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The Haunted Mansion: (Mark Mancina) Never had Disneyland's
New Orleans Square experienced such overwhelmingly elegant treatment on the big
screen as in 2003, when Walt Disney Studios decided to take both of its famed
Cajun amusement park rides and translate them into major cinematic productions.
The adaptation of
The Haunted Mansion, led by the curious choice of Eddie
Murphy, faded nearly immediately from popular attention, failing to clearly
identify its target audience and never competing with the extreme popularity of
the previous summer's
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl. Issues of loyalty to the two famed rides from the classic days of
Disneyland plagued both pictures, though that consternation only transferred over
to the soundtrack for
Pirates of the Caribbean, which, despite its
best-selling score album, received critical bashing for its mindless electronic
approach by a hoard of Media Ventures ghostwriters. Disney got a chance to redeem
itself in the minds of the segment of the population that values both the history
of the Disney attractions and their music when they followed with
The Haunted
Mansion late in the year. The gothic music for Disney's original haunted
house attractions had always played a much bigger role in the rides than had
Pirates of the Caribbean, with a CD of audio commemorating the opening of
the haunted mansions in Disney parks around the world released just a few years
prior. Mainstream composer John Debney had rescored the music for the EuroDisney
Theme Park's haunted house, "Phantom Manor," in Paris, and this grandiose piece
of music (separated from the sound effects of the ride) was a much sought after
item. If the forces of the universe had aligned themselves correctly, then Debney
would have been the perfect candidate to score the feature film version of
The
Haunted Mansion, although Mark Mancina's score would end up being very
similar in its level of sustained orchestral volume to what you might expect from
a Debney venture. The fully orchestral and choral recording by Mancina raises
ghostly whispers and outright orchestral terror just as a fan of the ride would
expect and admire. As such, his music is easily a far more appropriate recording
for this film than the trashy music for
Pirates of the Caribbean had been.
The final irony of all of this equation is that Mancina's score, despite the
success of
Pirates of the Caribbean, was never released on CD to the
public.
As was done with Mancina's
Brother Bear (another Disney
project late in 2003 that didn't present its score material very well on its
commercial album), Walt Disney Pictures pressed an expanded, score-only
promotional presentation of
The Haunted Mansion specifically for the
purposes of gaining the studio a possible Oscar nomination. Had the split Oscar
score categories (separating drama and comedy) still been in place, this may have
worked, but predictably, neither Mancina effort was nominated. While both fuller
scores merit praise for Mancina's general efforts in 2003,
The Haunted
Mansion was the highlight of the year for the composer, running at full steam
through a joyride of engaging, lyrical music and the all-out crashing of horror.
Compared to Debney's interpretation of the ride, Mancina's isn't as elegant or
massive (the flighty operatic female voices in Debney's version are missed),
although Mancina does offer just enough beauty and harmonic statements of theme
to counter the appropriate level of chaos that parades through the film's chases.
The overture (or main title cue) sets the stage with playful waltz rhythms from
the influences of Danny Elfman and the resulting full statements of theme share
structural ideas (including chord progressions) with the organ music and operatic
singing within the rides themselves. In terms of instrumentation, Mancina does
employ a harpsichord and organ for the occasion, and when they are in use, the
score's authenticity is fantastic. He does fall back into more traditional
orchestral use for the majority of his score, although the omnipresent chorus
provides enough of the basic haunting environment necessary for the overall
effect. The highlights of the score are the majestic middle passages presented on
the promotional album, including "Going to Heaven" and "Vacation at Last." These
cues may not journey into new territory musically (they resemble James Horner's
children's music at times), but their harmony is a welcomed change from jumpy
mass of surrounding action material. The promotional album only offers twenty
minutes of score in one long suite (in superb sound quality), including the
"Overture" heard on the song album. That commercial album was slammed by critics
for not only neglecting additional score material, but also for its inclusion of
songs unrelated to the film and/or the ride. Mancina fans will be impressed by
this score, and if you have a choice between the two late 2003 promos,
The
Haunted Mansion offers more quality, unreleased music than the concurrent
Brother Bear pressing, despite the short length of the former.
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