MacabreDaily Chats With MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION Writer, Kelly Younger!
I will die on the hill that “The Haunted Mansion” is the best Disney ride of all time. From the entryway descent down to the dining room of ghosts every part of The Haunted Mansion is near and dear to my horror loving heart. I’ll also be the first to admit, I never saw the Eddie Murphy helmed movie from the early 2000s. For no other reason than that the Haunted Mansion is best when people experience it, not when we are told stories about it. Which brings us to the topic of our conversation today, the newly released DISNEY+ special DISNEY MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely blindsided by this release, and while we won’t be going into review territory today, I cannot recommend it enough for anyone who loves The Muppets, The Haunted Mansion, or both!
At MACABRE DAILY we were fortunate enough to speak with one of the great writing minds behind bringing the Muppets to the Haunted Mansion, KELLY YOUNGER! Kelly Younger is a screenwriter, television writer, off-Broadway playwright, and story consultant. Kelly served as a member of the Disney Animation Story Trust where he contributed to Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen 2, Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, and others in development. He also participated in the Pixar Animation Brain Trust on Cars 3, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Onward, and other forthcoming films. Kelly has story consulted on multiple films for Illumination, Skydance Animation, and DreamWorks Animation, and has developed both feature and television projects with Disney+, Apple+, Amazon, and Paramount Animation. He also teaches writing workshops and seminars on fairy tales at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
Kelly spent some time with us to answer a few questions about Disney Muppets Haunted Mansion, and the task of merging two worlds both with beloved fan bases!
Kelly Younger in his element!
As both a producer and writer on DISNEY MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION, can you tell us how the idea to bring the Muppet characters into one of Disney’s most iconic rides came to be?
After we wrapped Muppets Now but before the shutdown from the pandemic, I was having lunch at Walt Disney Imagineering with the VP of The Muppets Studio and she asked if I had any interest in thinking about a holiday special for the Muppets. Of course my answer was yes, but when I asked which holiday and she said, “Halloween” I almost jumped up on the table. Halloween is my favorite holiday, perhaps even more than Christmas. She set a meeting with Bill Barretta (Muppet performer), Kirk Thatcher (Muppet director), Jim Lewis (veteran Muppet writer), and myself to brainstorm. We all came to the table with lots of ideas (some that Kirk and Jim had from years ago), but when we learned there was a possible partnership with Imagineering and the parks, we immediately thought of the Haunted Mansion and how fun it might be to create a new story in that iconic world.
You’re no stranger to the Muppets given your work on MUPPETS NOW last year, so how was writing for DISNEY MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION different than that, or was it?
I often say, I don’t write for the Muppets, I write with the Muppets. On the one hand, the performers are like a theater troupe - they’ve known each other and worked together for years - so when we’re working through a scene they often improvise or talk through their acting choices or try things out a bunch of different ways. The most fun I have as a writer is crouching down there with them, pitching new lines, talking through the scene, while they’re performing. On the other hand, the characters themselves are so iconic. Each one has a very well established persona and personality that audiences have come to love. So the challenge is putting these characters into new situations and new worlds but remaining true to themselves. But then add to that all the iconic characters from the Haunted Mansion? That’s where it got tricky, and that’s why we decided to show the Halloween party very briefly at the beginning so we could establish the difference between the Muppets outside the mansion (playing themselves) and the Muppets inside the mansion (playing characters). This set up the stakes for Gonzo, that he really could be losing something in the real world that mattered to him. And speaking of Gonzo, we knew from the beginning that he would be the perfect hero for a Halloween story - he’s so weird and wild and fearless, which is what we wanted to explore. What is Gonzo really afraid of? How could we make him face that fear in a fun but also scary way? And because Dave Goelz has been the one and only performer for Gonzo - since The Muppet Show - we spoke with him early and often about what Gonzo would do and say and most importantly what he would feel.
Gonzo and Pepé: the real dynamic duo
Where would you rank The Haunted Mansion ride on your list of top Disney rides, and what is your number one?
I mean, I can’t remember a trip to Disneyland where I didn’t ride The Haunted Mansion. It wouldn’t feel like a day at Disney if you didn’t, right? Our director and co-writer Kirk Thatcher, though, is the real Haunted Mansion fanatic. He has an encyclopedic knowledge not only of the ride but the history, the differences between the various mansions at the other parks, the changes made over the years. Imagineering also shared with us a massive amount of confidential materials that blew my mind. But the most amazing part was having Kim Irvine make a cameo - she’s a Disney Imagineer and the daughter of the actual Madame Leota. Kim told us lots of great stories about her mother and the history of the ride too. But as far as my favorite attractions? Of course I love Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain and Star Tours, but I would say my top attractions are all of the classic ‘dark rides’ - not just the ones that take place in the dark, but the ones that really tell a story, that lead you through a narrative. Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan’s Flight, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White’s Scary Adventure. I love exiting the ride and stepping back out into the sunlight. It feels like you left one world and entered another, however briefly, and returned back a little different. That’s kind of what we wanted our audiences to feel as well from our special.
