Eddie Murphy''s latest dud is
The Haunted Mansion, Disney''s less-noticed attempt to turn one of its rides into a
feature-length movie. Generally, making a movie about a haunted house should be pretty easy, but when it is aimed at kids, all things can go up in smoke. And they do.
The problem with The Haunted Mansion is that it isn''t nearly goofy enough for little kids - and perhaps a bit too scary in a few parts - and isn''t even close to being either funny or scary enough for adults. The result is a cheesy, unsatisfying ride that proves just how amazing Pirates of the Caribbean is.
The plot is pretty simplistic, as you might expect. Murphy is an overworked dad who agrees to take his family on a small vacation to show his beautiful wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), that he can avoid the real estate market for one weekend. However, he decides to sidetrack for just a few minutes and check out an old mansion that most likely is worth many millions. As you may expect, hopefully, the mansion is haunted by tons of ghosts, and the owner is no exception - he believes that Sara is his dead wife and will stop at nothing to make her his.