The Disney+ Halloween special, Muppets Haunted Mansion premieres on Disney+ on October 8 with a star-studded cast. The beloved Muppets Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Pepe are joined by a celebrity cast including Ed Asner, Will Arnett, Taraji P. Henson, and Yvette Nicole Brown – just to name a few. The special sees The Great Gonzo and his friends spending the night in a Muppet-ized version of the iconic Haunted Mansion attraction.
Screen Rant sat down with Brown and Pepe to talk about the Halloween special, what it was like working with such an all-star cast, and more!
Screen Rant: Yvette, working with the Muppets is a lifelong dream for so many. What does it mean to you to be a part of this team?
Yvette Nicole Brown: It means everything, and it makes me feel like I’ve finally accomplished enough. You know what I mean? How you’re in your career and you’re grinding, but when the Muppets call, you go, “Okay I’m here. I have made a little bit of a mark.” So yeah, it’s an honor, just even being in this Zoom with Pepe is an honor. So, that means everything.
Pepe: Oh come on!
Yvette Nicole Brown: It does! You know, I love you, Pepe.
Pepe how was working with Yvette?
Pepe: Incredible, of course. You know, she’s so fun. When she walks on the set, everybody lights up. She’s like a lovely little light bulb. Everybody smiles.
There were endless cameos in this movie. Who were you most starstruck by?
Pepe: Well, you know, I love my Yvette, but I have to say, Ed Asner, probably, he’s incredible. You know, this man was incredible. And it was such an honor to have him walking on the same stage as me.
Yvette Nicole Brown: I get to be on a cast list with Ed Asner for the rest of my life. And that’s huge. And the Muppets gave me that. And John Stamos is in this, Skai Jackson, Sasheer Zamata, Craig Robinson.
Pepe: Will Arnett.
Yvette Nicole Brown: Darren Criss, Taraji P. Henson, Pat Sajak – this is like a who’s who.
Pepe: My buddy, Danny Trejo.
Yvette Nicole Brown: There you go, Danny Trejo. There’s so many wonderful cameos. Kim Irvine, who’s an Imagineer at Disney [and] whose mom played Madame Leotta [on the Haunted Mansion ride]. This is a who’s who and I get to be on that list.
I love the Disney family, and you are remaining in it because Disenchanted is finally coming. I feel like we’ve been waiting forever! What was that experience like and how do you feel like it’ll compare to Enchanted?
Yvette Nicole Brown: It’s been 14 years since Enchanted. Disenchanted will be just as wonderful. There’s more music. Idina Menzel sings this time. We shot it in Ireland over three months.
And I actually went to shoot Disenchanted five hours after wrapping Muppets Haunted Mansion. So I feel like Muppet’s Haunted Mansion is a part of my Disenchanted experience as well. So it all was just tied up together and it was amazing and people are going to love it. They’re going to love it just like they’re going to love this special.
Pepe: I can’t wait to see you in another thing!
I feel like you’ve been talking about this for a while now, “six seasons and a movie”. But, I have to keep asking until it happens, if there’s any kind of update on a Community movie?
Yvette Nicole Brown: The update is that we’re going to do the movie. That’s always been the update. It’s always been when because everybody’s working and busy, so it’s going to happen. But until it happens, you can always watch Muppet’s Haunted Mansion October 8th on Disney Plus!
Muppets Haunted Mansion is available to stream October 8 on Disney+.
