What a difference it makes to actually have Disney himself direct his cartoons. The Skeleton Dance is atmospheric, surreal, and visually eccentric to the point where I believe it inspired the Nightmare Before Christmas, to some degree, and even the works of Sally Cruikshank. I imagine that kids might have actually been a bit frightened of this cartoon back in 1929.Apparently Disney had trouble getting it into theaters based on this notion.The short features a gloomy churchyard overtaken by skeletons at night who go about dancing to various forms of mischief. A typically thin premise for cartoons from this era, but worth it for the atmosphere.

This short barely possess a story: a few skeletons rise from their graves to spook animals, make music, and dance the Charleston all through the night until morning comes and it's back to the old tomb once again. In spite of this, The Skeleton Dance (1929) is one of the most unique and entertaining Silly Symphonies there is. The macabre subject matter and creepy atmosphere set it apart from other Symphonies which adhere to the "several animals/flowers/people/etc get in a chorus line and dance" trope. The animation is outstanding for the late 1920s (it's a shame that quality was not maintained for the follow-up, El Terrible Toreador (1929)).This was a promise of good things to come. Perfect for Halloween or anytime really.

This short film was the first of the Silly Symphony series, which ran under the Disney banner from a decade from 1929 and proved to be an excellent training ground for animation techniques which would become the springboard into Snow White and the later features.Even though the distributor at the time dismissed 'The Skeleton Dance' with the terse telegram 'More Mice' (a reference to the Mickey cartoons which had just started a few months before), this film is inventive, extremely funny, marries action and sound perfectly (and remember, this was when talkies were still very much in their infancy), and is an absolute hoot even after all these years.So what's it about? Well, it is about skeletons dancing. And that's about it. But you can see the influence this film had on later animators (there is a sequence in Monty Python for example which references this film quite closely) and there is no doubt that it is a lot of fun.

Skeleton Dance along with The Incredibles are a true classic of the animated genre. The short holds up very well in 76 years. The music is great, the dancing skeletonrific, drawings spooky! Come on, watch it now! You won't regret seeing it once in your life! You haven't lived life till you have seen this short...The owl howling, the skeletons dancing, the famous close up is enough to make you a Disney fan forever. It's really unforgettable. When you've seen it, you might never erase it from your memory.Disney should get more Oscars for this excellent, excellent short. :DWonderful.