Tunes for ‘toons

Daniel Goldmark had it pretty tough growing up. He wasn’t allowed to watch television during the week. No exceptions. Not even for the “MASH” finale.

Instead, Goldmark did productive things such as read books and practice the piano, clarinet and saxophone. Hey, don’t hold it against him, his parents made him. But Goldmark made the most of his TV time on weekends, soaking in hours of Popeye, Bugs Bunny and “Tom and Jerry.”

Years later, while studying music at the University of California Riverside, he heard Schubert’s “Erlkonig” and realized it had a familiar ring – it was the menacing theme music used to introduce Yosemite Sam when he showed up in a cartoon, usually bursting through saloon doors.

Goldmark learned that composer Carl Stalling used “Erlkonig” for bad guys back in the silent film era and continued the practice at Warner Bros. with Yosemite Sam. Suddenly, Goldmark was hooked on cartoon music.

“I knew it wasn’t just me,” Goldmark said. “I’ve had literally dozens of people come up to me and say, ‘I know this song from cartoons,’ or ‘I love it when Bugs is massaging Elmer’s head to The Barber of Seville.’ “

The 32-year-old has written two books about the subject, the latest called “Tunes for ‘Toons: Music and the Hollywood Cartoon,” which takes a look at how music is used in cartoons from the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s.

Most people who watched the cartoons back then were familiar with the music, Goldmark said. But a whole generation learned the music from the cartoons.

Goldmark says he doesn’t think cartoons are “where people should learn Wagner.” Still, he offered a few of his favorite ‘toon tunes:

“Ride of the Valkyries”

Composer: Richard Wagner

Cartoon: “What’s Opera, Doc?” Warner Bros., 1957

How the music is used: Elmer Fudd warbles “Kill the Wabbit” to the Wagner tune in this opera spoof. The cartoon contains several Wagner pieces, but Fudd’s singing of “Ride of the Valkyries” is the most memorable.

Goldmark says: “It’s such an overly dramatic depiction of this very, very old and very accepted conflict. It’s not just Elmer chases Bugs. It’s now Elmer chases Bugs on a grand romantic scale.”

Hear it: http://asap.ap.org/data/audio/ 20051024145047-7204.mp3

“St. James Infirmary,” early blues standard

Musician: Cab Calloway

Cartoon: Betty Boop in “Snow White,” Fleischer Studio, 1933

How the music is used: Live action footage of Calloway was traced as Koko the Clown in a process known as rotoscoping. Koko is turned into a ghost by the witch as he performs the tune.

Goldmark says: “We have Cab Calloway’s performance preserved in audio form and somewhat in visual form as well. We can see all of his dance motions, his hand motions. It’s a wonderful performance.”

See it: http://www.archive.org/ details/bb_snow_white

“William Tell Overture”

Composer: Gioacchino Rossini

Cartoon: “Bugs Bunny Rides Again,” Warner Bros., 1948

How the music is used: The piece, which became familiar as “The Lone Ranger” theme, serves as the opening music and also is used in a chase scene.

Goldmark says: “It was a huge cultural phenomenon. The meaning of the piece changed. It was no longer an opera about a Swiss freedom fighter, it became the music that people associate with cowboys. It’s a joke unto itself almost.”

Hear it: http://www.discoverynet.com/ ~ajsnead/theme/midi/ cbillwilltel.mid

“Second Hungarian Rhapsody”

Composer: Franz Liszt

Cartoon: “The Cat Concerto,” MGM, 1947

How the music is used: Tom is a concert pianist who awakens an annoyed Jerry sleeping in the piano. Warner Bros. did a similar cartoon with the tune in “Rhapsody Rabbit” with Bugs Bunny.

Goldmark says: “They use the music as a way of staging all the gags. Everything is totally tied to the music. This piece has been focused on in cartoons more than any other piece of classical music.”

“Powerhouse”

Composer: Raymond Scott

Cartoon: “Falling Hare,” Warner Bros., 1943

How the music is used: A gremlin hits bugs in the head with a wrench as he boards a plane headed for disaster.

Goldmark says: “In the cartoons, Stalling always uses ‘Powerhouse’ in a scene where technology runs amok or machines are not responding like they’re supposed to. It’s a feeling of forward motion like a runaway train.”

See it: http://www.archive.org/ details/merry_melodies_ falling_hare

“It Had to Be You”

Musician: Frank Sinatra

Cartoon: “Book Revue,” Warner Bros., 1946

How the music is used: As book titles come alive at night in a bookstore in this musical revue, Sinatra croons from the cover of “A Voice in the Wilderness” causing the women on the book jacket of “Little Women” to faint. The music of Danny Kaye, Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey also is featured.

Goldmark says: “All the songs in there are songs that Warner Bros. owned or had the rights to. Almost all the Warner Bros. cartoons focus on the music they owned.”

Hear it: http://asap.ap.org/data/audio/ 20051024145049-7203.mp3