In 1923 Walt and Roy Disney established their Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio – which in time became the Walt Disney Animation Studios we all know – with producing short animated films in mind.
And even though eleven years later, in 1934, they started preparations for their first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (after the 1937 premiere it gradually began to change the world’s view of the art of animation), short films always held a special place in their and their successors’ hearts.
Whether it was a journey of the meek Alice on her way to the land of curious wonders or a tale of the strong-willed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the new studio’s animations had something magical in them. Soon after, in 1928, in Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie (one of the first animated films to use synchronised sound), Mickey Mouse, one of the most iconic animated characters of all time, appeared for the first time.
Since then, the studio’s vault gained dozens of beautiful and memorable short animated films, produced both in the traditional hand-drawn animation and in the state-of-the-art computer technology. While celebrating the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ centennial anniversary during the 31st edition of EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival (11-18 Nov), they will screen several of them:
CLOCK CLEANERS (1937)
Director: Ben Sharpsteen
Mickey, Donald and Goofy ring the bell for comedy and animated antics in this timely short which finds the intrepid trio attempting to clean a huge clock on a high tower. Mickey sets out to rescue Goofy, who is struck by a ringing bell and staggers dazedly onto a flagpole, while Donald battles a cantankerous mainspring he is trying to clean.
THE OLD MILL (1937)
Director: Wilfred Jackson
This milestone Silly Symphony cartoon won an Academy Award® for Best Cartoon, and garnered Walt Disney a separate award in the Scientific and Technical Class (for the design and application of the multiplane camera). The film dramatically depicts a stormy night in an old mill as the frightened occupants (birds, mice, owls and other creatures) try to stay safe and dry.
TRAILER HORN (1950)
Director: Jack Hannah
In this Donald Duck cartoon, released the same year as the feature, Cinderella, a vacationing Donald finds anything but rest and relaxation when chipmunks, Chip and Dale, wreak havoc on him and his trailer.
LAMBERT THE SHEEPISH LION (1952)
Director: Jack Hannah
This theatrical animated special was nominated for an Academy Award®, and introduced a wonderful new character to the Disney roster. When a stork (voiced by Disney favorite Sterling Holloway), delivers a lion cub (Lambert) to a flock of sheep by mistake, he sets into motion a humorous and heartfelt tale about acceptance and bravery.
GOING HOME (2021)
Director: Jacob Frey
A story about growing up and the meaning of home in which a young adult repeatedly visits his hometown, but with every new arrival starts to face the inevitable: change. Director Jacob Frey tapped into his personal feelings about family, aging, and the fear of losing loved ones to tell this unique and poignant tale.
FEAST (2014)
Director: Patrick Osborne
Feast is the story of one man’s love life as seen through the eyes of his best friend and dog, Winston, and revealed bite by bite through the meals they share. The short received the 2015 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
PAPERMAN (2012)
Director: John Kahrs
This Academy Award-winning short from director John Kahrs was inspired by his daily train commute to work and “the random connections you sometimes make with people.” Experimenting with bold new techniques and using a predominantly black-and-white palette, the film follows a young man in an office who sees the girl of his dreams in a skyscraper window across the street, and determines to find a way to meet her.
ONCE UPON A STUDIO (2023)
Directors: Dan Abraham, Trent Correy
An all-star ensemble of beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios come together in Once Upon a Studio for a joyful, entertaining and emotional reunion as they assemble for a spectacular group photo to mark Disney’s 100th anniversary. Featuring 543 characters from more than 85 Disney feature-length and short films, Once Upon a Studio welcomes heroes and villains, princes and princesses, sidekicks and sorcerers—in all-new hand-drawn and CG animation—to celebrate 10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements.
