Daniel Goldmark
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236172
- eISBN:
- 9780520941205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236172.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Before interest in Carl Stalling's music surged in the late 1980s, most of the critical writing on music and cartoons focused on Scott Bradley. During his almost twenty-five years of composing ...
More
Before interest in Carl Stalling's music surged in the late 1980s, most of the critical writing on music and cartoons focused on Scott Bradley. During his almost twenty-five years of composing cartoons for MGM (1934–1957), Bradley not only made a name for himself as a composer but also developed a unique composing style that became highly influential in his own time and afterward. Though the stories of the MGM cartoons are often quite generic, they have a unique signature: violent action sequences combined with Bradley's illustrative approach to musical scoring. The penchant for extreme cartoon violence appears to have originated at the MGM studio during a time that America was involved in an unprecedented global conflict. Bradley took great pride in composing music for animated films, expressing high hopes for the future of cartoon music and of animation in general, and, as the sole composer for one of the major Hollywood animation studios, believed he could bring about change in his small corner of the industry.Less
Before interest in Carl Stalling's music surged in the late 1980s, most of the critical writing on music and cartoons focused on Scott Bradley. During his almost twenty-five years of composing cartoons for MGM (1934–1957), Bradley not only made a name for himself as a composer but also developed a unique composing style that became highly influential in his own time and afterward. Though the stories of the MGM cartoons are often quite generic, they have a unique signature: violent action sequences combined with Bradley's illustrative approach to musical scoring. The penchant for extreme cartoon violence appears to have originated at the MGM studio during a time that America was involved in an unprecedented global conflict. Bradley took great pride in composing music for animated films, expressing high hopes for the future of cartoon music and of animation in general, and, as the sole composer for one of the major Hollywood animation studios, believed he could bring about change in his small corner of the industry.
Daniel Goldmark
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236172
- eISBN:
- 9780520941205
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236172.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This book presents an examination of music written for Hollywood animated cartoons of the 1930s through the 1950s. Enormous creative effort went into setting cartoons to music, and this effort shaped ...
More
This book presents an examination of music written for Hollywood animated cartoons of the 1930s through the 1950s. Enormous creative effort went into setting cartoons to music, and this effort shaped the characters and stories that have become embedded in American culture. Focusing on classical music, opera, and jazz, the book considers the genre and compositional style of cartoons produced by major Hollywood animation studios, including Warner Bros., MGM, Lantz, and the Fleischer studios. It discusses several well-known cartoons in detail, including What's Opera, Doc?, the 1957 Warner Bros. parody of Wagner and opera that is one of the most popular cartoons ever created. The book pays particular attention to the work of Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley, arguably the two most influential composers of music for theatrical cartoons. Though their musical backgrounds and approaches to scoring differed greatly, Stalling and Bradley together established a unique sound for animated comedies that has not changed in more than seventy years. Using a range of sources including cue sheets, scores, informal interviews, and articles from hard-to-find journals, the book evaluates how music works in an animated universe. Reminding readers of the larger context in which films are produced and viewed, it looks at how studios employed culturally charged music to inspire their stories, and explores the degree to which composers integrated stylistic elements of jazz and the classics into their scores.Less
This book presents an examination of music written for Hollywood animated cartoons of the 1930s through the 1950s. Enormous creative effort went into setting cartoons to music, and this effort shaped the characters and stories that have become embedded in American culture. Focusing on classical music, opera, and jazz, the book considers the genre and compositional style of cartoons produced by major Hollywood animation studios, including Warner Bros., MGM, Lantz, and the Fleischer studios. It discusses several well-known cartoons in detail, including What's Opera, Doc?, the 1957 Warner Bros. parody of Wagner and opera that is one of the most popular cartoons ever created. The book pays particular attention to the work of Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley, arguably the two most influential composers of music for theatrical cartoons. Though their musical backgrounds and approaches to scoring differed greatly, Stalling and Bradley together established a unique sound for animated comedies that has not changed in more than seventy years. Using a range of sources including cue sheets, scores, informal interviews, and articles from hard-to-find journals, the book evaluates how music works in an animated universe. Reminding readers of the larger context in which films are produced and viewed, it looks at how studios employed culturally charged music to inspire their stories, and explores the degree to which composers integrated stylistic elements of jazz and the classics into their scores.
Daniel Goldmark
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236172
- eISBN:
- 9780520941205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236172.003.0007
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
With the demise of the animation units run by or for major Hollywood companies, the power shifted to independent animation studios that could supply the seemingly insatiable demand for children's ...
