50 Greatest Cartoon Shorts
by nbradfield | created - 06 Jul 2017 | updated - 14 Aug 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. What's Opera, Doc? (1957)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Elmer Fudd is again hunting rabbits - only this time it's an opera. Wagner's Siegfried with Elmer as the titular hero and Bugs as Brunnhilde. They sing, they dance, they eat the scenery.
Director: Chuck Jones | Stars: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan
Votes: 10,498
2. Steamboat Willie (1928)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Mickey Mouse is a mischievous deckhand on a riverboat that is under the command of the tyrannical Captain Pete.
Directors: Ub Iwerks, Walt Disney | Star: Walt Disney
Votes: 11,232
3. One Froggy Evening (1955)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A man futilely struggles to make his fortune with a frog that sings and dances, but only when it is alone with the owner.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: William Roberts
Votes: 6,102
4. Der Fuehrer's Face (1942)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Donald Duck has a nightmare that he lives in Germany slaving under the Nazi regime.
Directors: Jack Kinney, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Pinto Colvig, Charles Judels, Billy Bletcher, Clarence Nash
Votes: 4,622
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 26 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam | Stars: Boris Karloff, June Foray, Dal McKennon
Votes: 58,987
6. Tin Toy (1988)
G | 5 min | Animation, Short, Family
A one-man-band tin toy tries to escape a destructive baby.
Director: John Lasseter
Votes: 11,674
7. Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The characters of the traditional fairy tale demand a new approach to the story as a sexy urban comedy with Red as a nightclub singer.
Director: Tex Avery | Stars: Elvia Allman, Sara Berner, Daws Butler, Pinto Colvig
Votes: 2,750
8. Duck Amuck (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 9,421
9. Geri's Game (1997)
G | 5 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Geri sets up a chess game to play his greatest opponent - himself.
Director: Jan Pinkava | Star: Bob Peterson
Votes: 26,894
10. Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)
Not Rated | 12 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The cartoonist, Winsor McCay, brings the Dinosaurs back to life in the figure of his latest creation, Gertie the Dinosaur.
Director: Winsor McCay | Stars: Winsor McCay, George McManus, Roy L. McCardell, Thomas A. 'Tad' Dorgan
Votes: 3,651
11. The Cat Concerto (1947)
Passed | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Tom Cat is a concert pianist who plays beautifully until he is interrupted by Jerry Mouse.
Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
Votes: 4,819
12. The Band Concert (1935)
Approved | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Mickey is a frustrated bandleader dealing with obnoxious peanut vendor and flute player Donald, who tries to persuade the band to play "Turkey in the Straw," and a cyclone hits before his concert of "William Tell Overture" is completed.
Director: Wilfred Jackson | Stars: Pinto Colvig, Clarence Nash
Votes: 3,943
13. The Skeleton Dance (1929)
Approved | 6 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The clock strikes midnight, the bats fly from the belfry, a dog howls at the full moon, and two black cats fight in the cemetery: a perfect time for four skeletons to come out and dance a bit.
Director: Walt Disney | Stars: Walt Disney, Carl W. Stalling
Votes: 6,282
14. Minnie the Moocher (1932)
Passed | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Betty Boop and Bimbo run away from home, but that night they are scared by a chorus of ghosts singing the title song.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky | Stars: Cab Calloway and His Cotton Club Orchestra, Cab Calloway, Billy Murray, William Pennell
Votes: 1,721
15. Peace on Earth (1939)
Passed | 9 min | Animation, Short, Drama
Two baby squirrels ask grandpa to explain what "men" are when they hear everyone singing of "peace on earth, goodwill to men". Grandpa tells the story of man's last war.
Director: Hugh Harman | Stars: Mel Blanc, Jeanne Dunne, The Hollywood Choir Boys, Shirley Reed
Votes: 1,748
16. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 TV Movie)
TV-G | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Depressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.
Director: Bill Melendez | Stars: Ann Altieri, Chris Doran, Sally Dryer, Bill Melendez
Votes: 44,068
17. Rabbit Fire (1951)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Daffy Duck and Bugs argue back and forth whether it is duck season or rabbit season. The object of their arguments is hunter Elmer Fudd.
