Unlike most live action Disney Sing Along Songs videos that are really just a musical tour of the park, this one has a bit of a plot to it. Mickey and Friends have invited you along with three kids to come to a Halloween Party at The Haunted Mansion. However, there is a mysterious voice that the kids are trying to figure out who it is. While having a mystery plot, the plot isn't really the focus, it's just there to give the video some kind of story and transition to the songs. The mystery revolving around who this mysterious voice is, is no mystery either, its the Magic Mirror from Snow White. How do I know, because we see him at the very beginning of the video, which even as a kid, I knew right off the bat that he was the voice. It's a bit of a tease that the viewer knows who the voice is, and that all the characters are trying to figure out who the mysterious voice is. It really does ruin the interest in the mystery plot, since we see him at the very beginning! Was it even necessary to show him at the beginning? The Magic Mirror's face even makes a brief appearance in the mirror at one point in the middle of the video, and to be honest, I wouldn't mind it since it does play a big role in the plot, and is a moment that scares you and makes you wonder if that's the voice. However, that would only work if we didn't see him at the very beginning!
Ok, so the mystery plot is lame, but taking place in the Haunted Mansion full of 999 ghosts should make up for it right? Actually we don't see so much as a single ghost! I was utterly disappointed by the fact that none of the ghosts from the ride appear in this video. We don't see the stretching paintings; we don't see that zombie in the coffin; we don't see Madame Leota; we don't see dancing ghosts; we don't see the scary Ghost Bride; and we don't even see that scared guy holding a lantern, with his pet dog by his side! There are maybe one or two references to the ride, but they don't do anything with them. The kids have to find a magic Crystal Ball, which I remember being hyped as a kid to see a cameo of Madame Leota, but sadly we get the face of a pumpkin instead! There's a secret door (Which isn't all that secret) that leads to the attic where the Ghost Bride is, but instead we get a brief glimpse of the Magic Mirror, and dancing skeletons. The only reason why the Disney Company wanted to make this video take place in the Haunted Mansion, because it will sell, and yes, it did indeed fool me into asking my parents to get me this video when I was a kid. However, I do think the sets are nice at the very least, even if they are obviously sets shot on a sound stage! There's just so much personality given to them.
Despite not having a good mystery plot, and never giving any ghosts what so ever, it's actually not that bad! The three kids Sam, Sally and Zach are really cute, fun, and likable characters; Mickey and his Friends are always charming and fun; the guy who plays Merlin from "The Sword In The Stone", does a great job bringing this character to life; and the Magic Mirror played by famous voice actor Corey Burton, is fantastic for the role! As for the song segments, they're actually really fun for kids and do bring that fun Halloween feel. The opening song "It's Halloween" with the kids, characters, and monsters singing together is a tremendous opening for the video. The animated "Five Little Pumpkins" number is fun, despite that we know the kids are standing in front of a green screen. By the way, at the beginning of that number, I could be wrong, but I think that silhouette animated haunted house is supposed to be the "Psycho" house, and that the dark figure standing next to it is Norman Bates! Whether it is or not it's still a cool image, and if that was indeed a cameo of the "Psycho" house, I think it's really cool, as opposed to being disturbed that it's in a Disney video! The cartoon ghost montage as the song "Grim Grinning Ghosts" plays, may not be the version we know and love (Which is a bit disappointing), but it's still a cool montage and a great cover. Goofy's magic soup song "Chicken Lips, and Lizard Hips" is a fun country tune, but I do feel bad for Goofy that the kids didn't eat the soup and left him alone. There's a magical storybook that shows a montage of "Disney's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" as "The Headless Horseman Song" plays, and while I'm disappointed that it's not Bing Crosby's singing from the original cartoon, it's still cool, as well as bringing the spirit of the cartoon. In the "Five Little Witches" song, we see little girls dressing up as Witches and modeling for kids dressed as camera men, which is a cute number! In the closet with Skeletons dancing to "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" that for some reason has a graveyard in it; has cool effects; great use of footage from the famous Disney cartoon "The Skeleton Dance"; and is tons of fun to watch and sing-along too. The song "Casting My Spell On You", despite seeing a montage, instead of seeing what's in the Wizards room (A Wizard's room in The Haunted Mansion?), it's still a fun song and cool montage. The song "Trick-Or-Treat" as the kids are "Trick-Or-Treating" in Toon Town, is a really fun and a really cute sequence, that really does bring the joy and feel of "Trick-Or-Treating". Finally, the song "The Monster Mash" that closes out the video with a Mad Scientist and dancing Monsters, concludes the video perfectly, and the guy playing the Scientist is really fun to watch!
The video is a bit of a downer since we get a mystery plot that's so obvious that it torments you; and not seeing or having any ghosts from the ride is a huge let down! But with that said, its heart is in the right place! The characters are cute; the songs are fun; and it does bring innocent the spirit of Halloween to a young crowd.
RATING 3/5
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