Mechanical Music Digest  Archives
You Are Not Logged In Login/Get New Account
Please Log In. Accounts are free!
Logged In users are granted additional features including a more current version of the Archives and a simplified process for submitting articles.
Home Archives Calendar Gallery Store Links Info

End-of-Year Fundraising Drive In Progress. Please visit our home page to see this and other announcements: https://www.mmdigest.com     Thank you. --Jody

MMD > Archives > November 2001 > 2001.11.21 > 05Prev  Next


Mechanical Music in Animated Cartoons
By Karl Ellison

I usually wake up to a cartoon when the TV comes on at 4:15 AM
each day; for example, a Disney "Silly Symphonies" cartoon.

In "The Three Kittens" (1935) three kittens are abandoned in a
snowstorm and seek refuge in an upscale house where they proceed to
do mischief.  The kittens, of course, get onto a grand piano that
contains a Duo-Art-ish player mechanism.  One of them hits the start
lever which began a jazzed-up version of a predictable Zez Confrey
favorite.

What instantly made me snap into focus was that the roll leader looked
realistic (but not Duo-Art): the roll label, intro stencil, preset and
music perforations that followed the music correctly throughout the
1-minute scene.  Now that's attention to detail!  It all ends when the
Hattie McDaniel style maid catches them "messin' up d' house" and says
"Out youse go!"

An aside: In my opinion this series of films has the best quality
animation ever done; the director consistently goes out of his way to
make background and foreground objects play in pseudo 3-D perspective
with the subject.  The color use and shading is nothing you'd see in
the computer-generated violent rubbish that kids think nothing of
today.

Karl Ellison


(Message sent Wed 21 Nov 2001, 10:27:37 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Animated, Cartoons, Mechanical, Music

Home    Archives    Calendar    Gallery    Store    Links    Info   


Enter text below to search the MMD Website with Google



CONTACT FORM: Click HERE to write to the editor, or to post a message about Mechanical Musical Instruments to the MMD

Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are those of the individual authors and may not represent those of the editors. Compilation copyright 1995-2024 by Jody Kravitz.

Please read our Republication Policy before copying information from or creating links to this web site.

Click HERE to contact the webmaster regarding problems with the website.

Please support publication of the MMD by donating online

Please Support Publication of the MMD with your Generous Donation

Pay via PayPal

No PayPal account required

                                     
Translate This Page