CarTOOns on My Brain TOO.

My thoughts actually would have fit well as a response to Claires, but I realized my response was heading in another direction, more than responding to hers (although I think what she has to say is right on the mark).

Recently I, like Claire, was watching a DVD when I realized some musical innovation what was going on, though mine is less technologically oriented.  I was watching the first season of Animaniacs and besides the fact that I LOVE that show, I found myself paying attention to the clever use of music than I ever had before.

Example time:

I found a few links on youtube that may be interesting to consider.  Honestly, pretty much ever segment of every show had something Ivesian about the music, but I'll focus in these examples.

A. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAmerpKdt58

0:00- Here the cartoon opens with the children's song "I May Never March in the Infantry" (also sometimes sung with the words "Great Big Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts") preluding the context of the cartoon (a schoolroom).  This tune reappears many times throughout the cartoon.

1:58- After the prologue, another children's song, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" underscores the establishing shot of the studio schoolhouse.  

2:45- At this point, the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister, Dot) have broken into song, in which they mention learning the alphabet.  Not surprisingly, the music reference a motive from the ABC song.

3:04- The teacher announces that they will begin class by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and if one listens carefully, one can hear the beginning of "America."

3:52- The next scene begins with "Classroom Rules" written on the blackboard, at the same time one hears "Twinkle, Twinkle" again, but now in minor, which segues back into "I May Never March."

4:25- The Warners explain that they cannot show their homework because their dog ate it.  The camera pans to who one of them devouring some paper, to the tune of "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"

4:40- A pun on the phrase "corporal punishment" leads to music that may reference to the George M Cohan's 1917 song "Over There."

6:18- "It's time for a pop quiz," announces the teacher.  Dot blindfolds Yakko and places two soft drinks in front of him.  Underneath, one hears "How Dry I Am."  (Also, this is further proof that "pop" is an appropriate word for soft drinks, just as we northerners knew all along.)  Immediately following this pun is a reference to Ray Charles's old Pepsi commercials.

B.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D6JVLE4l90

0:00- Taps into the sound-scape typical of cowboy songs.

1:25- After the discovery of gold, one hears prospectors race into the territory with "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain."  Within a few seconds, a small town is erected while one hears "There's No Place Like Home."

1:43- The miner who will be the victim of the Warner Bros. and Sister in this cartoon appears, chipping away at a mountain, underscored my "My Darlin' Clementine."

2:03- The Warners have meanwhile accumulated a massive pile of gold, which, when shown, is accompanied by "We're in the Money," an old Looney Toons favorite.

2:50- another reference to an old tune, which I know I've heard before, but I can't remember the name.

3:24- "How Dry I Am" as the scene opens foreshadows what is to come.  The miner, realized how hot it is, is tempted by the Warner's offer of lemonade.

4:24- "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" plays during a running gag.

6:07- Mountain of gold="We're in the Money."  The miner's delighted cries of "Gold! Gold!"  bring the gold rush over to him, while the irony of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" plays underneath.

6:57- One last reference to "We're in the Money" as the Warners outwit the miner.

I'm sure there are references in these that I have missed.  And I know that there are other segments I've seen that have a much richer use of referential material, but, alas, I am shackled by youtube.

If you like more obvious, there references to Sound of Music, The Mikado, and Indiana Jones here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29GfPnFULBY

Of course there are also the more famous segments from the show, like the U.S. Presidents song to the tune of the William Tell Overture; The States and Capitals song to the tune of "Do Your Ears Hang Low"; and the Planets Song to the tune of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

Anyway, that was fun for me, and interesting to see what I could identify when I listened.  Some cartoons aren't so mindless after all.