The Puns are Scarier than the Ghosts: Muppets Haunted Mansion

Spoiler-Free Review of the new Muppets Haunted Mansion

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Can you face your deepest, darkest fear? Putting up with puns and a Kermit who sounds like he was hit by a car but still does voice acting. Gonzo and Pepe try to survive a night in the most haunted of houses in an attempt to become the greatest ever and to rub elbows with celebrities. Only, the night doesn't go as planned.

Really, this is a fun, short adventure. The puns are pretty tolerable, the jokes might make you chuckle, and the plot tracks. I enjoyed most of this, as did my toddler who constantly asks for the beating heart and the skeleton and mummy. 3.5 out of 5 screaming goats.

Here is the spoiler-free review:

Gonzo is on a quest to become the greatest in history - the greatest what... well everything. He accepts an invite to the Great MacGuffin's haunted mansion. Along for the ride is Pepe the Prawn. He is excited to rub all four elbows with celebrities. Both plans don't go as expected.

cnn.com

On, the 100th anniversary of the disappearance of the Great MacGuffin, Gonzo and Pepe are taken to his mansion, missing out on a Halloween party with their muppet friends. Upon arrival, we get our first song and are introduced to some of the celebrity cameo ghost residents. The one question I have is how all those characters ended up buried in the cemetery. We have a cowboy, an opera singer, Danny Trejo, and more. Quite the eclectic collection.

Soon, our adventurers meet Will Arnett who plays our live-action narrator explaining rules, guiding through the plot, and having some fun interactions. One of my favorite parts is his interaction with Pepe in Spanish. Will Arnett plays the muppet version of himself, which is to say, if he did not introduce himself as someone else, you would think he was actually Will Arnett. But, he fits in perfectly as himself being not himself.

Pepe, on his quest to become friends with famous people, runs his own adventure getting to meet a handsome celebrity before being ensnared with a collector of men. The song that Pepe sings with Taraji P Henson is the catchiest of all the songs. That being said, you won't be singing any of the three original songs in the shower.

As Pepe and Gonzo navigate their respective storylines, realizations are made, friends are saved, and our protagonists race to escape by sunrise. There is little character growth, which is fun to see. Sadly, some of my favorite characters are limited in this "movie": Beaker and Bunson and Statler and Waldorf.

Now, I haven't been to Disney in many years. There are some references to the ride in this fun romp. You can check them out here: https://www.cinemablend.com/streaming-news/muppets-haunted-mansion-disney-parks-references-in-the-disney-halloween-special.

I recommend this for a fun 52-minute indulgence. It is toddler-approved, and even though Halloween was yesterday, she wanted to watch it this morning, so I feel it is still fair game to review and recommend. Mostly fun, and the only thing that really took me out of it was Kermit's voice. But, his role is limited.