The Skeleton Dance was made over 85 years ago, but if you put it on at a Halloween party, not only will it make for some awesome ambiance, people will very likely stop what they're doing and watch it. This is Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, with assist from musician Carl W. Stalling, putting on something extremely simple, you might even say, ahem, bare-bones: what happens in a cemetery at night?
The movie has that truly awesome feeling, seeing it today, of the animators going 'hey, here's something we can try that has never been done before - skeletons dancing to spooky music (and the occasional Owl, who opens the short film in a great way by its eyes). There are some gags here and there; at the end, as the skeletons have to pack themselves back in their crypt, the little feet on one body has been left behind and they kick and kick at the crypt to let them back in.
But in reality, this is a fun-but-spooky little movie. It's amazing to see how much times have changed, as this was originally not allowed in a good many theaters as exhibitors thought it was "too gruesome". Today it almost carries some kind of profundity that I'm sure hipsters will latch on to. Take it on its own terms, in the context, and see how extraordinary it is: images repeated, real technique going on (mediums and close-ups, varied to create a spectacular effect), and an attempt to evoke a place and moment in the middle of the night. Or to put it another way, this is like Thriller's grandfather.
