‘Haunted Mansion’ could scare up these Oscar nominations

Disney’s live-action movies have always done well at the Academy Awards in the design categories. They are colorful, fantastical movies that require artisans to build exciting worlds and bring larger-than-life characters to life. “Haunted Mansion” is no exception to that. Based on the popular Disney World attraction, “Haunted Mansion” follows a single mother (Rosario Dawson) who moves into a mansion only to find that her new home is… yep, you guessed it, haunted. She hired a tour guide, a psychic, a priest, and a historian to help exorcise the mansion. Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield, Jared Leto, Danny De Vito, and Jamie Lee Curtis all co-star.

The production designers, costume designers, and hair and makeup teams all turn in stellar work to turn this story from a theme park attraction into a tangible, fully built, and realized world. Their work is to be commended and admired. Could that admiration turn into awards recognition?

Let’s start with production design. “Mary Poppins Returns” (2019), “Beauty and the Beast” (2018) and “Into the Woods” (2015) were all nominated while “Alice in Wonderland” won in 2010. “Haunted Mansion” would fit right alongside those titles — weird and wonderful worlds brought to life with vivid color and imagination with a hint of playful darkness similar to that of “Into the Woods” and “Haunted Mansion.” “Haunted Mansion” also has a fairytale-like quality to it, too, which again matches those previous nominees.

Plus, it helps that the film has a clear, distinct location — the mansion itself. This mansion is its own character in this film. Voters love that quality in their Best Production Design nominees. That’s why films like “The Father” (2021 nominee), “Parasite” (2020 nominee), “The Favourite” (2019 nominee), and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2015 winner) were all recognized in this category. Production designer Darren Gilford and set decorated Victor J. Zolfo were in charge of bringing to life the mansion. Gilford has never been nominated for an Oscar, although he did earn a BAFTA bid in 2016 for his work on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (shared with Rick Carter and Lee Sandales). Zolfo, meanwhile, has real Oscar pedigree behind him. He won Best Production Design in 2009 for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (shared with Donald Graham Burt).

It’s unclear who would be on the ballot for a potential Best Makeup and Hair nomination. Their fantastical work would fall in line with plenty of recent nominees in this category, including 2023 nominee “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” 2017 winner “Suicide Squad,” 2017 nominee “Star Trek Beyond,” 2016 winner “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and 2015 nominee “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The academy like genre movies in this category and “Haunted Mansion” is definitely that. Plus, Disney films do very well here. “Cruella” was nominated in 2022, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” was nominated in 2020, and “The Lone Ranger” was nominated in 2014. “Haunted Mansion” could potentially be next.

And then there is costume design. There are so many great outfits on show in “Haunted Mansion,” with the variety of ghosts and spirits all looking very distinct and unique. The costumes tell a clear story for each specific character, which helps to make the film more tangible and the world feel more alive. Again, Disney films do well in this category — “Cruella” won in 2022, “Mulan” was nominated in 2021, “Mary Poppins Returns” was nominated in 2019, “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated in 2018, “Cinderella” was nominated in 2016, and “Into the Woods” and “Maleficent” were both nominated in 2015. Jeffrey Kurland is the costume designer on duty here — he was previously nominated in 1995 for “Bullets Over Broadway.” Could he be due for an Oscars return almost 30 years later?

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