August 22, 1929 –
Walt Disney released the animated short film The Skeleton Dance (The first of Disney’s Silly Symphony series,) animated by Ub Iwerks, on this date.
At the time, Walt Disney distributed his films through a company run by Pat Powers. But Powers couldn’t sell it to distributors (who found the dancing skeletons odd and even gruesome). Undeterred, Disney was able to have the film screened at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles, where it was a rousing success.
The Haus of Dcaligari 