New Old Cartoons: Just Like Back in 'Nam

Creativity is far from uncommon over at Disney studios, but an idea like their new Mickey Mouse short "Get a Horse" isn't something you actually see people try to pull off. Sure, it's cool, but when you think about it, how would they really get it to work? It's kind of like a back massaging Snuggie. 

So, here's how they did it. 

-Seeing is pretty much believing. 

The whole basis behind this short is illusion. The animators are tricking the viewer into believing that this short is, just short of a century old. How do they do this? What do you think of when you think of old animations? Rougher quality? Film grain? Stained film? Well it's all here, more or less. It's through these visual tricks that the animation does its job into making a grand illusion.

-Even your ears are fooled. 

Old audio is something that's not all too difficult to fake. I mean, there's a boatload of bands that go for a retro style in their music and make you feel like you're in the 60's. It's just a little different here though. Engineers basically copy and paste sound effects from the true old films and throw them in the new one. And what if you don't have audio for a certain one? You go straight to the actual tools that made them! This method took a bit more resource, but in the entire scheme, you get impressive results. 

-Correct aging is most recommended. 

The staff needed the right music. The right colors. The right actions. This all had to be time period specific, which required a lot of studying. You want those arcs to come out smooth? You gotta get your hands on the source material. All said and done, they stuck to the original work most impressively. 

I think this may honestly be one of Disney's most original ideas to come to the screen. To see an idea like this put into action is really inspiring. 

Going back to the old stuff really should give Disney a new viewpoint though. I truly hope it helps them with future works and maybe even giving a little homage to what started it all. 

But animation is only one option of many in media. We've seen things like this done with video games and movies too. Can we expect any new surprises to take a retro look?