More
With the demise of the animation units run by or for major Hollywood companies, the power shifted to independent animation studios that could supply the seemingly insatiable demand for children's television programming. In the 1970s and 1980s, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, DIC, Ruby-Spears, and other film studios paid little attention to (or money for) such luxuries as unique sound effects or original music. At the same time, there was an explosion of cartoons featuring rock bands, including Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Josie and the Pussycats, and Jabberjaw. A renaissance in cartoon production occurred in the late 1980s. Reawakened interest in the now-classic Warner Bros. cartoons led Steven Spielberg to produce Tiny Toon Adventures, based on Warner stars and cartoons. At the same time, networks and cable channels commissioned entirely novel series, including Rugrats, Animaniacs, Batman, and Doug. Moreover, contemporary popular music has become a fundamental element in contemporary cartoons. And, of course, we cannot overlook the road map for cartoon music drawn by Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley some seventy-five years ago.Less
With the demise of the animation units run by or for major Hollywood companies, the power shifted to independent animation studios that could supply the seemingly insatiable demand for children's television programming. In the 1970s and 1980s, Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, DIC, Ruby-Spears, and other film studios paid little attention to (or money for) such luxuries as unique sound effects or original music. At the same time, there was an explosion of cartoons featuring rock bands, including Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, Josie and the Pussycats, and Jabberjaw. A renaissance in cartoon production occurred in the late 1980s. Reawakened interest in the now-classic Warner Bros. cartoons led Steven Spielberg to produce Tiny Toon Adventures, based on Warner stars and cartoons. At the same time, networks and cable channels commissioned entirely novel series, including Rugrats, Animaniacs, Batman, and Doug. Moreover, contemporary popular music has become a fundamental element in contemporary cartoons. And, of course, we cannot overlook the road map for cartoon music drawn by Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley some seventy-five years ago.
Daniel Goldmark
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520236172
- eISBN:
- 9780520941205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520236172.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Cartoons are typically lumped together as a self-contained genre because they happen to have been created through the same process: animation. The medium of animation requires that music for cartoons ...
More
Cartoons are typically lumped together as a self-contained genre because they happen to have been created through the same process: animation. The medium of animation requires that music for cartoons be conceived and constructed differently than traditional feature film music. We can best see these differences by examining two issues: who helped to establish the paradigmatic sound of Hollywood cartoons, and how music was used to enhance and intensify cartoons as a whole. This book presents a set of case studies rather than an all-encompassing history of cartoon music, focusing on two broad ideas: genre and compositional style. It discusses the methods of Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley, who it considers to be the two most influential composers of music for theatrical cartoons, at the one studio where each had the most historical significance. For Bradley, that studio is necessarily MGM; for Stalling, a choice is possible. The book concentrates on Warner Bros., where Stalling came into his own as a composer and employed popular music in his scores.Less
Cartoons are typically lumped together as a self-contained genre because they happen to have been created through the same process: animation. The medium of animation requires that music for cartoons be conceived and constructed differently than traditional feature film music. We can best see these differences by examining two issues: who helped to establish the paradigmatic sound of Hollywood cartoons, and how music was used to enhance and intensify cartoons as a whole. This book presents a set of case studies rather than an all-encompassing history of cartoon music, focusing on two broad ideas: genre and compositional style. It discusses the methods of Carl Stalling and Scott Bradley, who it considers to be the two most influential composers of music for theatrical cartoons, at the one studio where each had the most historical significance. For Bradley, that studio is necessarily MGM; for Stalling, a choice is possible. The book concentrates on Warner Bros., where Stalling came into his own as a composer and employed popular music in his scores.
Yanick Lahens
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9781846317538
- eISBN:
- 9781846317200
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/UPO9781846317200.014
- Subject:
- Literature, World Literature
This chapter presents a short piece of fiction, ‘An American Story’ by the Haitian author Yanick Lahens. It tells of a journey made by the Haitian narrator and her American companion, Scott Bradley, ...
More
This chapter presents a short piece of fiction, ‘An American Story’ by the Haitian author Yanick Lahens. It tells of a journey made by the Haitian narrator and her American companion, Scott Bradley, through the Southern United States. Her experiences in the South lead her to reflect on Haiti's experience of dictatorship, to find some consolation in Haitian history and the banishment of white rule from her country.Less
This chapter presents a short piece of fiction, ‘An American Story’ by the Haitian author Yanick Lahens. It tells of a journey made by the Haitian narrator and her American companion, Scott Bradley, through the Southern United States. Her experiences in the South lead her to reflect on Haiti's experience of dictatorship, to find some consolation in Haitian history and the banishment of white rule from her country.