Disney´s Ghosts. Think about it. What if Walt Disney Company used the plot of a Henrik Ibsen play, more or less? This is a possible take on the play Ghosts. And Disney would have turned it around to a Happy Ending, with Regina Engstrand and Oswald Alving as the Alpha Couple, and Manders and Helen Alving as the Beta Couple. The movie would have casted Engstrand the Carpenter as the actual villain, with a complete Disney Villain Death in the fire between the second and the third act of the original play. His villainy would have been played far more visible than in the play. Other twists would include a lot of songs, and a plot twist (hinted upon, but not stated by Ibsen), making Manders the actual father of Oswald, and thus avoiding the whole Syphilis thing. Regina, on the other hand, is, of course, the daughter of the late captain Alving, avoiding Squick, but making a possible pairing up at the very end. A Heel–Face Turn from Manders is to be expected, as he gallantly proposes to Helen, overcoming his internal demons. And they all live happily ever after.
This movie would have contained examples of these tropes:
- Big Bad: Engstrand, of course. Also The Man Behind the Man.
- Byronic Hero: Oswald, but getting lighter and happier because of Regina.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Oswald and Regina, of course.
- Crowd Song: At the start of the play, when everyone in town prepares for the great initiation of the Alving memorial home. Also a song about how splendid Alving was, in the view of the townspeople. A reprise is to be expected towards the end, when it all wraps up.
- Deadpan Snarker: Regina has her moments. Also Helen Alving.
- Disney Villain Death: Engstrand, riding in triumphant glory over a burning building, falls from the tower and into the flames.
- Evil Laugh: Engstrand when his schemes are revealed. He actually doesn`t care.
- Gay Paree: Where Regina wants to go.
- Heel–Face Turn: Manders, who actually believed in both Alving`s reputation and Engstrand`s Schemes, comes clear after the fire, has a Heroic BSoD moment and a little musical number to boot, before he gets around to the Luke, I Am Your Father talk with Oswald, and then proposes to Helen. She gives in, of course.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Oswald runs head on into a burning building to save Engstrand, because he believes Regina is his daughter.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Manders, until Helen sets him straight.
- Idiot Ball: Manders is the one character who doesn`t need much improval from the Disney side, except for his Heel–Face Turn towards the end of the movie.
- "I Want" Song: Prominently from Regina ("I want to go to Paris"). Sung after her encounter with Engstrand, whom she believes to be her father.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to the original play, and given this is a (possible) Disney take on it - what else would you expect?
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Manders gets around to take that talk with Oswald, after a lot of angsting.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Regina, of course. She is Belle and Rapunzel combined.
- Non-Human Sidekick: A number of possibilities, to be sure. A cat residing in the Alving home? A parrot brought home from Paris? A talkative parrot with a french accent and a Silent Snarker cat would actually be quite funny.
- The Resenter: Engstrand, because of his social status, and because of his wounded leg.
- The Reveal: It turns out Oswald is the son of Manders, and Regina is the daughter of Alving, and thus entitled to a fortune. Helen Alving just waited for the right moment to tell them.
- Silent Snarker: The cat residing in the Alving home.
- Swiss-Army Tears: When Regina gets Oswald back to life with an Anguished Declaration of Love.
- Team Mom: Helen Alving, of course.
- Villain Song: Engstrand hams it up, explaining how a common man with a lot of resentment can gain power over the priest, and thus over the whole community.
