The Skeleton Dance
Encyclopedia
The Skeleton Dance is a 1929
Silly Symphonies
animated short subject
produced and directed by Walt Disney
and animated by Ub Iwerks
. In the film, four human skeleton
s dance and make music around a spooky graveyard
. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphonies series. In 1994, it was voted #18 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.
composition Danse Macabre
, Carl Stalling
explained, in a 1969 interview, that it was actually a foxtrot set in a minor key. Stalling suggested the idea for a series of musical one-shot cartoons to Disney at a gag meeting in 1929. Stalling also adapts Edvard Grieg
's "The March of the Trolls" for part of the skeleton dance music.
The skeletons dance in various ways and play makeshift musical instruments. In one scene, all four skeletons hold hands and dance in a circle, akin to schoolchildren dancing "Ring a Ring O'Roses
". In another scene, a skeleton pulls the thigh bones off another and plays the thighless skeleton like a xylophone. A skeleton also plays a cat like a double bass
, using a bow and the cat's tail as the strings. One skeleton dances part of the Charleston
.
It is notable for being the first animated cartoon to use non-post-sync
sound. Animation from this short was later reused in the Mickey Mouse
short Haunted House, in which Mickey, having taken shelter in a haunted house, is forced to play music for the dancing skeletons.
The cartoon was created in black and white on standard 1.33:1 35mm film. The original music for both the title card and ending card was missing in reissues, so music (and sounds) from later Mickey Mouse short The Mad Doctor and the ending music of Mickey Mouse shorts of the early 1930s were used respectively.
The film had a budget of $5,386.
and Disney's Greatest Villains
It was used in the Disney Sing-a-Long videos during the montage "Grim Grinning Ghosts".
It was used in the film Ghost Rider
(2007), as a cartoon Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage
) is watching not knowing he will become a skeleton-like supernatural being at night in the presence of evil. The Skeleton Dance was also referenced to in the episode "Hill Billy" of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, where Grim, having been turned into a silent era cartoon character, leads several other skeletons in dance, and even mimics their actions. A similar thing happens during the choreography of the music "Remains of the Day", from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
It was also featured in the music video "Yang Yang" by Anika in 2010.
It was used in the Lucas arts's game, Monkey Island II, in which two dancing and singing skeleton appear to Guybrush, the main character, during a delirium.
The skeleton dancers make cameo appearances throughout different episodes of Disney's House of Mouse.
One of the skeleton dancers was going to make a cameo appearance during the ending scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
, but the cel featuring the character was left out of the final film; replaced by a different character.
1929 in film
-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...
animated short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
produced and directed by Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and animated by Ub Iwerks
Ub Iwerks
Ub Iwerks, A.S.C. was a two-time Academy Award winning American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, creator of Mickey Mouse, and special effects technician, who was famous for his work for Walt Disney....
. In the film, four human skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
s dance and make music around a spooky graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
. It is the first entry in the Silly Symphonies series. In 1994, it was voted #18 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field.
Production
While many claim that the musical score was adapted from the Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
composition Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns)
Danse macabre, Op. 40, is a tone poem for orchestra, written in 1874 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It started out in 1872 as an art song for voice and piano with a French text by the poet Henri Cazalis, which is based in an old French superstition...
, Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
explained, in a 1969 interview, that it was actually a foxtrot set in a minor key. Stalling suggested the idea for a series of musical one-shot cartoons to Disney at a gag meeting in 1929. Stalling also adapts Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's "The March of the Trolls" for part of the skeleton dance music.
The skeletons dance in various ways and play makeshift musical instruments. In one scene, all four skeletons hold hands and dance in a circle, akin to schoolchildren dancing "Ring a Ring O'Roses
Ring a Ring O'Roses
"Ring a Ring o' Roses" or "Ring Around the Rosie" is a nursery rhyme or folksong and playground singing game. It first appeared in print in 1881; but it is reported that a version was already being sung to the current tune in the 1790s. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7925...
". In another scene, a skeleton pulls the thigh bones off another and plays the thighless skeleton like a xylophone. A skeleton also plays a cat like a double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, using a bow and the cat's tail as the strings. One skeleton dances part of the Charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
.
It is notable for being the first animated cartoon to use non-post-sync
Audio to video synchronization
Audio to video synchronization refers to the relative timing of audio and video parts during creation, post-production , transmission, reception and play-back processing...
sound. Animation from this short was later reused in the Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
short Haunted House, in which Mickey, having taken shelter in a haunted house, is forced to play music for the dancing skeletons.
The cartoon was created in black and white on standard 1.33:1 35mm film. The original music for both the title card and ending card was missing in reissues, so music (and sounds) from later Mickey Mouse short The Mad Doctor and the ending music of Mickey Mouse shorts of the early 1930s were used respectively.
The film had a budget of $5,386.
Contemporary references and usage
In 1982, The Skeleton Dance was featured in a colorized version during the credits of the television Halloween specials Disney's Halloween TreatDisney's Halloween Treat
Disney's Halloween Treat is a 47-minute Halloween-themed clip show which first aired on The Wonderful World of Disney in 1982 and featured a compilation of Disney animated shorts involving spooky or supernatural themes as well as excerpted segments from Disney feature films. The credits also...
and Disney's Greatest Villains
Disney's Greatest Villains
Disney's Greatest Villains was a one-hour television special that first aired on May 15, 1977 on The Wonderful World of Disney. It was a somewhat updated version of 1956's Our Unsung Villains, and was also used to feature Madame Medusa, the villain in the then-upcoming Disney animated film The...
It was used in the Disney Sing-a-Long videos during the montage "Grim Grinning Ghosts".
It was used in the film Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (film)
Ghost Rider is a 2007 superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the character of the same name which appeared in Marvel Comics, the film stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to the Devil and transforms into thevigilante Ghost...
(2007), as a cartoon Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
) is watching not knowing he will become a skeleton-like supernatural being at night in the presence of evil. The Skeleton Dance was also referenced to in the episode "Hill Billy" of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, where Grim, having been turned into a silent era cartoon character, leads several other skeletons in dance, and even mimics their actions. A similar thing happens during the choreography of the music "Remains of the Day", from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
It was also featured in the music video "Yang Yang" by Anika in 2010.
It was used in the Lucas arts's game, Monkey Island II, in which two dancing and singing skeleton appear to Guybrush, the main character, during a delirium.
The skeleton dancers make cameo appearances throughout different episodes of Disney's House of Mouse.
One of the skeleton dancers was going to make a cameo appearance during the ending scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, but the cel featuring the character was left out of the final film; replaced by a different character.