The Muppets take over Disney's classic Haunted Mansion ride in a new Disney+ special. Read our review of Muppets Haunted Mansion.
is a first, though: this time they’re not mocking TV genres, pop culture cliches or a beloved piece of literature, but a classic Disney theme park attraction. It’s been a long time coming; the Muppets made their Disney parks debut over 30 years ago, and have been outright owned by the Mouse since 2004. Fans of Jim Henson’s creations and Walt Disney’s theme parks can rest easy—this one-off special is a loving homage to both Kermit’s crew and Disney’s grim grinning ghosts..
You can probably already guess some of the specific gags in this show. Yes, the changing portraits in the Haunted Mansion queue and the fateful paintings in the ride’s stretching room are remade with recognizable Muppets. Yes, Rowlf is playing the organ during the ballroom scene Yes, Miss Piggy plays Madame Leota, the medium whose head is ensconced within a floating crystal ball.
Fortunately the special is often more inspired than you might expect. That ballroom scene is explicitly framed like the “At the Dance” segment that was a regular part of, with its procession of groan-worthy one-liners, and appearances by relatively obscure characters like the dancing duo Wayne and Wanda.
As usually found in the best Muppets work, there’s a dollop of tender sincerity at the special’s heart, in a way that’s sweet but not overly saccharine. That mix of heart and showbiz satire is what makes the Muppets tick—it’s a little schmaltzy, a little sarcastic, and fully aware of how sordid and artificial the entertainment world is, while still keeping its cynicism at arms’ reach.pulls all of that off, while still finding room for a lengthy subplot about a ghostly Taraji P.
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