Muppets Haunted Mansion premiered on Disney+ Oct. 8, 2021, as the Muppets’ first Halloween special. See who’s in it, the songs, its Emmy win and the ride Easter eggs hiding in the sets.
Gonzo has spent decades getting shot out of cannons and doing stunts nobody asked for. One night in a haunted house should’ve been easy.
That’s the setup for Muppets Haunted Mansion, which premiered on Disney+ five years ago, on Oct. 8, 2021. Disney billed it as the Muppets’ first-ever Halloween special.
It mashes up the Muppets with Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride, and it’s stuffed with ride gags, new songs and celebrity cameos. Pat Sajak even shows up as a singing bust.
So who’s in it, how did they make it, and where can you stream it this Halloween? Let’s go room by room.
What is Muppets Haunted Mansion about?
The Great Gonzo, a “world famous daredevil artiste” in Disney’s words, takes on the biggest challenge of his life. He has to spend one night, on Halloween, in the Haunted Mansion. His pal Pepe the King Prawn tags along.
If they don’t last until sunrise, they’re stuck there forever, TV Insider reported. And the mansion’s 999 happy haunts would love to make Gonzo ghost No. 1,000, IndieWire noted.
Kirk R. Thatcher directed it. Bill Barretta, Thatcher and Kelly Younger wrote it, according to Box Office Mojo.
Who is in the Muppets Haunted Mansion cast?
Four stars play classic Haunted Mansion characters, according to Disney’s press release:
Will Arnett as the Ghost Host
Yvette Nicole Brown as the Hearse Driver
Darren Criss as the Caretaker
Taraji P. Henson as the Bride
The Muppets get in on it, too. Miss Piggy floats in a crystal ball as “Madame Pigota,” her version of Madame Leota, MiceChat noted. Fozzie Bear plays the Hatbox Ghost, and a ghostly Kermit turns up as well.
Then there are the cameos. Disney’s list includes Chrissy Metz, Alfonso Ribeiro, Ed Asner, Jeannie Mai, Danny Trejo and Sasheer Zamata, plus John Stamos as himself.
Craig Robinson, Skai Jackson, Pat Sajak, Geoff Keighley and Justina Machado are all credited simply as “Bust.” If you’ve ridden the ride, you know the graveyard scene where a row of stone busts sings “Grim Grinning Ghosts.”
Asner died in August 2021, about six weeks before the special came out. MiceChat called it his first posthumous appearance.
Who is the real Imagineer in Muppets Haunted Mansion?
That’s Kim Irvine, and her cameo is a deep cut.
Disney credits Irvine as the Haunted Mansion Maid. In the special, she’s cleaning Madame Leota’s crystal ball, WDW News Today reported.
Her mother, Leota Toombs, was the original Madame Leota on the ride back in the 1960s, and one of the first female Imagineers, WDW News Today noted. Irvine later took over as the face of Leota for Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland.
“When I was on set filming, what I loved so much was just meeting all of the characters for the first time in person,” Irvine said, as WDW News Today reported.
How is Muppets Haunted Mansion connected to the Disney ride?
Very closely.
Disney said the special was inspired by all four of its Haunted Mansion rides around the world, with hidden Easter eggs and “Muppet-ized” sets and props. Those rides are at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, where it’s called Phantom Manor.
The trailer alone shows a Muppet version of the stretching room, a candelabra floating up the stairs, portraits that turn creepy and Miss Piggy’s head in a crystal ball, MiceChat noted.
Walt Disney Imagineering even posted a photo with Muppet-style Haunted Mansion wallpaper, WDW News Today reported. Instead of the ride’s creepy faces, the pattern shows Pepe, Uncle Deadly, Gonzo and other Muppets.
Thatcher said the Imagineers paid the team a big compliment.
“The best compliment we got from the Imagineering team was they told us there has been 200 projects over the years involving the Haunted Mansion and the biggest issue usually is [those past projects] get the grim but not the grinning,” he told IndieWire.
How was Muppets Haunted Mansion made?
On a tight schedule, with one giant screen.
Thatcher had been working with the Muppets for 35 years by then, IndieWire noted. He said three things shaped him growing up: Ray Harryhausen movies, the Muppets and Disneyland, “particularly the Haunted Mansion, the Tiki Room, and Pirates of the Caribbean.”
He’d wanted a Muppet Halloween special for a long time.
“The Muppets have done, like, nine Christmas specials,” he said. “This is the first [for] Halloween. Why is that?”
The hard part was figuring out where to shoot. “We didn’t have the schedule and the budget” to build a whole Haunted Mansion set, Thatcher said. So the crew built a virtual set on a giant LED screen, a lot like the setup used on “The Mandalorian,” IndieWire reported.
