They were shown for those too young to remember 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.
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| 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 that all was heard which amazed the movie theatre audiences and guaranteed its success.
In 1932 another short in this series entitled Flowers and Treesmade 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 story line. 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.
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| Ub Iwerks |
This cartoon was drawn by Ub Iwerks, an animator who worked with Disney from the beginning of his career.
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.
It is still received with approval today—it has millions of hits on YouTube.
Enjoy.