This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disney is celebrating accordingly with a salute to 28 of their Classic Shorts, including one familiar to horror fans: “The Skeleton Dance.”
The Walt Disney Company announced today in a press release that Disney+ will begin debuting a collection of 28 newly restored Walt Disney Animation Studios classic shorts starting on Friday, July 7 and will run through October.
While the curated package of shorts highlight a variety of popular Disney characters throughout the century, it’s the restoration of 1929’s “The Skeleton Dance” that’s most notable.
The Silly Symphonies short, directed by Walt Disney, featured four skeletons dancing under the full moon in a graveyard, a perfect Gothic mood setter that showcased a different side to Disney. We’re always a sucker for stunning gateway horror, especially of the macabre variety.
“The restorations were spearheaded by Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, led by director Kevin Schaeffer, working in close collaboration with creative advisors from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The latter included Dorothy McKim, special projects and 2D animation producer, along with color supervision by Mike Giaimo and animator Eric Goldberg. This same team recently restored Cinderella and are currently working on a restoration of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
“We are thrilled to be working with Kevin Schaeffer and the Studio’s restoration team in presenting these beautifully restored versions of classic Disney animated shorts,” McKim says. “Two of our top artistic talents have lent their expertise and passion to the project to make sure that the films look their very best and are authentic to the creative intentions of the original filmmakers. We’re very excited to be sharing these wonderful shorts with the Disney+ audience. They have never looked or sounded better.”
Check out the full lineup below.
Premiering Friday, July 7:
- The Skeleton Dance (1929)
- Building a Building (1933)
- Bath Day (1946)
- Figaro and Frankie (1947)
- Goofy Gymnastics (1949)
- Aquamania (1961)
Premiering Friday, August 11:
- Barnyard Olympics (1932)
- Mickey’s Steam Roller (1934)
- Donald’s Nephews (1938)
- Goofy and Wilbur (1939)
- Donald’s Cousin Gus (1939)
- The Flying Jalopy (1943)
Premiering September 5–8:
- Trolley Troubles (1927)
- All Wet (1927)
- The Barn Dance (1929)
- Playful Pluto (1934)
- Mickey’s Kangaroo (1935)
- Merbabies (1938)
- Bone Trouble (1940)
- Pluto, Junior (1942)
Premiering Friday, October 6:
- When the Cat’s Away (1929)
- Fiddling Around (1930)
- Camping Out (1934)
- Wynken, Blynken and Nod (1938)
- Old Macdonald Duck (1941)
- Inferior Decorator (1948)
- Chips Ahoy (1956)
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