Night 2! #OctoberMovieMarathon
Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)8/10 7/10*
This
movie really hits that silly spooky vibe to get you into the spirit of
the season! Were it any other group it would be a 7- but the Muppets
alone bump this up a whole number.
*EDIT 10/8: Sorry Muppets, but after a few more movies, I just can't give and 8/10 to a special that's under an hour. It was still great so you're keeping the 7- but when I see some other movies I want to rate at an 8- they're just a bit better than this...*
Gonzo
gets an invite to a Halloween Challenge celebrating the 100th year
anniversary of his favorite magician's disappearance at the mansion
where he vanished. Pepe gets to come as Gonzo's plus one in the hopes of
it being a party with lots of famous people.
This
is a short one, not even an hour- but a lot of fun. Especially if
you're a Muppets fan (like me) and I bet there were a lot of easter eggs
for Haunted Mansion fans too. It was a tad too heavy on the "explainy
jokes" especially at the beginning. A lot of "oh I get it", "what do you
mean? oh it's this pun". But the cameos were all a lot of fun and I got
to see a few background Muppets get some highlighted roles! (Really Old
Tom and Dead Tom? I didn't know you'd come back!) Plus the music was
very catchy. I didn't know I needed an Electric Mayhem cover of "Dancin'
in the Moonlight" but I'm so glad I have it now.
The visuals are also great. There's a mix of practical effects and CGI and it's done very well- exactly what you'd expect of the Muppets. I especially liked the costuming changes for the climax- that sequence looked pretty scary!
Not quite a perfect score due to the explainy jokes mentioned before and because the plot seemed a little light. I could have used a little more background since I don't know the Haunted Mansion very well. Though I expect you wouldn't need any background if you did. But I really liked the conclusion and the interactions between everybody. Plus, I'm a sucker for Gonzo focused stories- I love that blue hook-nosed whatever!
My only question is why was Pepe chosen to be the side character instead of Rizzo? Typically it's Gonzo and Rizzo as a duo, though Pepe and Gonzo do have a fun dynamic.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one and very much recommend it. This could be a yearly watch to get into the spooky season. And who doesn't want more Muppets in their life? Can't believe I missed this one for 3 years. Very happy I saw it
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