It was on this day in 2003, that The Haunted Mansion film, based on the theme park attractions, first came to life on the big screen. Complete with creepy old crypts and 999 happy haunts, the film tells the story of real estate agent Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) and his wife and business partner, Sara (Marsha Thomason), who drag their family to see the Gracey mansion when they learn it is being put up for sale. Producer Don Hahn remembers how he became involved in this production, “[Former Walt Disney Studios Chairman] Dick Cook actually called me in and said, ‘Do you know Rob Minkoff very well? We’re thinking of having him direct this movie.’ I said, ‘Yeah, we did Lion King together,’ and he said, ‘Well, take this script to him and go out to lunch with him,’ so I went to lunch with Rob and that pretty much sealed the deal because Rob wanted to do the movie, I wanted to do it and Eddie wanted to do it, so we got into pre-production right away.” Various nods to the attraction materialized throughout the film, including the famous busts singing, “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” If you’ve ever visited Disneyland, you might have seen the real-“live” singers who provided the voices for the singing busts in the movie. They are all members of the Dapper Dans of Disneyland. Usually found entertaining passersby on Disneyland’s Main Street, the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet have been serenading Guests since 1959. The longest running member of the group, the often grinning, Shelby Grimm, remembers, “1995 was the first time we had the Halloween Treat event at Disneyland. We were dressed as Frankenstein, Count Dracula, the Mummy, and Phantom. It evolved into doing gigs down in the Haunted Mansion (for private events) because we had written a whole repertoire that we’d sing and play on the chimes in a minor key.” With “Grim Grinning Ghosts” as part of that repertoire, it seemed only supernatural to cast the group for the film to use their harmonious vocalizations for the disembodied.