Classical Toons
We recently stumbled upon a brilliant Twitter thread examining all the interesting ways some favorites of the classical music repertoire have been used in vintage cartoons – let us know if you recognized these famous pieces!
I don’t know who can listen to the famous opera “The Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini without thinking of Bugs Bunny. The way director Chuck Jones synchronizes the slapstick action to the soundtrack is flat-out masterful. pic.twitter.com/t58QbRsmmw
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021
You may not know Franz Schubert’s “Der Erlkönig” by name, you’ll know it when you hear it, thanks to Looney Tunes cartoons. It was written about a supernatural king of the fairies, but WB composer Carl Stalling would always pull it out to underscore a villain’s entrance. pic.twitter.com/BBLcZG04eE
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021
“The Light Cavalry Overture” by Austrian composer Franz von Suppé was most memorably used in the Mickey Mouse short SYMPHONY HOUR, probably Disney’s funniest cartoon ever, where Goofy breaks all the instruments and the orchestra has to play a wacky Spike Jones-esque rendition. pic.twitter.com/Wr73FMzVYT
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021
Bugs Bunny famously conducted Franz von Suppé’s “Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna” in the classic BATON BUNNY. This cartoon has been screened with live orchestral accompaniment on Broadway, at the Hollywood Bowl, and the Royal Festival Hall for the royal family. pic.twitter.com/8BAe7JgO8b
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021
A CORNY CONCERTO, Bob Clampett’s hilarious spoof of Disney’s FANTASIA, brilliantly sets a violent Bugs Bunny chase to Johann Strauss’s peaceful “Tales from the Vienna Woods.” You can make any classical piece better by adding the “b-b-b-b-b” noise. pic.twitter.com/QxHovunpUM
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021
“Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss served as the entire basis for the 1950 MGM short TOM AND JERRY IN THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL. As with several Bugs Bunny shorts, this film later was actually screened at the Hollywood Bowl, with live orchestrations to go with it. pic.twitter.com/gJYRQznPR4
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) March 1, 2021
Check out the full thread on Twitter!
These are GREAT! Thanks! The perfect way to break up an afternoon.
Gary L. Good GoodGaryL@aol.com 321-331-1344
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of course, when you’re a little kid, you don’t realize that the music in the cartoons you’re watching (and learning to love) is classical music. How sneaky! How absolutely wonderful to be able to think of classical music not only in ‘serious’ terms but in tandem with our fave fun-ish characters.