ve ridden on “Haunted Mansion” at the Disney Parks then you’ll know what to expect as throughout we see mysteriously stretching portraits, ghosts haunting, and some recognisable characters such as the Hatbox ghost, Constance Hatchaway, and Madam Leota played by Jamie Lee Curtis.

The presence of the supernatural world would probably take you by surprise as we see an unsuspecting family move into the Mansion believing it to be a lovely new home, however, Rosario Dawson’s character Gabbie soon learns that a vanilla-scented candle still won’t chase the creepiness away!

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Justin Simien, “Haunted Mansion” features an all-star ensemble cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, and Dan Levy, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto as The Hatbox Ghost.

Director Simien said in a statement shared with Coastal House Media, “As a lifelong fan of the Haunted Mansion attraction, I’m beyond excited to share the teaser trailer for our new film adaptation featuring an incredible cast,” Simien says. “Our team has worked tirelessly to create a scary, funny and cinematic otherworldly adventure for both new and die-hard fans to enjoy! I can’t wait for audiences to experience this big screen version of the iconic Disney attraction.”

Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, a doctor (Dawson) and her 9-year-old son (Chase Dillon), looking to start a new life, move into a strangely affordable mansion in New Orleans, only to discover that the place is much more than they bargained for. Desperate for help, they contact a priest (Wilson), who, in turn, enlists the aid of a widowed scientist-turned-failed-paranormal expert (Stanfield), a French Quarter psychic (Haddish) and a crotchety historian (DeVito).  this motley crew of so-called spiritual experts are to help rid the family’s home of supernatural squatters.

The film’s producers are Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, with Nick Reynolds and Tom Peitzman serving as executive producers.

I have said it once and I’ll say it again. Nothing could match the sheer brilliance of the 1939 Judy Garland-led film The Wizard of Oz, but there is another film that was flown under the radar that was forgotten by many Oz fans after its release. That film was Return to Oz.

The movie is the unofficial sequel to the 1939 classic film. It follows a young Dorothy Gale six months after she came back from the Land of Oz. She is sent a key by the scarecrow via a shooting star and gets back to the magical land of Oz using a raft on a floating river. She is accompanied by a talking chicken, a metalhead named Tik-Tok, a Gump and Jack Pumpkinhead. 

The gang battles the evil Princess Mombi and her boss the Nome King. They must find the Scarecrow and unfreeze all of the inhabitants of the Emerald City. 

The film bombed at the box-office and only received mixed reviews, but, over the years, it has gained popularity, thanks to the internet and other Oz fans. 

As a child, I have always been fascinated with the idea of a person or a group of people traveling to a distant and fantastical land of wonder and amazement. That’s why I love movies like Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and The Chronicles of Narnia but this Walter Murch film from 1985 seems to capture my attention whenever I’m on Disney+ trying to kill some time. 

The story is so simple that it takes the journey of the hero and breathes new life into the marvelous land of Oz and the films that inspired it. It has a certain kinship to the nostalgic movies that I previously watched as a child in the 2000s. 

Another reason that I love this film so much is because of the magnificent score by David Shire. His music is so beautifully crafted that it makes one weak in the knees and the heart. Each note is a transformative thrill into Murch’s vision of what L. Frank Baum’s Oz was. The film uses every single strand of filmmaking techniques that the 1939 film originally hosted. 

Since its release, it has been acclaimed as a cult classic and its nostalgic charm is what makes it so likable and watchworthy. 

Robert Zmeckis’ Pinocchio [Credit: Walt Disney Pictures]

It’s been about four months since the release of Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of Pinocchio and critics, for some reason(s), have not been happy with the results of Zemeckis’ magical romp about a puppet who wanted to be real. 

Critics have lambasted the film for being soulless and devoid of purpose. However, critics are not always right about the movies that they review and since the film currently rests at a rotten score of 28%. I’m here to explain why the majority of critics, in this case, are completely wrong.

Honest John

One of the greatest things about this amazing film is Keegan-Michael Key’s turn as the sinister, conniving fox. John is virtually unchanged in his motivations from the 1940. He and his mute cat friend Gideon, still want to sell Pinnochio to Stromboli for profit. 

Key adds a layer of comedic flare to the character with such fervor and whimsy. Every word out of his mouth is so quotable that he actually does a better job at it than Walter Catlett from the 1940 film. 

Moreover, the CGI of John is probably the best seen in many years. You can see every hair, fiber and feature on his face as if he were a real character filmed with 4K cameras. 

Perfect Cast

If John was the creme de la creme of the movie, we cannot forget about the rest of the wondrous cast involved in the project. Tom Hanks looks like the living embodiment of Geppetto and his sensitive performance adds a touching tone to the film. 

Moreover, Luke Evans’ devious turn as the Coachman is surprisingly good in this adaptation of the wooden puppet. I thought that his casting as the maniacal Pleasure Island runner was a little bit out of place, but after seeing the film, he fit into the role like a glove. He may not have been as sinister as the 1940 Coachman, but he still manages to come off as a threatening villain for viewers. 

Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio [Credit: Walt Disney Pictures]

Geppetto’s Deceased Son

Unlike the 1940 film, Geppetto is seen building Pinocchio in the beginning of the film sometime after his son and wife died for unknown reasons. This was a driving detail and nuance the remake added to better explain Pinocchio’s origin.

Admittedly, Del Toro’s iteration also explained that Gepetto lost a son, but the way the wood-carver made the puppet was portrayed very differently. In the animated movie, Gepetto is seen drunkenly trying to remake his son out of pine in a Frankenstein-esque montage. Knowing the motivations from both wood-carvers, Del-toro’s version somewhat saps the heart out of the creation of Pinocchio and replaces it with desperation, while Hanks portrays it with more precision, tenderness, love and care. 

Music

Alan Silvestri’s score almost never disappoints. His music mixed in with the previous legacy and songs of the 1940 film provides a gleeful and nostalgic trip back into another Disney fairy tale. Every note, rest, and crescendo proves to further the plot of the film.

What’s more important to note is the fact that the new songs are truly admirable in the movie. Tom Hanks adds some heart when he bellows “When He Was Here with Me”, about his deceased son as he builds Pinocchio and the stand out song seems to be the Coachman’s song as Luke Evans blasts his dulcet notes out with a whimsical, yet malevolent tone. 

Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio [Credit: Walt Disney Pictures]

Différent Ending Lesson

In the 1940 movie, Pinocchio is seen on a deathbed after nearly drowning when Monstro gave he and his father chase and Geppetto is seen sobbing at the loss of his son, only for the boy to be revived as a real boy after being deemed, truthful, unselfish and brave. 

In the remake, Pinocchio is seen crying over his father after they escape the evil sea monster. After one of the puppet’s tears drops on his father, probably due to some fairy magic, Geppetto comes back to life. The two get up and go towards an immaculate blue light in a cave. It’s implied that he eventually turns into a real boy, but it doesn’t matter what he is made of, but rather what is inside of him.

Many people believe that this departure from the 1940 ending misses the point of the movie, but I disagree and I think that it adds a layer of what truly being real means. Pinocchio proved himself to be real when he was truthful, brave and unselfish for going after his father. It’s obvious audiences misunderstand the moral of the story.

Moreover, it could be implied that when Geppetto and Pinocchio went into the blue light that they died after Monstro chased them, which has an even deeper meaning that Zemeckis adds to. 

Either way, this was still a solid movie.

Pinocchio is now streaming on Disney+