The early days of The Disney Company was a time of experimentation. Walt Disney and legendary animator Ub Iwerks were charting new ground with the first animated short with sound; Steamboat Willie. The collaboration between Disney and Iwerks spawned two very different cinematic visions in 1929. The Silly Symphony shorts, Springtime and Hell's Bells were markedly different in terms of style and theme. Whereas the Walt Disney directed Springtime was a happy, jaunty short featuring the new "more realistic" animation trend, Hell's Bells, Directed by Iwerks was a nightmare fuel driven macabre short in the older "rubber hose" style of animation.
The imagery included a lead devil directing his minion demons to milk fire from a dragon cow (seriously) and dance for his pleasure. The obedient demons were rewarded by being fed to the Devil's pet, a Cerberus. The demons eventually turn on their master and send the Devil to his fiery demise. The short accentuates the vastly different surreal style that Iwerks pursued in spite of Walt's direction for happy, kid friendly fare, eventually leading to a rift and Iwerks' departure from the company.
It's not to far a reach to surmise that the depiction of the Devil in the popular retro-video game, Cuphead, would be inspired by Hell's Bells. The short has achieved "Song of the South" type status and has apparently been shunned by Disney as it has not been released in any official format by the company. Thankfully, the entire short is available on YouTube. The Halloween season is a perfect time to enjoy this lost Disney gem!
