The Skeleton Dance is a 1929 animated short film made by Walt Disney Productions. It was the first Silly Symphony cartoon, a series focused on syncing animation to a musical score. It was directed by Walt Disney, with animation from Ub Iwerks and music from Carl Stalling.
Synopsis[]
When the clock strikes midnight on a church cemetery, a troupe of skeletons rise from their graves. They have a jamboree, where they dance and play music until the sun comes up.
Haunted Mansion Connections[]
Phantom Manor[]
The catacombs scene in Phantom Manor was inspired by The Skeleton Dance. It’s a scene where skeletons rise from their graves and have a jamboree together. The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Disney Classic specifically cites the cartoon as a direct influence.
Happy HalloWishes[]
The nighttime spectacular Happy HalloWishes, hosted by the Ghost Host, featured a brief snippet from The Skeleton Dance's score. It was cut from the show after 2008.
House of Mouse[]
In the episode “House Ghosts”, Pete unleashes the Hitchhiking Ghosts on the House of Mouse, where they perform “Grim Grinning Ghosts”. Halfway through the song, the skeletons from the cartoon join in and dance with Pete. After that, Pete goes to hide in a crypt
In the episode “Halloween with Hades”, the skeletons are seated in a booth next to the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
Epic Mickey[]
When Mickey Mouse confronts the Mad Doctor in Lonesome Manor, the Wasteland counterpart of the Haunted Mansion, his minions are made to resemble the skeletons from the cartoon.
The cartoon can be viewed as an unlockable in the first game and there is a level based on it in the second game.
Trivia[]
- Animator Ub Iwerks would go on to be one of the most influential imagineers at the Disney Parks.
- Given how the cartoon’s plot regarded the dead rising to have a nightly party, it is possibly that it had an influence on graveyard scene from the Haunted Mansion. However this is also a well established trope/story in regards to the Danse Macabre and there isn't reference or concept art showing a clear connection.
- The titular skeletons appeared in several cartoons after the fact, like The Haunted House and The Mad Doctor.
- In 1937, Ub Iwerks worked on the cartoon Skeleton Frollic for Columbia Pictures’ Color Rhapsody series. By all accounts, it’s a color remake of The Skeleton Dance, with many similar moments. This is relevant as there is a scene from Skeleton Frollic resembles a moment in Phantom Manor in which a skeleton plays the xylophone with skulls and bones.