Film
Hell's Bells
A six-minute animatic fever dream from 1929 where Walt Disney himself voices Satan presiding over a hellish orchestra. It's genuinely unsettling—not horror by modern standards, but deeply strange, with grotesque imagery and a genuine edge of cruelty that early Disney cartoons sometimes carried. For anyone curious about animation's wilder roots or Disney's odder impulses.
If you liked this
Fantasia1940
A feature-length orchestral journey through animation's possibilities, from classical to abstract. Sees music as pure visual stimulus. If you loved Hell's Bells' baroque darkness, this expands that aesthetic into grandiose, dreamlike territory.
But Sections feel dated and some pacing drags. Not a narrative—it demands patience and a certain headspace to fully click.
The Black Cauldron1985
Disney's darkest theatrical film, with Horned King villainy, actual stakes, and grotesquely animated demons. Scratches the same itch for shadow and oddness that Hell's Bells has, but sustained across eighty minutes.
But It was a box office disappointment and shows it—some animation shortcuts are visible, and the tone wavers between darkness and whimsy.
Spirited Away2001
Miyazaki's masterpiece bathes the surreal and unsettling in visual splendor. Features a protagonist navigating grotesque spirit worlds with the same dreamlike logic Hell's Bells operates on, but with far greater depth and nuance.
But It's long, deliberately paced, and the emotional register is melancholic rather than wickedly playful. Requires investment.
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More like this (6)
Sinbad the Sailor1947
Stop-motion animation by Ray Harryhausen that builds monstrous, sometimes disturbing creatures. Fantasy adventure with genuine otherworldly menace—the creatures feel wrong in deeply satisfying ways.
But Effects are jerky and dialogue sometimes thin. It's a craftsman's showcase, not a character study.
An American Tail1986
Don Bluth's immigration story has lush, sometimes genuinely dark animation—shadows, threat, texture. Proves animation could be both emotionally serious and visually rich in the 1980s.
But The central villain, Sykes, has genuine menace that can feel too heavy for younger viewers. Tonal whiplash between dark and sentimental.
The Nightmare Before Christmas1993
Tim Burton's gothic sensibility applied to animation. Skeletal characters, macabre design, and a jazz-inflected score create visual and musical strangeness. Shares Hell's Bells' comfort with the grotesque and theatrical.
But It's become so iconic that seeing it fresh is nearly impossible. Also veers sentimental in ways that undercut the darkness.
The Haunted Mansion2003
Based on the Disney theme park attraction—actually leans into the surreal spectral imagery rather than dismissing it. Animation with genuine architectural strangeness and ghosts that feel present rather than cute.
But Structurally thin and the humor misses often. It's a minor work that coasts on visual design.
Heavy Metal1981
Rotoscoped and hand-drawn animated vignettes set to rock and metal soundtrack. Gloriously transgressive, weird, sometimes genuinely unsettling. Shows animation can be adult, strange, and unapologetically itself.
But The sexuality is dated and sometimes gross. Some segments are more juvenile than transgressive. Uneven in quality across its anthology structure.
Song of the Sea2014
Tomm Moore's Irish folklore animation uses luminous color and mythology-steeped imagery. Ghosts, selkies, ancient magic—rendered as strange and beautiful rather than threatening, but never tamed into cuteness.
But The pacing is deliberate and the plot secondary to mood and visual storytelling. Some find it precious; it's definitely precious-adjacent.
People
Cast
Walt DisneySatan /Cerberus (voice)
Directing
- Ub IwerksDirector
Production
- Walt DisneyProducer
Recommended by
The Skeleton Dance, Swing You Sinners!, Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle, Bimbo's Initiation