‘Haunted Mansion’: How do movies based on Disney rides do at the Oscars?

Jacob Sarkisian
·7 min read

Disney is soon set to invite guests into their latest live-action “Haunted Mansion,” which is the second adaptation of the classic Disney World/Disney Land theme park attraction in Magic Kingdom.

The ride takes viewers into a spooky mansion complete with shrinking hallways, a mystic in a crystal ball, magical mind tricks, graveyards, so many ghosts, and that iconic music. They first made a movie of this popular ride back in 2003 when Eddie Murphy headlined (more on that later). Now, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Owen Wilson are set to star in the brand new adaptation of the ride from director Justin Simien. As per IMDB, the story follows thusly: “A single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest and a historian to help exorcise her newly bought mansion after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts.”

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The trailer looks like a lot of spooky fun with practical effects aplenty, while the production design and costume design look off-the-charts good. It will be interesting to see if a movie like this can garner any awards attention for the level of craft on display because it sure looks worthy enough. Let’s take a look back at previous movies based on Disney’s theme park rides to see how they fared. Hopefully, it’ll give us some clairvoyance a la Madame Leota into the chances of “Haunted Mansion.”

“Tower of Terror” (1997)
Dir: D.J. MacHale
Rotten Tomatoes Score: N/A for critics score but 53% audience score

“A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.”

This was based on “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The ride itself was inspired by the TV show “The Twilight Zone.” This one was actually an episode from the TV show “The Wonderful World of Disney,” so it obviously never garnered any Oscar bids. Still, it’s worth an including as the only adaptation of one of Disney’s most beloved rides. That will change soon, however, as “Jojo Rabbit” collaborators Taika Waititi and Scarlett Johansson are rumored to be making a live-action movie adaptation of this ride.

“Mission to Mars” (2000)
Dir: Brian De Palma
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 24%

“When the first manned mission to Mars meets with a catastrophic and mysterious disaster after reporting an unidentified structure, a rescue mission is launched to investigate the tragedy and bring back any survivors.”

This was based on an old ride that went through a number of name changes. First, it was called “Rocket to the Moon” from 1955 until 1967, when it was given a rebrand and named “Flight to the Moon.” That lasted until 1975 when the moniker “Mission to Mars” was given. The ride closed in 1992, however. This one actually had some names behind it. De Palma! Tim Robbins! Gary Sinise! Don Cheadle! However, while it was praised for its visual effects, there was little else many liked about it. It failed to earn any Oscar nominations or major awards of note.

“The Country Bears” (2002)
Dir: Peter Hastings
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 31%

“Beary Barrington goes on an adventure to save Country Bear Hall by getting the Country Bears back together for a reunion concert.”

This one wasn’t based on a ride, per say, but rather an audio-animatronic stage show in which bears would sing country music: Country Bear Jamboree. The movie stars Christopher Walken and Haley Joel Osment but, unfortunately, the animatronic bears just come off as kind of terrifying — now evoking images of “Five Nights at Freddy’s.” As expected, no Oscar nominations were handed out to this film.

“The Haunted Mansion” (2003)
Dir: Rob Minkoff
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 14%

“A realtor and his wife and children are summoned to a mansion, which they soon discover is haunted, and while they attempt to escape, he learns an important lesson about the family he has neglected.”

The original “Haunted Mansion” adaptation starred a host of stars including Terrence Stamp and Wallace Shawn, but they couldn’t help this one become a success. Critics did NOT like it (although it is fondly remembered by those of us who grew up with it!). No Oscar nominations here, either.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003)
Dir: Gore Verbinski
Rotten Tomatoes Score:80%

“Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate ‘Captain’ Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor’s daughter, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.”

This one was based on the iconic ride at Magic Kingdom and all subsequent sequels, therefore, were also technically based on that ride. The movie was more successful than its makers could have ever hoped, spanning an entire, multi-billion dollar franchise with Johnny Depp‘s seminal, revelatory performance at the heart of it creating one of cinema’s most treasured, iconic characters. This movie was nominated for a respectable five Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup, and Best Actor for Depp. Depp actually won the SAG Award for this performance but Sean Penn (“Mystic River”) beat him to the Oscar.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006)
Dir: Gore Verbinski
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 53%

“Jack Sparrow races to recover the heart of Davy Jones to avoid enslaving his soul to Jones’ service, as other friends and foes seek the heart for their own agenda as well.”

The second installment of the mammoth franchise actually fared better at the Oscars than its predecessor. Well, it didn’t earn as many bids, but it did win one — for Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Art Direction.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007)
Dir: Gore Verbinski
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%

“Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, find Jack Sparrow, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.”

The third entry stalled a little bit, but still churned out a decent record at the Oscars — two nominations. They came for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (2011)
Dir: Rob Marshall
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 33%

“Jack Sparrow and Barbossa embark on a quest to find the elusive fountain of youth, only to discover that Blackbeard and his daughter are after it too.”

The franchise didn’t stop at “At World’s End,” but its streak of Oscar bids did. There were no nominations given for this fourth film, which booted the likes of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley to make way for Penélope Cruz.

“Tomorrowland” (2015)
Dir: Brad Bird
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%

“Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.”

This one sounded promising — the director of “Incredibles” taking charge of this movie which is not a straight adaptation of a ride but rather an adaptation of the titular Tomorrowland, the futuristic-themed segment of Disney’s Magic Kingdom. However, not even George Clooney and Hugh Laurie could give this the boost it needed. It failed to garner any Oscar bids.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” (2017)
Dir: Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 30%

“Captain Jack Sparrow is pursued by old rival Captain Salazar and a crew of deadly ghosts who have escaped from the Devil’s Triangle. They’re determined to kill every pirate at sea…notably Jack.”

This fifth movie looked to return to the highs of the original trilogy by bringing back Bloom and Knightley (briefly) but even they and newcomers Javier Bardem and Brenton Thwaites couldn’t bring life to this outing as critics didn’t take it. No Oscar bids for “Pirates 5,” either.

“The Jungle Cruise” (2021)
Dir: Jaume Collett-Serra
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 62%

“Based on Disneyland’s theme park ride where a small riverboat takes a group of travelers through a jungle filled with dangerous animals and reptiles but with a supernatural element.”

This one, starring Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson and based off of the classic Magic Kingdom ride, fared pretty well with critics but even better with audiences, who loved it. The period setting set it up for some awards potential for its design work but, alas, it came away with zero Oscar nominations. There is a sequel coming up, however, so that wrong could be righted.

This list demonstrates one thing — it’s hard for movies based on theme park rides to get it right. There isn’t an over-arching story there to go off, so some of these pictures get lost in the wind. Only three of them — all “Pirates” movies — managed to land Oscar nominations. Let’s see if “Haunted Mansion” can change that narrative.

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