Rob Munday
With September 8th now rechristened, by one of America’s most recognisable entertainment conglomerates, as Disney+ Day, this day of unnecessary self-promotion celebration provides us with the perfect opportunity to revisit our Best Short Films to Watch on Disney+ article. While fans of the brand will be most excited about the opportunity to now watch Thor: Love and Thunder on the platform, their collection of short films has grown even stronger since we last dived into it.
Though the platform makes it easy to find their short films – through the short film collection or by using the ‘short film’ filter in their movie listings – with over 200 titles to choose from, it’s overwhelming trying to decide where to start. Never fear, S/W has your back. Boiling down that extensive list of films to ten essential shorts – from the first appearance of Mickey Mouse to their latest Oscar-nominated short Burrow – these are our suggestions for the start of your Disney+ binge.
[latest update: 8th September 2022]
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1. Steamboat Willie (1928)
Dir: Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks
Despite having their fingers in so many cinematic pies, for most of us, when we think of Disney we still picture talismanic rodent Mickey Mouse. With this in mind, how could we not include the debut of old white gloves himself (although he’s actually gloveless in this short!) in this list? The first animation with synchronised sound, the eight-minute short features Mickey as a mischievous deckhand trying to have a little fun, all under the disapproving eye of his boss, Captain Pete.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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2. Flowers and Trees (1932)
Dir: Burt Gillett
A landmark short for a couple of reasons, Flowers and Trees earned the Disney Company its first Academy Award, picking up the first-ever Oscar for ‘Best Animated Short Film’ (or ‘Short Subjects, Cartoons’ as it was originally known) back in ’32. An organic tale of a forest awakening in Spring, the eight-minute short follows a romantic pair of trees as their blossoming romance is threatened by a grouchy stump and a raging fire.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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3. Tin Toy (1988)
Dir: John Lasseter
Putting this list together, I was tempted to make it ‘Ten Best Pixar Short Films on Disney Plus’, there are so many to choose from. Though we’ll return to Pixar again in this list, Tin Toy is an important short in the Disney history for many reasons. The first CGI film to win an Oscar, Tin Toy not only gained Disney’s attention (leading them to buy Pixar in 2006) but went on to be developed into the Toy Story franchise.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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4. Paperman (2012)
Dir: John Kahrs
Described as a film that “nostalgically revives the timeless Disney-style of character animation and design” when we featured it back in 2013, Kahr’s Oscar-winning short Paperman is a must-watch for those sentimental souls. Featuring a retro-inspired black and white aesthetic, which animation fans will purr over, and a timeless rom-com narrative, it’s a contemporary film with a classical feel that’s sure to stand the tests of time
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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5. Destino (2003)
Dir: Dominique Monfréy
Undoubtedly the strangest film in this list, this collaboration between Disney and surrealist Salvador Dalí began life in 1945 before being halted as the studio deemed it to be no longer financially viable. Resurrected by Roy E. Disney (Walt’s nephew) as he worked on Fantasia 2000, the six-minute short portrays a tragic love story between Chronos (the personification of time in Greek mythology) and a mortal woman, all set within a world of Dalíesque landscapes.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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6. Get a Horse! (2013)
Dir: Lauren MacMullan
A fun short combining traditional black and white 2D animation, with colour 3D, MacMullan’s seven-minute Mickey Mouse short sees his nemesis Peg-Leg Pete kidnap Minnie, before throwing our rodent hero through the cinema screen, into the theatre. Noteworthy for featuring archival voice recordings of Walt himself as Mickey, the short was also the first Disney animation to be solo directed by a woman.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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7. Sanjay’s Super Team (2015)
Dir: Sanjay Patel
An animation (short or feature-length) with an Indian protagonist is a rare thing, mix in the religious element in the narrative of Sanjay’s Super Team and it’s now a noteworthy short for a couple of reasons. The story of a young boy’s obsession with superheroes, and how it conflicts with his father’s religious traditions, this seven-minute Pixar short screened before The Good Dinosaur in 2015.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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8. Bao (2018)
Dir: Domee Shi
We discussed how Pixar had become synonymous with short film, when we featured Bao back in 2018, and with this its 20th short, it may come as a surprise to know this was the first directed by a woman. Exploring a mother/son relationship in a way that is highly surprising, Bao delivers a healthy dose of emotion, cultural insight and an adorable little dumpling character.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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9. Out (2020)
Dir: Steven Clay Hunter
The first Disney short to feature a gay main character Out is a coming-out story revolving around a magical cat and dog (who appear out of a rainbow), a wish-granting collar and a body swap twist. An energetic and fun watch, brimming with emotion, Out is part of the SparkShorts program, which also gave us S/W picks Purl and Kitbull and is a small step forward in Disney’s promise to continue making films and TV shows with “an increased commitment” to diversity.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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10. Burrow (2020)
Dir: Madeline Sharafian
Though the situation of its release was slightly different than normal, Sharafian’s painfully cute tale of a young rabbit trying to build the burrow of her dreams can be considered the latest short to be released alongside a Pixar feature. Carrying on the decade-long tradition, Burrow was released on Disney Plus at the same time as Pete Docter and Kemp Powers’ Soul, is another short (like Out) from the SparkShortsi nitiative, and will be hoping to scoop the ‘Animated Short Film’ Oscar at the 93rd Academy Awards later this year.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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11. Nimic (2019)
Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
With a number of interesting live-action short films – including S/W pick The Devil’s Harmony, Anthony Nti’s award-winning Da Yie, Oscar Isaac vehicle The Letter Room or UK favorites We Love Moses and Wren Boys – now available on Disney Plus, it’s clear that the streaming platform is treating their short film acquisition more serious than ever. While we could have picked any of those aforementioned titles as our final pick on this list, that honor goes to Yorgos Lanthimos’ striking short Nimic – a characteristically surreal piece about a professional cellist who has a life-changing encounter with a stranger on the subway.
WATCH ON DISNEY+
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If you’re a big fan of Disney’s feature films or their TV shows, you can also dive into a large selection of spin-offs in their short film collection – from Frozen to Toy Story to Cars.