Program 116
"Cartoon Classics"

MUSIC: Tobias, Mencher and Cantor: Merrie Melodies Main Title Music, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 1] [0:35]

Recognize that melody? It is the main title music for Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoons such as “Bugs Bunny.” The tune is called Merrily We Roll Along. It was written by Charles Tobias, Murray Mencher and Eddie Cantor.

Welcome to Compact Discoveries. I’m your guide, Fred Flaxman, and our theme for the next hour is “Cartoon Classics” -- classical music as used in Bugs Bunny cartoons.

When I was growing up, I remember learning to love classical music through the classical music theme music used by radio and early television programs. such as The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. But I also went to the movies, of course, and in those days animated cartoons were always part of the double feature deal offered paying customers at our local movie house.

So, in effect, one of my classical music appreciation teachers was a rabbit named “Bugs Bunny.” And here is how he taught me to love the music of Rossini as used in “The Rabbit of Seville” in 1950, when I was 10.

MUSIC: Stalling/Rossini: The Rabbit of Seville, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 7] [6:15]

Filmscore to The Rabbit of Seville, the 1950 “Bugs Bunny” cartoon. The music was orchestrated by Carl W. Stalling from the original music of Gioacchino Rossini. The score also included music from “Madrid” by L.E. DeFrancesco, J. Danielson, and F. Vimont, and “Merrily We Roll Along” by Charles Tobias, Murray Mancher and Eddie Cantor. Mel Blanc was the voice of Bugs Bunny and Arthur Q. Bryan voiced Elmer Fudd.

This was a cut from the 1991 Warner Bros. compact disc called “Bugs Bunny on Broadway,” with newly recorded material by the Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty.

Before we go any further with this theme, let me tell you a bit about how this CD came about. George Daugherty was the creator and producer as well as the conductor of this dream to present new prints of these cartoons in a theater setting, accompanied by the original orchestrations by Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn. The world premiere took place at the San Diego Civic Theater on June 16, 1990, with a Broadway, New York City, premiere following on October 3rd at the Gershwin Theatre. The orchestra consisted of 50 musicians, as had been the case for the original films.

The CD program notes are by Chuck Jones, who was the animation director for several of these cartoons. He writes that the big screen presentation of these animated shorts provided many people in the audience with their first opportunity to see these films as they were intended, rather than on a little

TV picture tube. As he put it, it isn’t only “Lawrence of Arabia” who looks terribly diminished on a 17-inch screen: so does Bugs Bunny.

O.K. Let’s move on to the music of cartoon number two. It is called “High Note,” and you’ll probably recognize the use of Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz in this score.

MUSIC: Milton J. Franklyn / Johann Strauss: filmscore to High Note, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 3] [6:32]

The filmscore to the Warner Brothers “Bugs Bunny” cartoon called “High Note.” The music was arranged by Milton J. Franklyn, using “The Blue Danube Waltz” by Johann Strauss and “The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down” by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin.

You are listening to Compact Discoveries. I’m your guide, Fred Flaxman, and this hour is devoted to “Cartoon Classics,” thanks to a Warner Brothers compact disc called “Bugs Bunny on Broadway,” which was generously supplied for this program by ArkivMusic.com.

Next, “Baton Bunny,” a 1959 “Bugs Bunny” cartoon with a filmscore by Milton J. Franklyn, based on music by Franz Von Suppé.

MUSIC: Milton J. Franklyn / Franz Von Suppé: filmscore for Baton Bunny, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 5] [4:06]

Milton J. Franklyn’s filmscore, with help from Franz Von Suppé, for the 1959 Bugs Bunny cartoon called “Baton Bunny.” You heard the 1991 Warner records release of the 1990 New York presentation of “Bugs Bunny on Broadway.” George Daugherty conducted the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra.

Here, by way of comparison, is how Franz Von Suppé wrote the original overture, which was called Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna.

MUSIC: Von Suppé: Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna Overture, performed by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Charles Dutoit [London 414 408-2, track 3] [8:29]

Franz Von Suppé’s overture, Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna. The performance was by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Charles Dutoit.

Here’s a little bit more Franz Von Suppé now from his Beautiful Galathea Overture as used in the Bugs Bunny cartoon called “Long Haired Hare.”

MUSIC: Carl W. Stalling’s arrangement of Franz Von Suppé’s the Beautiful Galathea Overture as used in the filmscore for Long Haired Hare, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 8] [0:51]

The Beautiful Galathea Overture by Franz Von Suppé, as used in the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon called “Long Haired Hare.” George Daughtery conducted the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra.

