The Muppets have had a long career. Yet they have never released a Halloween special. I suppose the past year and a half has been scary for everyone because here is their very first Halloween special!

Loosely based on the Haunted Mansion ride at the Disney parks, the story begins with Gonzo going to a party in honor of his favorite magician, the Great MacGuffin. Pepe the King Prawn goes along anxious to meet some ladies. When they arrive at the mansion, they are told that the mansion is haunted and no one ever leaves. However, if they can survive one night, they will be able to leave. Otherwise, they will be trapped there forever.

As a fan of the Haunted Mansion ride, it was fun to see all of the parts of the attraction interact with each other. Granted, this isn’t the exact ride. Miss Piggy portrays the fortune teller head in the crystal ball, Will Arnett plays the Host, Taraji P. Henson plays The Bride, etc. But I enjoyed the interpretations of the animatronics. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out where in the ride each character “lived.”

There, honestly, isn’t a whole lot to say about the special. It’s pretty typical Muppets fare, except this time it’s centered around Gonzo instead of Kermit and Piggy. The human actors were good. Darren Criss was very funny as The Caretaker. Will Arnett is always funny. I think the only thing I didn’t like about the show was that the credits went by way too fast for me to see who all was in it. There are some quick scenes - the Singing Busts, for example - that went by too fast for me to identify everyone and then the credits went by too fast as well. But that is what they make the internet for. I can look that up easily.

This is an easy special to recommend. If you like the Muppets or the Haunted Mansion ride, you are likely to love the special. If you are an old fuddy duddy stick in the mud, there are plenty of other things for you to watch. The Muppets are awesome.