The Watchful Busts
The Watchful Busts
Background information
Feature films
Short films
Video games
Park attractions
Group information
Members
Aunt Lecretia
Two other unnamed bust typesStatus
TheWatchful Busts are characters featured in theHaunted Mansion attraction at theDisney Parks.
History[]
Background[]
- For the character also called "Uncle Lucius", seeFrozone.
These busts consist of four types encountered in the attraction: one which appears to be a middle-aged man with a large necktie (identified as "Uncle Lucius"), another one which is an elderly woman with her hair in a bun (identified as "Aunt Lucretia"), an unnamed bearded man with a cleated chin, and a young-looking man with short hair. It is unclear whether all of the busts depicting "Aunt Lucretia" are the same individual.
Due to the success of the attraction atDisneyland, the Haunted Mansion attraction was later constructed at theMagic Kingdom andTokyo Disneyland, still featuring the watchful busts in it, as well as being constructed inDisneyland Paris' version of the attraction.
Effects[]
The effect used for these busts was created by using inverses of faces by placing them in a blank background to make it appear if the busts were facing outwards, due to the fact that no matter when a guest moves, wherever they look at the bust as if it is always staring at them.
Appearances[]
The Haunted Mansion[]
Disneyland[]
Two of the busts depicting a man with a necktie and an elderly woman are encountered at the end of the Changing Portraits scene where they are seen staring at guests who past by them just before they board on theDoom Buggies to help them find a way out of the mansion.
Magic Kingdom/Tokyo Disneyland[]
Unlike in the California counterpart, the busts are encountered in the library scene where guests ride via Doom Buggy where all four of the bust types are seen in the alcoves inside the library staring at guests passing by. TheGhost Host describes them as the greatest ghost writers the literary world has ever known. The next scene after the library the guests pass through is the scene where a shadow pianist plays on the piano.
The bust of an elderly woman semi-officially known as "Aunt Lucretia" appears again during the ballroom scene where the bust of her can be seen displayed on a mantle over the fireplace.
Phantom Manor[]
After guests pass through a portrait ofMelanie Ravenswood in the attraction at the end of the Changing Portraits scene, they pass through the bust of an elderly woman (once again semi-officially known as "Aunt Lucretia") where her bust is displayed on a mantle over a fireplace just before guests board on the Doom Buggies to escape the Phantom Manor.
Mystic Manor[]
Two of the busts can be seen at the end of the Mediterranean Antiquities room where they are encountered after guests pass through a mosaic portrait ofMedusa who turns into a frightening gorgon just before they end up in another scene withAlbert encountering a group ofman-eating plants.
Film appearances[]
The Haunted Mansion (2003)[]
The busts appear in the film at the portrait corridor scene where they stare atJim Evers passing by them. The staring effect used for the busts were rotated through the use of remote control. They were placed onto a rotating pedestal inside the alcoves they are at.
Haunted Mansion (2023)[]
The busts appear throughout the film as there is shown to be more than two of them. They, along with several other ghosts, are shown to be frightened of theHatbox Ghost and resume stillness when he passes by.
Other appearances[]
The Haunted Mansion (video game)[]
The busts appear as background elements where they are seen in the downstairs hallway.
Muppets Haunted Mansion[]
The busts in thisMuppet-themed Halloween special were portrayed byDr. Bunsen Honeydew andBeaker respectively. Within this special, theycommented of their limited amount of screen time in the special, which in turn is a reference to the deleted scene "Mad Scientist's Lab", where the busts would have been featured within this scene alongside Dr. Phil Van Nueter.
Gallery[]
