Earlier this month The Disney Channel premiered The Scariest Story Ever: A Mickey Mouse Halloween Spooktacular. The half-hour special was part of the modern Mickey Mouse animated series that debuted in 2013. In it Mickey, Donald, and Goofy find themselves trying to tell Mickey and Donald’s nephews “the scariest story ever.” The special was a lot of fun and if you missed it, its re-airing on The Disney Channel Sunday, October 22 or you can stream it online on the Disney Channel website. While watching it, I noticed a number of little easter eggs injected into the cartoon that if you weren’t paying close attention you may have missed.
Shadow Play
There are a number of fun little moments in the episode’s intro, including cameos from Chernabog from Fantasia’s “A Night on Bald Mountain” and The Headless Horseman from Sleepy Hollow, but there was one scene in particular that I missed the first time viewing that actually has a cool little background scene. As Mickey and Donald’s nephews walk past the candles lining the sidewalk their shadows actually become larger real life versions of the costumes they are wearing.
Trick or Treat
As you can see in the image above, Donald’s nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie appear in the cartoon wearing the same costumes they wore in the 1952 Donald Duck cartoon “Trick or Treat.”
A Swinging Wake
Later, when the group arrives at Mickey’s house you’ll find that somehow Mickey Mouse has obtained the organ from Disneyland’s The Haunted Mansion as part of his Halloween decor.
Gremlins Er-Goblins?
After the kids settle in and start eating their Halloween candy, Mickey, Donald and Goofy begin discussing the night’s activities and Goofy expresses his fear of Goblins. In the joke that follows, the writers clearly used Goblins to pay homage to the movie Gremlins as Donald responds in reference to the nephews, “They’re the only goblins I know. I don’t think we should feed them after midnight.”
Look Alive
As Mickey gets ready to tell his scary story, a familiar face from Disney’s The Haunted Mansion appears in the background. At Disneyland, this is the bust that looks like it is watching you as you make your way to your doom buggy.
Come Play With Us
Towards the end of the cartoon, a photo on the wall shows a pair of young Minnie Mouse-like characters together, clearly paying homage to the Grady twins from The Shining. In the image below you also see a clearer angle of the bust from the Haunted Mansion.
I rewatched the episode to make sure I got everything, but if you noticed anything I missed, let me know in the comments! And again, if you haven’t watched this yet, be sure to check it out. These Mickey Mouse cartoons are nowhere near as vanilla as the stuff I grew up on and feel more like something you’d see on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network than on The Disney Channel.
