Have you seen the Walt Disney-directed animated short "The Skeleton Dance?" A part of Disney's "Silly Symphony" series, the short revolves around four human skeletons dancing merrily in a graveyard, imitating the allegorical Dance of Death (also known as danse macabre). It isn't particularly spooky, but it is a fun, whimsical piece of animation that is still regarded with a sense of nostalgic fondness. However, this 1930 short was not always viewed through such a benign lens. Indeed, "The Skeleton Dance" was banned in Denmark upon its original release, with its subject matter being deemed too ... macabre. This moral stance to justify censorship might seem a bit silly in hindsight, as animated skeletons using bones as a xylophone hardly make for an unsettling premise. Well, in vaguely related news, the short entered the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2025, so you can now enjoy these fine skeletal gentlemen having a gala time to your heart's content.

Censorship in film or associated visual media can come in many forms; some include so-called moral justifications while others are fueled by thinly veiled political agendas. Regional laws also play an integral role in the enforcement of bans, such as the United Kingdom's Disorderly Houses Act (1751), which was often used to categorize public cinema screenings as a potentially morally void activity. The British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) was established in 1912 to curb such unjustified claims, but this also meant adhering to the board's certification rules, which were more arbitrary than today's age-based ratings. However, adherence to certification rules can hold little weight when social outrage brands a film as one deserving censorship, as was the case with Ken Russell's "The Devils" when it was banned in several countries due to its X rating.

But when you think about the 1925 silent horror classic "The Phantom of the Opera," there's little to no similarity between the disturbingly jarring imagery found in some of the more infamous horror films to be banned in several countries (think "Cannibal Holocaust") and this moving saga of doomed romance and violence. Moreover, the legendary Lon Chaney, who plays the titular Phantom haunting the object of his desire throughout the film, delivers a performance so profound that it surpasses the limitations of the silent medium. The complex, isolating pain of a social outcast who gives into brutality when he is denied love brings the layered themes of Gaston Leroux's source novel to vivid life. Why, then, was the film banned in the UK?