Inspired by all the iconic Haunted Mansion attractions located at the Disney theme parks around the world, the Halloween special Muppets Haunted Mansion follows The Great Gonzo as he takes on the challenge of surviving Halloween night in The Haunted Mansion, accompanied by Pepe the King Prawn. While his Muppet friends are having their own Halloween celebration, Gonzo and Pepe must avoid becoming one of the grim grinning ghosts contained within, as they face a variety of characters and are surrounded by many fun Easter eggs.
During this interview with Collider, which you can both watch and read, Pepe talked about the challenges of working with Gonzo, and whether we could see more of the romance with Constance (Taraji P. Henson) in a sequel, while Yvette Nicole Brown, who’s playing The Hearse Driver, talked about having the best time working with her Muppet co-stars, why she loves The Muppets, and which Muppets she’d still like to meet.
Collider: Thank you guys so much for talking to me. Yvette, you’ve said that being in Muppets Haunted Mansion was a childhood dream come true for you. How did working with The Muppets exceed any expectations you had?
YVETTE NICOLE BROWN: I don’t even know how they were able to exceed because I had had such high expectations for my moment with them, but they exceeded it because they’re more joyful, more silly, more professional than I even imagined. So, I had the best time with Pepe and Gonzo. It was just the best time.
PEPE THE KING PRAWN: Aw.
Pepe, what’s it like for you to work with non-Muppets, aka humans?
PEPE: Oh, it’s fine. It’s incredible to get to work with such talented people. It’s unbelievable. It’s fun, making movies, making TV shows, and making specials.
Pepe, you spent a lot of time with Gonzo in this. How was working with Gonzo? Is he fun? Is he hard to work with? Do you get tired of him?
PEPE: Well, he doesn’t remember his lines.
(Off-camera) GONZO: I can hear you, Pepe.
PEPE: Well, I’m just telling the truth. He doesn’t remember his lines. He has a bigger trailer than everyone else. He gets first in line at lunch. It’s those kinds of things. Otherwise, he’s okay.
Yvette, when did you first fall in love with The Muppets and why do you love them? What makes them so great to you?
BROWN: I’ve loved The Muppets since Sesame Street, when I was a kid. For my seventh birthday party, I got a Big Bird puppet as my gift. And then, The Muppet Show, when I was a little kid, just changed my whole life. Watching them and getting to see them performing, and then seeing the behind the scenes on that show changed everything for me. I love that they’re positive and everyone’s represented. They were doing diversity before anyone else was doing diversity. So, I just think they’re magic and I’m so happy to be with them.
Pepe, do you think there’s any chance a romance could work between you and Constance? Are you hoping to avoid her for the future, or do you hope to see her again?
PEPE: Well, I hope Taraji [P. Henson] and I could perhaps start something. This is a character in the special, unless we do a little role-playing. Is that not good to say? I just mean pretend at home.
I know that. I’m just trying to set you up for a sequel.
PEPE: Oh, yes, of course. I’d like to do a sequel. That would be great, a sequel.
I want to see the romantic journey of Pepe and Constance for the sequel.
PEPE: Yes. I think that would be fun. I think that would be a lot of fun.
Yvette, what’s it like to be a limo driver for Pepe and Gonzo? Are they well-behaved when you’re working with them?
BROWN: They are well-behaved because they don’t want me to run off the road. But the biggest problem is they’re so funny that, as I’m driving, I have to make sure I pay attention. I wanted to keep looking back there to see what they were doing because they were just yapping and cracking jokes and doing bits. So, the hardest part was just keeping the car on the road because they’re hilarious.
Is there a Muppet that you didn’t get to work with in this, that you would like to do a project with in the future?
BROWN: Well, I still haven’t met Ms. Piggy. I’ve met just about every Muppet, so Ms. Piggy or one of my other favorites, Grover. I know he’s not technically a Muppet, but he’s in the Jim Henson family. But [I’d like to meet] Miss Piggy of The Muppets. And also, Statler and Waldorf. I think I can win them over. I know many have tried, but I feel like I might be able to get them to be kind, for once.
PEPE: Good luck with that.
Muppets Haunted Mansion is available to stream at Disney+ on October 8th.