If you grew up on the Disney Channel and Disney cartoons like me but were also a spooky kid, you probably have a special place in your heart for classic shorts like “The Skeleton Dance.” This week, Disney announced that the 1929 classic short, along with 27 other shorts starring Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip n’ Dale, and the studio’s first star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, are being restored and will debut as a new collection on Disney+
“The Skeleton Dance” will be among the first six shorts to debut on the Disney streaming service on July 7. New shorts will debut on select dates through October, with “Chips Ahoy,” a 1956 CinemaScope short starring Donald Duck and his chipmunk rivals Chip n’ Dale, concluding the series, leading up to The Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary on Monday, October 16.
The restorations were spearheaded by Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, led by director Kevin Schaeffer, working closely 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 is 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 complete list of shorts being restored and their premiere dates 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)
