The Haunted Mansion has been a Disney Parks favorite since the first ride opened in Disneyland’s New Orleans Square back in 1969. In the years that followed, the “grim grinning ghosts” have become iconic parts of the Disney canon (although many fans pretend that the movie with Eddie Murphy never happened).
Now we’ve learned that the 999 Happy Haunts are set to appear in a series of stop-motion animated on-air promos set in Disneyland’s version of the Haunted Mansion debuting on Disney XD beginning Saturday, October 7. The first one features the lovable Baymax from Big Hero 6, and you can check it out down below:
The spots feature the Hatbox Ghost, a character who debuted in the original Haunted Mansion, but was quickly pulled from the ride due to technical issues. The Hatbox Ghost showed up on Haunted Mansion merchandise for years regardless, and he became something of an urban legend. Finally, a couple of years back, the animatronic debuted with updated technology, and he’s become a fan favorite ever sense. In the second clip below, you can see him interacting with Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby from Ducktales.
The last of the three spots feature the characters from Star vs. The Forces of Evil, which is set inside the mansion instead of outside in the graveyard, which you can watch here.
Are these spots a test for a new Haunted Mansion stop motion movie or Halloween special of some sort? We can only hope. A few years back, Disney announced Guillermo del Toro was planning a movie based on the mansion, but it never came to fruition. If we can’t get a Guillermo del Toro movie, a Nightmare Before Christmas-style stop motion film would be just as welcome. As long as they find a way to include the attraction’s iconic music, we’re all in!
Do these new TV spots have you hoping for more Haunted Mansion material coming from Disney? Let us know in the comments below.
Images: Disney XD
