Steamboat Willie
1928 · 8m · USA
Directed by Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks
Genres: animation, comedy, musical
Mickey Mouse pilots a steamboat under the tyrannical Pete, using the ship's cargo of animals as impromptu musical instruments in this landmark animated short that introduced synchronized sound to cartoon filmmaking.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Historical landmark, sure, but as a film it's seven minutes of Mickey torturing livestock as instruments. Important and not great are different categories.
The synchronized-sound watershed and the cultural birth of Mickey are non-negotiable in any cinematic history. The cited YouTube URL is private, however, which is a practical complication.
First fully synchronized sound throughout — the steamboat-as-instrument sequence is the moment animation realized sound could be a comic engine, not just an accompaniment. YouTube is private, but the historical weight is fixed.
Reviews
It's a peach of a synchronization job all the way, bright, snappy and fitting the situation perfectly.
A clever and amusing treatment with music and sound effects added via the Cinephone method — a real tidbit of diversion.