Chief Justin Simien loaded his Spooky House film with 999 blissful torment propelled by the exemplary Disney parks ride — including one that you probably won’t actually see upon first watch of the new family thriller.
When asked about the most challenging Easter egg in the movie, Simien tells EW, “There’s a painting on the wall of the seance room that people don’t really notice.” The artistic creation of the lady ages gradually as you stroll by her, and, assuming that you see that canvas all through the film, she ages as you draw nearer to the furthest limit of the film. However, we never really pointed it out or focused in on it. She gets older over the course of the film, just like she does on the ride.
The Dear White Individuals boss urges extremely observant crowd individuals to “search for it” during the film — “particularly toward the end,” he recommends.
Even though Haunted Mansion rides are available at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, and Disneyland (with a Phantom Manor version operating at Disneyland Paris with a different theme), Simien’s film borrows most of its aesthetics, including the Easter egg painting, from the California resort.
The lady in the canvas is officially known as Miss April-December, and involved the ride’s picture lobby, with her age decisively changing as the months advanced from April through December.
The film follows a single parent (Rosario Dawson) who enrolls the assistance of paranormal specialists (LaKeith Stanfield, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and Jamie Lee Curtis as the gem ball-bound Madame Leota) to free her home of phantoms, and Simien peppered the story with many references to the darling ride. He even added a scene to the original script written by Katie Dippold that recreated the iconic stretching room from the Disneyland version and the exterior design of the manor that was inspired by New Orleans.
“We got down to where we were fixating on the point you first see the house when you stroll onto the ride in Disneyland, when we see it through the entryways and we see the support points. That point needs to hit. That’s how specific we were, he told EW previously. That angle had to be right because you gasp on the ride when you first glide through the dining hall and see the waltzing dancers.
