Day 2: Who Ya Gonna Call?
In College, Darling and I took a Disney and Film class and some of the early Mickey Mouse shorts were featured to show how Mickey has changed throughout the years. That was the first time I had watched this short, the 1937 Mickey Mouse feature, “The Lonesome Ghosts.
October 2, 2022
Dear Disney,
In college, Darling and I took a Disney and Film class and some of the early Mickey Mouse shorts were featured to show how Mickey has changed throughout the years. That was the first time I had watched this short, the 1937 Mickey Mouse feature, “The Lonesome Ghosts.”
Darling remembers watching this short when she was young during the Halloween season or when the Disney Channel had its free trial weeks throughout the year. I may have watched it then as well, but I do not recall.
“The Lonesome Ghosts” starts with four ghosts lamenting the fact that there is no one left to scare. When reading the paper, one of the ghosts sees the Ajax Ghost Exterminators ad and convinces the other ghosts that they should call and get the exterminators to come to their haunted house. The scene cuts to the Ajax Ghost Exterminators office where Donald, Goofy, and Mickey are sleeping around a phone. The phone rings and the three characters wrestle for the phone. The phone is answered, and Mickey says they will be right over. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy split up to surround the ghosts. The three characters get tricked by the ghosts: Mickey by being almost drowned; Donald by the ghosts causing Donald to hurt himself by trying to capture the ghosts, and Goofy by the ghosts pretending to be Goofy’s reflection in a mirror. Finally, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey fall into molasses and flour making them look like ghosts. The four lonesome ghosts thinking that Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were ghosts, get scared and run away.
I think that the animation and colorwork are wonderful for 1937. The characters are recognizable as Goofy, Donald, and Mickey to a modern audience. The voice acting is great. I told Darling that I was happy that Disney+ had subtitles as Donald’s words were unrecognizable to me, but they were fun to hear. Finally, hearing Walt as Mickey always brings a smile to my face.
The humor is slapstick, like an animated 3 Stooges feature. I am not overly fond of that style of humor, but I do understand its place.
The sound design is amazing. The music is fun, and the sound effects portrayed exactly what I wanted them to portray.
Disney+ stated that this was a “Halloween” title and part of their Halloween collection, but I felt that this was more a Christmas tale than Halloween. At the turn of the century, and earlier, it was common to tell ghost stories at Christmas. Modern American society has stopped this practice, but I imagine in 1937 it was still relatively common.
Nevertheless, I am glad Darling and I watched this short for Halloween and we will watch it again next year.
Sincerely,
Jim Dear
Day 1: Them Bones
When I was four, my mother would take me to the local Carnegie Library to pick out a book that she would read to me and to participate in the children’s programs.
October 1, 2022
Dear Disney,
When I was four, my mother would take me to the local Carnegie Library to pick out a book that she would read to me and to participate in the children’s programs. The library would set up a projector and play three cartoon shorts for anyone, but specifically children, to watch.
The first time I watched “The Skeleton Dance” was in one of those children’s programs. It was early October, the live oak trees that flanked the path towards the library had already dropped most of their leaves. An early fall rainstorm had come the night before and I remember my mom telling me not to get wet as I jumped into the puddles on the way into the library.
Through the eyes of my four-year-old self, I remember the steps being grand and many. I walked up those steps and into the library. My mom walked me the rest of the way into the library's small auditorium, guided me to my seat, and told me that she would be back soon. I remember that I watched three shorts that day, just like I watched every week, but the only short that I remember was “The Skeleton Dance.”
I remember that the songs and visuals both captivated me and frightened me. Four-year-old me was not very brave. I remember when the skeleton came forward as if to lunge or bite the audience, I shrieked.
It had been years since I watched “The Skeleton Dance.” I pulled up the Disney+ app to watch it for our reviews of Halloween movies and was frustrated that it was not on the app. Thankfully, the Walt Disney Animated Studies YouTube page had the short in its entirety for everyone to enjoy. I watched it as an adult, trying to see it through the lens of a four-year-old and as an adult.
The 1929 short film “The Skeleton Dance” was Silly Symphonies first of 75 shorts. The films originally focused on whimsical animations combined with pieces of classical music. “The Skeleton Dance” brought the music of Edvard Grieg’s “March of the Trolls” together in a delightfully macabre piece of art.
Ub Iwerks was a genius. The animations are smooth and spooky. The “March of the Trolls” is perfect as well. The timing is wonderful between the animations and the music.
When the short was originally released the populace found it too macabre for general audiences. For four-year-old Jim, the short awakened something in my imagination that has never been fully realized. For modern audiences, the piece is quaint and delightful and, still, a bit spooky. The short brings me back to memories of the Halloween season. “The Skeleton Dance” is a great start to any harvest and Halloween festivities.
Sincerely yours,
Jim Dear