Director: Chuck Jones | Stars: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan
Votes: 4,252
18. You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940)
Approved | 10 min | Animation, Family, Comedy
Daffy Duck tries to usurp Porky Pig's job through devious means in this wild blend of live action and animation.
Director: Friz Freleng | Stars: Mel Blanc, Leon Schlesinger, Henry Binder, Gerry Chiniquy
Votes: 1,756
19. Three Little Pigs (1933)
Passed | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The Three Little Pigs each build a house of different material. The Big Bad Wolf comes along and blows away the straw and stick homes, but is unable to destroy the house of bricks.
Director: Burt Gillett | Stars: Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colvig, Dorothy Compton, Mary Moder
Votes: 6,701 | Gross: $0.25M
20. Paperman (2012)
G | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
An office worker meets the girl of his dreams and uses a fleet of paper airplanes to get her attention.
Director: John Kahrs | Stars: John Kahrs, Kari Wahlgren, Jack Goldenberg, Jeff Turley
Votes: 35,356
21. Storytime (1968)
9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A bizarre comedy short by Terry Gilliam telling various absurdly comic stories.
Director: Terry Gilliam
Votes: 1,011
22. Feed the Kitty (1952)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A bulldog, charmed by a kitten, tries to keep her hidden from his human guardian.
Director: Chuck Jones | Stars: Bea Benaderet, Mel Blanc
Votes: 3,543
23. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Duck Dodgers and Marvin Martian wage war over Planet X.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 6,436
24. Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)
G | 25 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Winnie the Pooh and his friends experience high winds, heavy rains, and a flood in Hundred Acre Wood.
Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Sebastian Cabot, Sterling Holloway, John Fiedler, Jon Walmsley
Votes: 5,456
25. Madame Tutli-Putli (2007)
17 min | Animation, Short, Thriller
Exhausted and profoundly melancholic, anachronistic Madame Tutli-Putli wants to board a train. And, surrounded by a lifetime's worth of personal belongings, she waits patiently. Is she running away from her past?
Directors: Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski | Star: Laurie Maher
Votes: 2,936
26. The Big Snit (1985)
10 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A couple have a fight over a scrabble game unaware that a full scale nuclear war has started.
Director: Richard Condie | Stars: Jay Brazeau, Ida Osler, Randy Woods, Bill Guest
Votes: 1,937
27. Superman: The Mad Scientist (1941)
G | 10 min | Animation, Short, Action
The Man of Steel fights a mad scientist who is destroying Metropolis with an energy cannon.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Steve Muffati | Stars: Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Jackson Beck, Jack Mercer
Votes: 3,501
28. The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
30 min | Animation, Short, Drama
The story of a shepherd's single handed quest to re-forest a barren valley.
Director: Frédéric Back | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 6,107
29. King-Size Canary (1947)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
A mangy cat on the verge of starvation finds a tiny canary and a bottle of 'Jumbo-Gro' fertilizer, which gives him an idea that leads to giant cats, dogs, mice and canaries chasing each other round Lilliputian towns and cities...
Director: Tex Avery | Stars: Tex Avery, Sara Berner, Pinto Colvig, Frank Graham
Votes: 1,834
30. Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969)
Not Rated | 2 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Bambi is contentedly nibbling the grass, seemingly unaware of his impending encounter with Godzilla. What will happen when the two finally meet?
Director: Marv Newland
Votes: 6,468
31. Brave Little Tailor (1938)
Approved | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Inspired by the Grimm's fairy tale, this classic 1938 Mickey cartoon finds our hero (voiced by Walt Disney) battling a hilariously huge "problem.
Directors: Burt Gillett, Bill Roberts | Stars: Walt Disney, Marcellite Garner, Eddie Holden, Billy Sheets
Votes: 3,336
32. Fast and Furry-ous (1949)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Wile E. Coyote makes 11 disastrous attempts to catch the Road Runner.
Director: Chuck Jones | Stars: Mel Blanc, Paul Julian
Votes: 2,433
33. Vincent (1982)
G | 6 min | Animation, Short, Family
Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams which annoys his mother.
Director: Tim Burton | Star: Vincent Price
Votes: 24,309
34. For the Birds (2000)
G | 3 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A group of snooty birds roosting on a telephone wire get their just deserts when a goofy bird drops in.
