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    Thursday
    Jul222010

    Del Toro's Grin Grinning Ghosts?

    Somewhere in the midst of all of the Tron Legacy madness at Comic Con today came a rather surprising announcement, via former Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro:  Disney is planning a new Haunted Mansion film, which del Toro will write and produce.

    You may recall (or like most people, are still trying to forget) that a movie based on this particular Disney theme park attraction starring Eddie Murphy was released in 2003, in hopes of cashing in on Pirates of the Caribbean's ride-turned-movie success.  The movie flopped, and we were mercifully spared any chance of seeing a movie version of It's A Small World.

    Obviously, with del Toro on board, things will be a little different this time.  According to Entertainment Weekly, del Toro promises that while the film will not be a comedy, it will still be "scary and fun at the same time...if you take the children, they will scream."

    Having seen plenty of little ones run crying from the Haunted Mansion in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, I'd say that sounds about right.  Still one of Disney's most popular theme park attractions (and one of the last ever worked on by Walt Disney himself), visitors to the Haunted Mansion are given a tour of the home of Master Gracey, which is occupied by some 999 ghosts.  It's been given some high-tech updates over the years, but the old dancing ghosts in the ballroom is still one of the best parts of the ride.

    Not surprisingly, del Toro himself is a big fan of the ride, calling it "a place I go when I need to think and relax."  It definitely seems fitting that riding in a car called a "Doom Buggy" how someone like Guillermo del Toro chills out.

    No word on a director yet, but Disney is hoping del Toro will take that job along with his writing and producing duties.  That might ease that sting from The Hobbit fiasco a little bit.

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