#carlstalling

The historic first Halloween “talkie” cartoon of Disney Studios, Skeleton Dance, directed by Ub Iwerks with musical direction by Carl Stalling, released in 1929.

Although it is not mentioned much, cartoons are among the first places where a person meets classical music. It is possible that we have met classical music either through our family or through cartoons. When we hear classical music somewhere, it surely feels familiar from somewhere. Even if we don't know the name, definitely at least one of them has had a connotation before. So why? How and why does cartoons merge with music?

One of these reasons is the natural development of animation. Before the golden age when synchronous techniques were developed, the best results were obtained with classical music. During the silent cinema period, there were small orchestras in the halls. The animated film was sent silently, while the orchestra was playing live on the film projected on the screen. It can also be called sound design or musical dubbing. All this is thanks to Carl Stalling, who ensures that the dance between music and line is in complete harmony.

Carl Stalling is considered the father of music in cartoons. It is also one of the most prolific names in animation history. He meets young Walt Disney while conducting an orchestra that accompanies movies to live music. It was quite interesting to me when I first read this information. When I think of today's cinema, it is very strange and surprising that there was a mini orchestra accompanying the film in the past and Stalling was also in it. They become good friends and the golden age of animation and classical music begins.

Stalling becomes the first music director of Disney studios. He makes the soundtrack for 19 of Disney's top 20 movies. The most important reason Stalling is a very important figure is that he is the person who put forward the idea of ​​making cartoons suitable for music. Until then, while making music according to the action, the whole method is reversed and a new era begins in cartoon music. This idea actually does not fit into mind. It is known that music is usually arranged and added after a job. I always knew it like that. This idea is pretty crazy, but it obviously worked.

Classical music plays the leading role in series such as Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes. All animation studios are starting to see that this method is famous and begin to use it. If you've watched cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Tweety or Speedy Gonzales, you're familiar with how the flow of music changes according to the action. Indeed, it seems like a whole movie is based on music.

Disney's Fantasia (1940) is the peak period of classical music used in cartoons and animations. While some episodes come to life with abstract drawings, some episodes have comic stories. 8 different classical works are interpreted and visualized in 8 different sections. Joint works are also carried out with names such as Salvador Dali. While Disney plans to bring Fantasia to life as a combination of music and cartoons in episodes, this plan is interrupted by the intervention of World War II.

Stalling does not only design original music, but also sound effects made with instruments. For example, the subtleties such as the double bass we hear at every step of a character walking on tiptoe always belong to Stalling.

Thanks to my interest in cartoons and animations, I got this information. If classical music did not exist, all of these films would have been left unfinished, and most of them would not even exist. The effects, funny and rapid transitions that exist in most of the cartoons we watched in our childhood, rise and fall in a flash; the music that changes rhythm according to the action is engraved in our minds thanks to these two men. Tom and Jerry's disputes, Bugs Bunny's mischief, Speedy Gonzalez's running, Slyvester and Tweety's chases all come to life with the instrument.

Music from: Speedy Gonzales (1955) and Two Crows From Tacos (1956).