We're not quite in October yet, aka the best month of the year. Why is it the best month? Autumn starts to kick in for real, turning the leaves into a beautiful medley of reds, oranges, and purples. Pumpkin spice flavor is available on or in everything. And Halloween makes its triumphant return. October is when it magically becomes okay to be a horror fan. More people than not want to go out and get scared. They want to see a scary movie or walk through a haunted house. They want to live in the fantasy of fear and pretend to be someone or something else.
Even children's media can get in on the fun. Disney has been releasing wonderful new Mickey Mouse shorts online or even before their feature films for a few years now. Still one of my favorites is their Halloween short from last year, "Ghoul Friend."
"Ghoul Friend" puts Mickey face to face with zombies. Specifically, Goofy as a zombie. The mouse tries to escape the shambling, bumbling dead, but can't seem to get away. It's cute, creepy, and funny.
Disney has done a lot of fantastically creepy things with animation. Look at their track record with villains. Watch the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment of Fantasia, Maleficent's transformation into the dragon, or even Claude Frollo's haunting "Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Mickey has tumbled with the supernatural before in one of my all time favorite animated shorts, "Lonesome Ghosts." Goofy and Donald are both on his side that time around. They go to a spooky mansion to hunt down mischievous ghosts. It's a slapstick take on the the omnipresent Hollywood ghost story. Haunted houses ruled the film roost for years before monsters took over and "Lonesome Ghosts" is a loving tribute to that.
One can only assume that Disney is going to go back to the well again and release another spooky short for Halloween this year. They'd be foolish not to. It's part of the enduring legacy of the iconic mouse. Besides, the timing is just about right for everyone to want to see a creepy version of a cute little mascot.