Director: Ralph Eggleston | Star: Ralph Eggleston
Votes: 33,972
35. The Two Mouseketeers (1952)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
This Tom and Jerry cartoon is set in 17th century France. Tom, who is a soldier in the King's castle, is assigned to guard the food laid out on a banquet table. Jerry and a smaller mouse ... See full summary »
Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna | Stars: Francoise Brun-Cottan, Arthur Q. Bryan, William Hanna, The King's Men
Votes: 1,820
36. Clock Cleaners (1937)
Approved | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are cleaning a large clock. Among the complications: Mickey fights a sleeping stork that doesn't want to leave, Donald gets tangled up in the main-spring, and Goofy is inside the bell when the clock strikes four.
Director: Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Pinto Colvig, Walt Disney, James MacDonald, Clarence Nash
Votes: 2,936
37. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
Approved | 16 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The legendary sailors Popeye and Sindbad do battle to see which one is the greatest.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky | Stars: Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, Lou Fleischer, Gus Wicke
Votes: 4,019
38. Presto (2008)
G | 5 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A stage magician's rabbit gets into a magical onstage brawl against his neglectful guardian with two magic hats.
Director: Doug Sweetland
Votes: 25,714
39. Flowers and Trees (1932)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A jealous stump threatens two trees that are in love by starting a forest fire. When the rain comes and puts out the fire the forest revives and celebrates the wedding.
Director: Burt Gillett | Stars: Clarence Nash, Esther Campbell, Pinto Colvig, Marion Darlington
Votes: 3,783
40. Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out (1989)
Not Rated | 23 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
To replenish their depleted supply of cheese, inventor Wallace and his dog Gromit travel to the moon in a homemade rocket-ship.
Director: Nick Park | Stars: Peter Sallis, Peter Hawkins
Votes: 36,532
41. Porky in Wackyland (1938)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Porky Pig goes on a hunt to catch the surreally elusive last Do-Do bird.
Director: Robert Clampett | Stars: Mel Blanc, Billy Bletcher, Robert Clampett, Bernice Hansen
Votes: 2,267
42. Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The story of a little boy who would only talk in sound effects. With story by Dr. Seuss (and Bill Scott of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame) this cartoon won the Oscar for best short subject (animated) for 1950.
Directors: Robert Cannon, John Hubley | Star: Marvin Miller
Votes: 2,083
43. The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
After reading a Dick Tracy comic, Daffy Duck has a surreal dream in which he is a P.I. pursuing an army of grotesque villains who stole every piggy bank in town, including his own.
Director: Robert Clampett | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 2,280
44. Harvie Krumpet (2003)
TV-14 | 23 min | Animation, Comedy, Short
The odd biography of a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck.
Director: Adam Elliot | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Kamahl, John Flaus, Julie Forsyth
Votes: 9,017
45. The Old Man and the Sea (1999)
20 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
An old fisherman goes out on his fishing trip and makes a huge catch, the biggest of his life.
Director: Aleksandr Petrov | Stars: Gordon Pinsent, Kevin Duhaney, Yôji Matsuda, Rentarô Mikuni
Votes: 4,572
46. Lifted (2006)
G | 5 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A teenage alien is trying to abduct a sleeping human, but doesn't know which switch to use.
Director: Gary Rydstrom | Star: Sheb Wooley
Votes: 20,785
47. The Little Orphan (1948)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The Bide-a-Wee Mouse Home has sent the orphan mouse, Nibbles, to spend Thanksgiving with Jerry. But Jerry's cupboard is bare, and Nibbles is always hungry. They start by raiding Tom's milk ... See full summary »
Directors: Joseph Barbera, William Hanna | Star: William Hanna
Votes: 1,974
48. Bimbo's Initiation (1931)
Not Rated | 6 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Bimbo the dog is initiated into a secret society in a sadistic 'fun house'; then Betty Boop (with dog's ears) takes a hand.
Directors: Dave Fleischer, Grim Natwick | Stars: Margie Hines, Billy Murray, William Pennell, Mae Questel
Votes: 1,703
49. Rejected (2000)
Unrated | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A hilarious collection of animated television commercials that were rejected because of their creator's failing grip on sanity.
Director: Don Hertzfeldt | Stars: Robert May, Jennifer Nyholm, Don Hertzfeldt
Votes: 8,875
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