DISNEY MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION is a family-friendly horror-comedy film, and the Muppets have a broad appeal to both the young and the adult, how did you walk the line to be able to please both audiences?
That’s always the tough part, appealing to young and old and in-between. In my opinion, the way to do that isn’t to write for either the kid or for the adult, but to write for the kid inside the adult. But in addition to that, we had to balance writing for those super fans who know everything about the Muppets, everything about the Mansion, everything about both, and those who know very little at all. And while you certainly can’t please everybody, we definitely tried to connect with the widest audience possible. We talked a lot about what we would not do. No cynicism, no sarcasm, no taking anything too seriously. But we also wanted jump scares, suspense, spookiness, and classic Muppet punnery and breaking the fourth wall. We relied a lot on the phrase “grim grinning,” and would sometimes realize this scene was too grim and needed a grin, or this scene was too grinning and needed some grim. But I love your phrase ‘family-friendly horror-comedy.’ Sounds like Thanksgiving at my house.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like DISNEY MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION was produced during the pandemic. How was that process different, and would you say was it better, worse, or neutral compared to how you all collaborated creatively before?
Well, like everyone else in the world, we had to navigate everything differently and often as if for the first time. We were greenlit before the pandemic, and then there was a moment when we were not. They hit the pause button for a few months. It was actually during that time when I wrote the first draft of the lyrics for what would become the ballroom scene … “Life Hereafter.” I wrote it as a coping mechanism, honestly, because things were so grim early in the pandemic and I was so disappointed that the special wasn’t going forward, that I sent it to the team as a “Here’s a song that will never see the light of day, but maybe it’ll all make us smile if we sing it by ourselves.” Then a few weeks later, we got that call that we were back on! But how were we going to do it? Again, like everyone else, we used Zoom. In fact, we wrote the entire script over Zoom, held meetings, hosted table reads with the performers, did everything over Zoom. It wasn’t until we started production months and months later that we saw each other in person. It was an emotional and wonderful and weird experience - Covid tests every other day, masks and goggles and shields at all times - but we still managed to laugh and have fun and make a holiday special! Making anything is hard even under normal circumstances, so I’m especially proud of the cast and crew and everyone involved. Our premiere had to be held at a drive-in movie theater where we all stayed in our cars, but we waved and honked and flashed our lights at each other to celebrate.
On a slightly different topic, do you enjoy horror movies yourself? If so, do you have any favorites?
NO! Horror movies scare me to death! Seriously. Total fraidy cat. In college, I took a class called Literature of the Macabre where we read lots of Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker and I loved all the Gothic storytelling but then we also had to watch The Exorcist and The Shining and Carrie and Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Omen and ohmigod! As a writer I’m naturally anxious and constantly living in a world of fear! Why would I do that to myself on purpose? I’m friends with Max Brooks and admitted to him I had to watch World War Z on fast forward. Same with Eric Red whom I told I have not nor will I ever watch The Hitcher or Near Dark. Let your readers commence making fun of me … now!
Muppets get spooky in one of many easter eggs!
You’ve worked on quite a few recent Disney classics such as RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, and my personal favorite, COCO. What was your journey like getting to where you are today?
Yes, I was on a project for Disney Animation for two years and as a result was a part of what is called the Disney Story Trust and participated in the Pixar Brain Trust. Basically, they take the directors and writers from each project and put their heads together for story development, table reads, off-site trips, screenings, etc. I participated in Moana, Frozen 2, Raya and the Last Dragon, Cars 3, Incredibles 2, Toy Story 4, Onward, Coco, Ralph Breaks the Internet, as well as tons of animated short films for the studio. My journey, however, has been like most writers … all over the place. I actually started out as an archaeologist (I wanted to be a Goonie), then I ended up studying classical mythology and fairy tales (I earned a PhD in Ireland), but I also trained as a playwright (everyone, please, for every 10 movies you see, go see 1 play!). So, the journey has been both exciting and unexpected and I couldn't be happier. But wait, isn’t that the point in a horror movie where everything starts to go wrong for the character? (CUE: chainsaw noise in background!).
Can we expect any other Muppet films in the future? Perhaps a MUPPETS OF THE CARIBBEAN or maybe MUPPET STAR WARS? A long-shot, but maybe a Muppet horror movie?!?
We’re thrilled with how much people love Muppets Haunted Mansion and are asking for more. While I can’t talk about anything in development, I can say that the future looks bright. And isn’t that what our felt friends do best? Give us hope while making us laugh and sing and be entertained? But a Muppet horror movie? Hmm. I could see Beaker in Eraserhead. Or Swedish Chef in Silence of the Lamb Chops. Maybe I’ll talk to Camilla the chicken and pitch her Poultrygeist. All I know is I won’t be watching them (and based on how bad those ideas are, no one else will either!).
You can follow Kelly on Instagram at @kellytheyounger
*** Catch DISNEY MUPPETS HAUNTED MANSION streaming NOW on Disney + ***
