The Haunted Mansion/Tropes


 * Author's Saving Throw: Many fans complained about Constance Hatchaway replacing Emily, feeling she either isn't scary enough or too scary, abd criticizing her being less Ambiguosly Evil than Emily and having a more concrete backstory than her. The film corrects this by giving Constance a similar appearance to Emily, as well as by making it ambiguous whether her killing spree was actualy out of sadism or for letting her fear of being seen as nothing take control of her actions and would otherwise be an actually good person, and by leaving unclear why exactly she would feel that more money would make her feel she's someone important, making way for more speculations on her backstory.
 * Adaptational Backstory Change: In the film, Constance Hatchaway was the one who acquired the Mansion, realizing that its age and the infamous number of deaths occuring within it would help her provide with a cover for her murders.
 * Adaptational Badass: Constance Gatchaway is shown to have several powers as ghost, something she lacked in the ride.
 * Adaptation Expansion: The film explains how the Hatbox Ghost died -- To the surprise of none, Constance killed him.
 * Adaptational Villany: Heavily Downplayed. Aside from being as every bit of a Black Widow as in the ride, Constance is also confirmed to have killed the Hatbox Ghost, something that the ride version didn't did (that we know of)
 * An Aesop:
 * True bravery is not lacking fear, is facing it.
 * We all die, and that's OK, but nobody lives when controlled by fear.
 * Black Comedy: Much like the ride, the film has a lot of this.
 * Company Cross References:
 * Before killing the soon-to-be Hathbox Ghost to prevent him from revealing her crimes, Constance utters the line: "Dead Men Tell No Tales", which originated in sister Disney ride Pirates of the Caribbean, and was later used as the subtitle for the fifth entry in its epynomous film franchise.
 * Characters from The Owl House such as Eda and Vee appear as potraits within the Mansion.
 * Creator's Oddball: While Disney Television Animation produced several projects based on pre-existing Disney IP, this is the first one to be enterily based on a Disney ride instead of a movie.
 * Darker and Edgier: Of all the films produced by Disney Television Animation, this is one of the darkers, having a lot of both Black Comedy and geniune Nightmare Fuel.
 * Fridge Brilliance: Allof Consrance's husbands tried to leave througth the door and failed. Helen and her brother escaped her througth the attic's window, which is where guests leave in the ride, and succeded.
 * He Also Did: Most of the production team previously worked on shows like The Owl House
 * Mythology Gag:
 * Among the ghosts seen at the ballroom are the Lonesome Ghosts and Scratch. The Lonesome Ghosts were originally planned to appear inbsome capacity in the original ride before being scrapped, whike the Haunted Mansion was the subject of a "Chiby Tiny Tale" based on The Ghost and Molly McGee, where Scratch first appeared.
 * Jack Skellington's head can be seen outside the Mansion; the Haunted Mansion is rethemed on Halloween to include characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas, including Jack. Additionally, his head is shown near a tomb with the name "Sally", alluding to Hack's love interest in the film.
 * Nightmare Fuel: Constance. Hatchaway. She alone is a walking Nightmare Fuel.
 * The opening alone easily ranks among the darkest openings for a Disney film period. It consists enterily of Constance murdering her just-wedded husbands by beheading. On a Disney film. And then her assistant. And when she passes away, her ghost raises from her corpse and looks at the horixon with a Slasher Smike, ready for more victims. And then we see the victims dying. One tries to escape at the end, but Constance catches him and kills him too.
 * Her true ghost. Looks like a demon taken straight out of Hell. And the line she utters before transforming: Don't you know its bad to leave a bride in the altar. Her Voice of a Legion while saying this while give you a chill down your spine.
 * Her Villanous Breakdown beats Ratigan as the scariest for a Disney Villain. She uses her powers to terrify one of the siblings into marrying her while trying to kill the other, with the fury of a thousand demons. Hell hath no fury like hers.
 * Vile Villain, Saccarine Show: While the film's Black Comedy prevents it from being "saccharine", it is rather lighthearted for the most part. And then there's Constance Hatchaway, a Black Widow out to marry and behead anybody for money and power within the ghost realm.