How Disney’s 100th Anniversary Is Bringing Audiences Back to the 1920s
Disney, the prolific media company, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this October, marking a century of incredible animated films, remakes, and various projects under the watchful eye of Walt Disney himself. While Disney has been involved in countless ventures, what better way to celebrate Walt Disney’s legacy than by re-releasing the company’s earliest animated shorts?
Starting in July, Disney will release a batch of remastered and revitalized shorts from its early days every month on Disney+, leading up to October. These shorts feature classic Mickey Mouse stories, the oft-forgotten Oswald the Rabbit, and others that have ingrained themselves into pop culture through other means.
Why are these shorts a big deal? Can’t you just watch them elsewhere? Well, for one thing, Disney would not exist without them. The first Oswald short came out in 1927, and it will be one of the oldest pieces of animation to be restored for a wide audience.
There is an entire generation of Disney enthusiasts who likely never got the chance to experience these shorts without digital compression, film grain, or other distortions that come with age. It will be an opportunity for modern audiences to get a visual representation of where Disney started as both an animation studio and a media monolith.
These shorts and restorations will be handled by the same team responsible for the recent restoration of Cinderella, as well as the in-progress restoration of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They have “never looked or sounded better,” according to animation producer Dorothy McKim.
In addition to these remasters, a brand new Mickey Mouse cartoon entitled “Steamboat Silly,” which features the character’s first incarnation from “Steamboat Willie,” will also be debuting on July 28. With these announcements in mind, Disney’s 100th anniversary looks to celebrate less of its modern, corporate self and more of its humble beginnings as a fledgling animation studio.
For animation enthusiasts and Disney fans alike, it’s a perfect way to celebrate the poster child for Western animation across the world. Be sure to keep an eye on Disney+ over the next few months for these iconic shorts, revisited and remastered.
Disney has been around for a long time. Longer than you may think, actually. If you don’t feel old yet, you will now: the prolific company’s 100th anniversary comes this Octobercelebrating a century of amazing animated films, not-so-amazing remakes of said films, and projects of all kinds under the watchful eye of Walt Disney himself. The House of Mouse has had its fingers in just about every pie you can think of, to varying degrees of success.
But what better way would there be to celebrate Walt Disney’s legacy than a re-release of the company’s earliest animated shorts? Starting in July, a batch of remastered, revitalized shorts from Disney’s early days will be released every month on Disney+ leading up to October. Some are classic Mickey Mouse stories, some feature the oft-forgotten Oswald the Rabbit, and others have ingrained themselves in pop culture via other means. But why are these shorts a big deal? Can’t you just watch them elsewhere?
It’s time to break down how Disney’s 100th anniversary will take you back to the 1920s and why this occasion is such a big deal for animation enthusiasts.
Iconic Shorts, Revisited and Remastered
Before being a media conglomerate, before the Disney Renaissance, and even before Disney’s Dark Era, there was Walt Disney. We won’t get into the nitty-gritty of the man’s life, as we’d be here forever. All you need to know is that, prior to the creation of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney originally created Oswald the Rabbit for Universal Pictures around the late 1920s. Two of the shorts created for Universal, “Trolley Troubles” and “All Wet,” will be featured as part of the remastered shorts in September. However, following the massive success of the character for Universal, an ensuing contract debate led to Universal sequestering Oswald away once the contract expired in 1928. In the meantime, Walt would lead a small group of animators in the development of a legally-distinct character: Mickey Mouse.
Over the next few years, the popularity of Mickey Mouse would skyrocket through a series of shorts that spanned 1929 to around 1936. While they’d be primarily comedic in nature, they’d also serve to introduce staple Disney characters we know and love today. Pluto, Minnie Mouse, along with Donald Duck and Chip and Dale, a decade later, would make their film debut during this time. Coinciding with a change in vision from Walt Disney, wherein he started to apply an emotional core to his shorts, the Merry Melodies series would also reach a wider audience during this time — including a particularly famous short featuring dancing skeletons.
The shorts would continue up until the modern day, though their quantity with each passing decade would gradually diminish. Following the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, shorts would gradually focus on established characters like Goofy and Donald Duck, with some films packaging shorts into a single release. Thankfully, Mickey Mouse shorts, in particular, have seen a resurgence in recent years, with new cartoons featuring the character premiering to universally positive reception.
Why Are These Shorts Important?
So, after bluntly summarizing a century’s worth of history in just a few paragraphs, you may be asking: why are these shorts ultimately important? Well, for one thing, Disney would be non-existent without them.
We’re talking one-hundred years here. The first Oswald short came out in 1927, and it’ll be one of the oldest pieces of animation to be restored for a wide audience. There’s an entire generation of Disney enthusiasts who likely never got the chance to experience these shorts without digital compression, film grain, or other distortions that simply come with age. It’ll be an opportunity for modern audiences to get a visual representation of where Disney started as both an animation studio and a media monolith. Additionally, it’ll also be a fitting influx of content onto Disney+ at a time when the company is looking to actively slash its offerings.
The shorts and restorations will be handled by the same team responsible for the recent restoration of Cinderellaas well as the in-progress restoration of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They’ve “never looked or sounded better,” if animation producer Dorothy McKim is to be believed. While some were critical of the multiple alterations made to Cinderella‘s restoration, it’s safe to assume that the remastered shorts will retain most of their original detail. It certainly helps that they’re a lot more visually simple.
Be sure an eye on Disney+ over the next few months. In addition to these remasters, a brand new Mickey Mouse cartoon entitled “Steamboat Silly,” which features the character’s first incarnation from “Steamboat Willie,” will also be debuting on July 28. With these announcements in mind, Disney’s 100th anniversary looks to celebrate less of its modern, corporate self and more of its humble beginnings as a fledgling animation studio. For animation enthusiasts and Disney fans alike, it’s a perfect way to celebrate the poster child for Western animation across the world.
