However, it didn't take long before Fleischer Studios decided to animate future Talkartoons on cels, which not only allowed for more gray tones but also changed animation for the better.

Released between 19, these shorts initially featured a basic paper-cutout animation style that severely lacked in the gray tones used to make the characters and backgrounds look more dynamic. To keep up with Hollywood's hasty transition from silent film to talking pictures, Max and Dave Fleischer developed a series of short films known as Talkartoons. Upon watching this film, it's not hard to deduce that the creators of both the Cuphead video game and The Cuphead Show! took heavy inspiration from this Satan when they were developing their own versions of the Devil. Released three months after The Skeleton Dance, this short is set in Hell and sees Satan and the other devils throw a party. Not only was this film entertaining to watch but also received some love in both the Cuphead video game and The Cuphead Show!Īnother horror-themed Silly Symphony that likely influenced Cuphead and its Netflix adaptation is Hell's Bells. Aptly titled The Skeleton Dance, the short, which released in 1929, takes place in a ghostly graveyard and revolves around four skeletons who dance and make music with their bones-at least until the sun comes up. This series even embraced the supernatural as early as its first sketch. They also predate the Mickey Mouse shorts in their use of Technicolor. As the title suggests, these shorts often featured music and were not meant to be taken seriously. Considering that Disney is still releasing Mickey Mouse shorts to this day, it's no wonder why he's still the face of the company.Īnother popular series of short films that Disney released at the time was Silly Symphony.

One such short, 1935's Mickey's Garden, may have also influenced the creators of Cuphead since it features plenty of trippy, Technicolor imagery such as regular-sized bugs that get drunk on insecticide. Seeing Mickey happily whistle 'Steamboat Bill' was enough to put him on the map and was likely a huge inspiration for the creators of Cuphead.ĭisney made even more Mickey Mouse shorts in the 1930s, and the character's popularity continued to skyrocket. Although Walt Disney had plenty of animation credits to his name prior to 1928, it was the creation of one anthropomorphic mouse that would cement his legacy as one of the greatest minds in the entertainment industry.ĭirected by Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks and Wilfred Jackson, 1928's Steamboat Willy is not only the first official appearance of the company's future mascot Mickey Mouse, but also one of the first animated short to be produced with synchronized sound.

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