During the production of the reboot of Haunted Mansion, director Justin Siemien, who replaced Rob Minkoff, was faced with the daunting challenge of deciding which of the happy haunts from the original source material will be adapted into the movie.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Simien revealed that upon getting the job, he recognized the need to strike a balance between honoring the rich history of the Disney theme park ride from which the story was created and developing a masterpiece. Thus the director devised a clever approach by featuring Jamie Lee Curtis in the film to play the character of Madame Leota, whom he skillfully placed inside a crystal ball.
Justin Siemien revealed how he prepared for the movie
Simien disclosed to the news outlet that in preparation for the movie production, due consultations were made with Disney Theme Park to ensure that the constructed sets mirrored the Disneyland and Disney World experience.
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“You really do meet the mansion the way you would as a guest at the park: through the eyes of a new cast exploring the lore along with you,” the director explained. “We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland when we see it through the gates, and we see the pillars. That angle has to hit. That’s how specific we were, when you first glide through the dining hall, and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right because that’s the one where you gasp on the ride.”
The director also spoke about the development of Jamie Lee Curtis’s character, which added to the beauty of the movie. “She starts off as one of the relics,” Simien admitted. “One of the items, one of the aspects of the house that has to be discovered, but becomes a functional character and a useful ally in the film.”
Simien further revealed that he limited the use of effects so as to make the movie unique. “You know there’s a trick being played on you, but you’re not sure how they did it. The Pepper’s Ghost effect [during the ride’s finale], it’s so old school, you know it’s not a screen, but it’s because it’s so old school that it feels like it’s really there,” Simien stated. “There’s a practicality to the tricks on the ride that I felt was important. When I took the job I said, ‘I don’t want to make CGI soup. We have to build the house.’ Even if we’re not doing an effect practically, we have to make it look like we did because there’s something about the groundedness of the ride that makes it what it is. It makes it charming.”
Jamie Lee Curtis expressed her admiration for director Justin Siemien’s work
In a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jamie Lee Curtis expressed her anticipation for the upcoming movie, Haunted Mansion while also emphasizing the movie’s unique qualities—the challenge of striking a delicate balance between providing scary moments and adhering to the conventions of a family-friendly film.
“I think they found the sweet spot of scary, funny, and adventure. You know, it’s cooking. I barely cook, I attempt cooking all the time, and it’s all ingredients, and then the mix and the time, and it’s always hard to know, are you going to make something yummy? And from what I’m seeing, and what I’ve heard, [director] Justin [Simien] has made something yummy,” Lee Curtis confessed to the news outlet. “It’s modern, fresh, old-fashioned, and scary, but not scary like a monster movie. It’s scary, like a Disney ride, and funny. If you go on that ride, there’s a lot of humor as well as the scary, ghost-y stuff.”