Artist
Animaniacs > S

Animaniacs was a very musical cartoon, with every episode featuring at least one original score. The idea for an original musical score in every episode came from Steven Spielberg. Animaniacs used a 35-piece orchestra, and was scored by a team of composers, led by supervising composer Richard Stone. The composing team included Steve and Julie Bernstein, Carl Johnson, Gordon Goodwin and Tim Kelly. The use of the large orchestra in modern Warner Br ... os. animation began with Animaniacs predecessor, Tiny Toon Adventures, but Spielberg pushed for its use even more in Animaniacs. Although the outcome was a very expensive show to produce, "the sound sets us apart from everyone else in animation," said Jean MacCurdy, the executive in charge of production for the series. Assistant composers Steve and Julie Bernstein said that not only was the Animaniacs music written in the same style as that of Looney Tunes composer Carl Stalling, but that the music used the same studio and piano that Carl Stalling used. Senior producer Tom Ruegger said that writers Randy Rogel, Nicholas Hollander, and Deanna Oliver wrote "a lot of music" for the series. Animaniacs had a variety of music types. Many Animaniacs songs were parodies of classical or folk music with educational lyrics, such as "Wakko's America", which listed all the states in the U.S. and their capitals to the tune of Turkey in the Straw. Another song, titled "The Presidents", named every US president (up to Bill Clinton, due to production date) to the tune of the William Tell Overture (with a very brief usage of the tune Dixie). Another song had Yakko listing the "Nations of the World" to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance. Non-educational songs included parodies, such as the segment "Slippin' on the Ice", a parody of "Singin' in the Rain". Most of the groups of characters even had their own theme songs for their segment on the show. The Animaniacs series theme song, performed by the Warners, was a very important part of the show. In the series' first season, the theme won an Emmy Award for best song. Richard Stone composed the music for the title sequence and Tom Ruegger wrote the lyrics. Several Animaniacs albums and Sing-along VHS tapes were released, including the CDs Animaniacs, Yakko's World, and Variety Pack, and the tape Animaniacs Sing-Along: Yakko's World. See more [+]