In this image from the animated short Bath Day, Minnie Mouse, on the right, holds up a dripping Figaro the cat with her gloved right hand. Figaro is frowning. Minnie is wearing a pink ribbon on her head and matching pink dress, partly covered by a white apron. The tiled wall and shelf of a bathroom is behind them.

Disney+ to Debut 27 Restored Classic Walt Disney Animation Studios Shorts

By the D23 Team

Disney+ will begin debuting a collection of 27 newly restored Walt Disney Animation Studios classic shorts starting on Friday, July 7, featuring such iconic stars as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale, and the studio’s first star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. This year marks the centennial of Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is being honored as part of the ongoing Disney100 celebration.

Ranging from classics to lesser-known titles, this package of short films includes examples of Disney’s earliest theatrical shorts, as well as a wide range of entertaining shorts featuring Disney’s most beloved characters. Chips Ahoy, a 1956 CinemaScope short starring Donald Duck and his chipmunk rivals (pictured below), will conclude the series in October, leading up to The Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary on Monday, October 16.

In this image from Chips Ahoy, Chip and Dale skim across the surface of a lake from right to left, with Dale in front and Chip holding onto his tail.

The restorations were spearheaded by the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, led by director Kevin Schaeffer, working in close collaboration with creative advisors from Walt Disney Animation Studios. The latter included Dorothy McKim, special projects and 2D animation producer, along with color supervision by Mike Giaimo and animator Eric Goldberg. This same team recently restored Cinderella and is currently working on a restoration of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

“We are thrilled to be working with Kevin Schaeffer and the Studio’s restoration team in presenting these beautifully restored versions of classic Disney animated shorts,” McKim says. “Two of our top artistic talents have lent their expertise and passion to the project to make sure that the films look their very best and are authentic to the creative intentions of the original filmmakers. We’re very excited to be sharing these wonderful shorts with the Disney+ audience. They have never looked or sounded better.”

A full list of the restored shorts follows:

A skeleton hunches over a tombstone in a scene from The Skeleton Dance short.

Premiering Friday, July 7:

  • The Skeleton Dance (1929)
  • Building a Building (1933)
  • Bath Day (1946)
  • Figaro and Frankie (1947)
  • Goofy Gymnastics (1949)
  • Aquamania (1961)

In this image from the animated short Mickey’s Steam Roller, Mickey Mouse drives a speeding steamroller from right to left along a city street. Minnie Mouse is in the cab of the steamroller, behind Mickey. A puff of smoke emerges from the smokestack at the front of the steamroller.

Premiering Friday, August 11:

  • Barnyard Olympics (1932)
  • Mickey’s Steam Roller (1934)
  • Donald’s Nephews (1938)
  • Goofy and Wilbur (1939)
  • Donald’s Cousin Gus (1939)
  • The Flying Jalopy (1943)

In this image from the animated short Playful Pluto, Pluto is in a grassy yard confronting a garden hose. He’s frowning at the hose and has one front leg raised to stomp out a leak in the hose while he also shakes water off his body.

Premiering September 5–8:

  • Trolley Troubles (1927)
  • All Wet (1927)
  • The Barn Dance (1929)
  • Playful Pluto (1934)
  • Mickey’s Kangaroo (1935)
  • Merbabies (1938)
  • Bone Trouble (1940)
  • Pluto, Junior (1942)

In this image from the animated short When the Cat’s Away, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse dance in the middle of a room, while other mice stand in the background. Mickey, on the left, is dipping Minnie. There’s a sign hanging on the wall behind them that reads Home Sweet Home.

Premiering Friday, October 6:

  • When the Cat’s Away (1929)
  • Fiddling Around (1930)
  • Camping Out (1934)
  • Wynken, Blynken and Nod (1938)
  • Old Macdonald Duck (1941)
  • Inferior Decorator (1948)
  • Chips Ahoy (1956)