Entertainment
20 Animated Shorts On Disney+ That Will Make You Laugh & Cry
Kids can be confusing: their attention spans are not fantastic, but their appetite for entertainment is endless. Fortunately, between classics like Steamboat Willie and newer stories like Pixar's Loop, there are many animated shorts on Disney+ to satisfy your little one's need to be entertained in small doses, which is exactly what you need on a rainy day. Or any day really.
Animated short films have been popular since the early days of film and have actually seen something of a surge in recent years. Perhaps because the internet is the great equalizer, as The Atlantic points out, offering relative unknowns the opportunity to share their work online without having to go through more traditional channels. Or perhaps people gravitate towards short films because our attention spans are getting collectively shorter as time goes on, as a 2019 study published in the journal Nature Communications and conducted by researchers at the Technical University of Denmark uncovered, with busier lives and so many more ways to access entertainment than there once were.
Either way, if anyone knows about making clever, moving, sweet, and funny animated shorts, it's Disney. Whether you're looking for something uplifting and inspirational to watch with the family or some lighthearted fun, Disney+ has it all.
'Steamboat Willie' (1928)
Where it all began, Steamboat Willie was the first short film featuring everyone favorite mouse, Mickey Mouse. It stands up surprisingly well after all these years, with Mickey playing a mischievous deckhand.
'Wise Little Hen' (1934)
It took six more years for Donald Duck to make an appearance in Wise Little Hen, but he certainly made a grand entrance.
'Mickey's Christmas Carol' (1983)
The 1983 short animated version of the Charles Dickens' classic, Mickey's Christmas Carol, is perhaps one of the best, if only for Scrooge McDuck and the surprisingly moving soundtrack.
'Luxo Jr.' (1986)
By 1986, there was a small new guy in the animation business: Pixar Animation Studios. While it would be several more years before the company teamed up with Disney, the animated short Luxo Jr. featuring the story of an eager lamp wanting to play with a rubber ball was already a game changer. And still so well known that it remains the logo for the company.
'Geri's Game' (1997)
An old man plays a game of chess in the park with himself in Geri's Game, and it's more entertaining than you might think.
'Knick Knack' (2003)
Knick Knack was another highly stylized short film from Pixar. No words, just a jazzy soundtrack as a snowman living in a snow globe tries desperately to figure out how to meet the other knick knacks living on the shelf. Brilliant.
'Presto' (2008)
Pixar was really knocking it out of the park by 2008 when it created Presto, the hilarious short film about a magician and his very hungry rabbit assistant. This is one of those animated shorts that has no message beyond being hilarious, which is exactly what you need sometimes.
'Hawaiian Vacation' (2011)
After the incredibly emotional full-length feature Toy Story 3 came out in 2010, the world needed Disney and Pixar to give us an easy breezy update about Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang. When Hawaiian Vacation was released in 2011, we got just that.
'Tin Toy' (2012)
Pixar's Tin Toy sees a little toy trying to stay away from a drooling baby and it's adorable.
'Sanjay's Super Team' (2015)
Pixar's 2015 short Sanjay's Super Team was written by Sanjay Patel about his childhood as a first-generation Indian American whose love of comics eventually lead him to understanding his Hindu faith. It's a film that will resonate with anyone trying to find a link between two cultures.
'Purl' (2019)
Feel like watching a film that winks at surviving in a world run by toxic masculinity? Take eight minutes out of your day for Pixar SparkShorts' Purl and thank me later. Perhaps for older kids.
'Kitbull' (2019)
If you think there are life lessons to be learned by an unlikely friendship between a pit bull and a stray kitten, you're right. Pixar SparkShorts' Kitbull is just lovely.
'Float' (2019)
What would you do if your child had secret powers? How far would you go to protect them... too far? This is the question asked by the Pixar short Float.
'Loop' (2020)
Pixar's groundbreaking new short film Loop tells the story of a non-verbal autistic girl at canoe camp, and is the first short to feature the voice talents of a non-verbal autistic actor. It's a beautiful story that encourages empathy and kindness.
'For The Birds' (2001)
In 2001, Pixar released the Oscar-winning short film For The Birds. The movie showed what happens when too many birds want to sit on a telephone wire close together.
'The Blue Umbrella' (2013)
Two umbrellas falling in love in the rain in The Blue Umbrella is exactly as romantic and sweet as it sounds.
'Lou' (2017)
The Pixar short from 2017 Lou offers kids the chance to see a bully learn his lesson from the Lost and Found box.
'Lifted' (2006)
A teenage alien basically takes a driving test for abducting humans in Lifted.
'Bao' (2018)
If you want your kids to know how much you love them and also cry over sentient dumplings, watch 2018's Bao. The story of a Chinese mom who learns to love a dumpling like her child.
