Story
The Great Gonzo (voice of Dave Goelz), a dynamic daredevil, has never found a challenge he couldn’t face. While the other Muppets are partying for Halloween, Gonzo and his King Prawn friend, Pepe (voice of Bill Barretta), volunteer to spend the night in the spookiest place on earth, the old mansion of the once-famous magician, The Great MacGuffin, who disappeared 100 years ago on Halloween. Pepe is looking forward to meeting celebrities and Gonzo is looking forward to being the first Muppet to spend the night there and live to tell the tale.
Throughout the evening Gonzo and Pepe encounter characters including The Host (Will Arnett), a creepy caretaker (Darren Chris), and a homicidal bride (Taraji P. Henson). To leave the mansion, Gonzo must face his greatest fears. If he fails, he and Pepe will remain in the mansion forever. In the elusive room 999, which changes to 666 after he enters it, Gonzo discovers the scariest thing in the world and discovers what’s trapping everyone inside the mansion.
Gonzo must conquer his fear and rescue Pepe from someone who hopes to love him to death. And together they must leave before dawn or meet the same fate as all who have come before them.
Themes
Confronting your fears; murder; death; creepy quests
Violence
Muppets Haunted Mansion has some violence. For example:
- A pumpkin runs screaming through the rooms, chased by the Swedish chef, who is brandishing a chainsaw.
- Characters show or tell how they were killed, including being hit on the head by a rock, being poisoned, dying in a fire and so on.
- A suit of armour tries to attack Gonzo with an axe.
- The homicidal bride says to Pepe, ‘I could just eat you alive’. Her former husbands explain how she killed them. For example, she snapped one husband’s neck and smothered another. One husband says she ‘lopped off our heads and threw our bodies under a bridge’.
- The homicidal bride tries to chop Gonzo and Pepe with an axe.
Sexual references
Muppets Haunted Mansion has some sexual references. For example:
- Pepe says, ‘Talk about a challenge ... try getting a date for tonight’.
- Pepe asks the chauffeur, ‘Speaking of pick-ups, how’d you like to be my plus one?’
- One character asks another, ‘What do you know about love? You’re dating a chicken’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Muppets Haunted Mansion suggests some use of substances in this movie. For example, Pepe says, ‘If there aren’t any champagne cocktails, I am out of here’.
Nudity and sexual activity
There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Product placement
There’s no product placement in Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Coarse language
There’s no coarse language in Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Muppets Haunted Mansion is a made-for-TV musical special, inspired by the famous Disneyland ride. Featuring brief appearances from many favourite characters like Kermit and Miss Piggy, this production is more sinister than previous Muppets movies and TV shows. This means it’s best suited to older audiences.
The main message from Muppets Haunted Mansion is that we all have fears. Facing fears can sometimes be the scariest thing in the world, but it allows us to become free.
Values in Muppets Haunted Mansion that you could reinforce with your children include courage, friendship, helpfulness and compassion.
Muppets Haunted Mansion could also give you the chance to talk with your children about what scares them and how to face frightening things.