Hello, October! Sam’s Back, and His First New Short Is a Stunner – Watch!

Michael Dougherty has released the first short film in his month-long Sam: The Soul of Halloween celebration, coinciding with today’s launch of Sam’s official website. And it’s a stunner.

At less than a minute, the short is a gorgeous, triumphant celebration of October. Sam sits in a graveyard holding a glowing pumpkin as ghosts rise from the graves around him. There’s a joyous smile on his face, while “Dead Hearts” by Dead Man’s Bones soothes us into fall.

It looks like old, classic Disney animation, and it warms my heart. What a perfect way to kick off this event and the return of Sam.

Watch the first short below.

Dougherty directs, with Breehn Burns serving as animation director. Burns and Ye Aung handle the animation, with character designs by Rory Dise and Aung, who also created the backgrounds. Executive producers are Burns, Dougherty, Evan Gorski, and Curtis Waugh.

As we detailed in yesterday’s coverage, Sam: The Soul of Halloween brings new shorts, artwork, artist collaborations, and merchandise throughout October and through Halloween. Dougherty has invited artists and filmmakers to interpret Sam through their own styles, returning to the character’s original animated incarnation while giving him room to explore new worlds.

This means a lot to me. I caught Trick ’r Treat at an early test screening when I lived in Los Angeles, and it blew me away. I knew instantly it was going to become a cult classic. Watching the studio pull the rug out from under it was heartbreaking, but the movie eventually found the audience it deserved. Now Sam has a whole new collection of films ahead of him.