Disney’s The Skeleton Dance

Walt Disney Studios made this cartoon, The Skeleton Dance, in 1929. 

Walt Disney who was branching out from his initial success with Mickey Mouse produced a series of short cartoons entitled Silly Symphony.

They were shown before feature films in movie theaters.

The Skeleton Dance was the first in this series. It was made using sound, which was still a new media in Hollywood.

Steamboat Willie

One of Disney’s first shorts featuring Mickey Mouse (1928)—Steamboat Willie—also used sound which had Mickey: whistling, talking and dancing to music, which amazed the movie theatre audiences and guaranteed its success.

In 1932, another short in this series entitled Flowers and Trees, made in color earned Disney the first-ever Academy Award for an animated cartoon.

The Skeleton Dance is considered one of the best cartoons in animation history. 

This short has a simple storyline. The noise from nocturnal creatures awakens a skeleton from his grave. He then, in turn, awakens several bony friends.

This film is a macabre delight.

Ub Iwerks

This cartoon was drawn by Ub Iwerks, an animator who worked with Disney at the beginning of his career, and then continued.

The skeletons all dance a spirited traditional foxtrot, to Edvard Greig’s The March of the Trolls. At the time, people would stay for an additional showing of the feature film, just to see this cartoon once more. 

It is still received with approval today—it has millions of hits on YouTube.

Enjoy.