“Long-Haired Hare” also included the music of Wagner, Donizetti and Rossini, among others.

MUSIC: Carl W. Stalling’s filmscore for Long Haired Hare, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 10] [7:33]

Carl W. Stalling’s filmscore for the 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon, Long-Haired Hare. The score included music by Wagner, Donizetti, Rossini and Von Suppé, among other classical composers. It also included “The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down” by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin; “A Rainy Night in Rio” by Leo Robin and Arthur Schwartz; and “When Yuba Plays the Rhumba on the Tuba” by Herman Hupfeld.

You are listening to Compact Discoveries. I’m your guide, Fred Flaxman. I’m devoting this hour to “Cartoon Classics.”

[optional break not included in the total timing of the hour]

The filmscore for the 1943 cartoon called “A Corny Concerto” was also by Carl W. Stalling. As you’ll hear, he made use of the music of Tchaikovsky and Johann Strauss.

MUSIC: Carl W. Stalling: filmscore for A Corny Concerto, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 9] [6:50]


The music of Tchaikovsky and Johann Strauss as used by Carl W. Stalling in his filmscore to the Warner Brothers cartoon called “A Corny Concerto.”

You are listening to “Cartoon Classics” on Compact Discoveries. I’m your guide, Fred Flaxman. The cartoon classics that we are listening to in this hour all come from the same Warner Brothers CD called “Bugs Bunny on Broadway.” The CD was the direct result of the presentation of these cartoons in the Gershwin Theatre in New York in 1990. In that presentation the cartoon screenings were accompanied by the 50-piece Warner Brothers Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty, who was the creator and producer of the event as well as the conductor. It was his vision to present new prints of these cartoons in a theater setting, accompanied by the original orchestrations by Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn.

As I mentioned earlier, perhaps before you tuned in, the big screen presentation of these animated shorts provided many people in the audience with their first opportunity to see these films as they were intended, rather than on a little TV picture tube. Daugherty and animation director Chuck Jones felt strongly that it isn’t only “Lawrence of Arabia” who looks terribly diminished on a 17-inch screen: so does Bugs Bunny.

Milton J. Franklyn put together the filmscore for the 1957 Bugs Bunny cartoon called “What’s Opera, Doc?” He made good use of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser.

MUSIC: Milton J. Franklyn’s filmscore for What’s Opera, Doc?, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 11] [6:54]

Milton J. Franklyn’s filmscore for the 1957 Bugs Bunny cartoon, “What’s Opera, Doc?” He made use of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser.

The theme for this hour of Compact Discoveries was “Cartoon Classics.” I’d like to thank ArkivMusic.com for supplying the recording of “Bugs Bunny on Broadway” which contains all the cartoon filmscores I used as well as some that I didn’t have time for. Thanks, also, to Jerry Saval for suggesting the theme.

I’m Fred Flaxman hoping that you enjoyed these selections and that you’ll let me hear from you about this or other Compact Discoveries programs. I can be reached through the Compact Discoveries website: www.compactdiscoveries.com. The website is the place to go for complete information on these programs, including scripts with playlists. You’ll also find there a whole bunch of Compact Discoveries articles, a list of public radio stations carrying the program, links to those stations’ websites, and listener reaction. The website is also the place to visit to provide your ideas for themes for future programs.

Compact Discoveries is distributed internationally by the Public Radio Exchange, and Compact Discoveries programs can be streamed on demand at their website: www.prx.org. This program was produced in Weaverville, North Carolina. It was made possible by the financial support of members of public radio station WXEL-FM, West Palm Beach, Florida.

MUSIC: Tobias, Mencher and Cantor: “Merrily We Roll Along” Merrie Melodies Closing Theme, performed by the Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty [Warner Bros. 9 26494-2, track 12] [0:26]

ANNOUNCER: Compact Discoveries is made possible in part by Story Books, publishers of The Timeless Tales of Reginald Bretnor, selected and edited by Fred Flaxman. Samples and ordering available at bretnor dot com, b-r-e-t-n-o-r dot com.... and by... Educate Yourself for Tomorrow, an on-line guide to 37 different Liberal Arts courses for personal development, including “Mozart and the Evolution of Western Music.” On the web at onlinehumanities.com.

PROGRAM ENDS AT 57:00