And I thought the Epic Mickey homage to this was creepy!
This short is a great example to show people who scoff and
say cartoons are just for kids. Animation
is a medium it can show any genre and idea you want for any age, and Disney is
no exception. Not that this is especially
dark, but it’s not something I would have liked to have seen as a kid. The great shadow work, improved skeleton movement
over ‘The Skeleton Dance’, and the creepy design and voice of the doctor would
have sacred me when I was younger. Heck
before it’s revealed that the whole thing was all a dream I was really starting
to worry that Mickey and Pluto weren’t going to escape the house of horrors.
The short is still nicely balanced though with lighter bits
like Mickey fighting the skeleton spider, opening the endless door, and Pluto’s
heart jumping into his throat and breaking to pieces timed to a funeral march. The animation holds up well over all I think. There are a few clunky bits like when the
planks fall away as Mickey goes across the bridge to the doctor’s castle the timing
is quite right, it’s a bit slow. The run
cycle for Mickey isn’t as detailed in secondary action as it will become with
time, but still this is very enjoyable to watch.
For me it’s still a classic worth checking out, just
maybe not right before going to bed.
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