Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, “Haunted Mansion” is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters. Directed by Justin Simien, the film features an all-star ensemble cast including LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon and Dan Levy, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto as The Hatbox Ghost.

Led by Framestore Head of Design, Stephen Goalby, the Framestore Design team embarked on creating an animated sequence to explain Bruce’s (played by Danny DeVito) extensive research into the film’s villainous character ‘Crump’.

Working in partnership with the production's Visual Effects supervisor Edwin Rivera and drawing on the broad array of talent within the Framestore design team, the approach was to create something rich and textured, with a flowing animation as we seamlessly move through the dreamlike sequence. The animation and story beats were to be heavily influenced by Bruce's script.

A mixture of 3D techniques, rough, handmade, heavily textured, low frame rate scenes and characters were incorporated with real life elements such as newspaper clippings, imagery and handwritten notes which helped to emphasize key elements of the storyline.

The hand drawn look is a visually stand alone and unique stylistic approach and was a first for the team who hadn’t leaned on this previously. Although a 'loose' sketchy and handmade feel, many hours were put into the piece, meticulously fine tuning the details, not only to make sure the viewer was well informed and engaged, but keeping the standards high for quality and ensuring that regardless of the technique used for each scene, the viewing experience felt consistent throughout.

The project utilized After Effects to deliver the 2D and compositing work, alongside Cinema 4D for the texturing, lighting, animation, and simulations. Framestore’s talented team of storyboard artists and illustrators heightened the look and feel of the sequence with their hand drawn illustrations that were created into animated assets and sprinkled throughout.

The result is a standout sequence that encompasses multiple design techniques and shines a spotlight on the Design team’s creative prowess. Albeit a fast turnaround, from brief to delivery, the design team worked dillegently to produce a completely original piece to be proud of.

Haunted Mansion is now streaming on Disney+