Pandemic safety rules meant filming in layers, with the puppets and the human actors often shot separately. “Will Arnett essentially did a big song number where who he was singing with and to, most of the time, weren’t there,” Thatcher said.
Fozzie’s Hatbox Ghost look took some work, too.
“The Hatbox Ghost is a skeleton face, which I tried giving Fozzie cheekbones but you didn’t want [him] to look like a rotting bear. So I said, ‘Well, we got to give him teeth,’” Thatcher said.
What songs are in Muppets Haunted Mansion?
Three new originals and one cover, according to Disney. Walt Disney Records released them as an EP on premiere day.
“Rest in Peace” by Darren Criss
“Life Hereafter” by the Muppets and Will Arnett
“Tie the Knot Tango” by Taraji P. Henson and Pepe the King Prawn
“Dancing in the Moonlight,” covered by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
The songs are on streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, Laughing Place reported.
Criss’ “Rest in Peace” is the most-watched of the bunch on Disney Music’s YouTube channel, with nearly 2.5 million views:
When did Muppets Haunted Mansion come out?
It premiered on Disney+ on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, according to Disney. It was part of the Disney+ “Hallowstream” lineup that fall, along with “LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales” and the “Under Wraps” remake, MiceChat noted.
Disneyland joined in, too. On premiere day, a behind-the-scenes exhibit with screen-used props opened in the lobby of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, WDW News Today reported. It had a seance set, tiny coffins for Gonzo and Pepe, and a “muppetized” hearse.
“You can see how Gonzo’s coffin is cut away so that they can put their hand in there to puppeteer Gonzo,” Irvine said.
Here’s the official trailer from Disney+:
Did Muppets Haunted Mansion win an Emmy?
Yes. It earned four nominations at the first Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Fiction Special, ToughPigs reported.
It won one, for Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design. That category ended in a tie, Disney said in December 2022.
The special also won the 2022 Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Children’s Programming, according to Loyola Marymount University, where Younger teaches.
Where can you watch Muppets Haunted Mansion?
It’s streaming on Disney+ and Hulu, according to JustWatch. It runs under an hour, which makes it an easy pick for a Halloween night with kids.
What are the Muppets up to now?
Plenty. The Muppet Show turned 50 this year, and Disney has kept the gang busy.
The new Muppet Show special on Disney+, with Sabrina Carpenter, won four Emmys in 2026. One was for writing, and Younger was on that winning team, LMU noted.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Muppets took over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster on May 26, 2026, Attractions Magazine reported. The ride gets a holiday overlay from Nov. 4 through Jan. 6.
And at Disney California Adventure, a Muppets pre-show is back before World of Color: ONE.
What are some fun facts about Muppets Haunted Mansion?
Pat Sajak is a ghost bust. The longtime “Wheel of Fortune” host is one of five celebrities credited as “Bust,” according to Disney.
The director wants a Muppet Western next. Thatcher told IndieWire he’d love to make “a big silly Western” with the Muppets.
The co-writer also wrote Kermit’s graduation speech. Younger wrote Kermit the Frog’s 2025 commencement address at the University of Maryland, according to LMU.
The props were built for puppeteers. The tiny coffin had a cutout so a puppeteer could reach in and work Gonzo, Irvine said, and Miss Piggy’s seat had one, too.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Disney+ Press: Muppets Haunted Mansion media kit (synopsis, songs and executive producers)
Disney UK Press, Sept. 23, 2021: Muppets Haunted Mansion trailer release (cast, roles, cameos and EP)
Kristen Lopez, IndieWire, Oct. 8, 2021: Kirk Thatcher on Muppets Haunted Mansion
TV Insider: Muppets Haunted Mansion premiere and cast guide
David Derks, MiceChat, Oct. 2, 2021: The Muppets scare up fun in Muppets Haunted Mansion
Charly Shelton, WDW News Today, Sept. 15, 2021: Imagineer Kim Irvine to cameo in Muppets Haunted Mansion
Shannen Ace, WDW News Today, Oct. 8, 2021: Muppets Haunted Mansion exhibit opens at Disneyland
Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk, Oct. 8, 2021: Muppets Haunted Mansion soundtrack now streaming
Box Office Mojo: Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021) credits
Shane Keating, ToughPigs, Nov. 1, 2022: Children’s and Family Emmy nominations
The Walt Disney Company, Dec. 12, 2022: Disney wins 16 Children’s & Family Emmy Awards
Loyola Marymount University Newsroom: Kelly Younger on storytelling and the Muppets
Blake Taylor, Attractions Magazine, Sept. 19, 2026: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets FAQ
JustWatch: Muppets Haunted Mansion U.S. listing, checked Oct. 10, 2026
Disney Plus and DisneyMusicVEVO on YouTube: Muppets Haunted Mansion official trailer and “Rest in Peace”
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