''A Symposium on Popular Songs'' is a special cartoon featurette made by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

in 1962. It features songs that were written by the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades in ...

, with music arrangements by Tutti Camarata. The Shermans also co-wrote the screenplay but are not credited for this. Host Ludwig Von Drake invites his audience into his mansion where he tells all about

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

through the years, introducing several songs illustrated with

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

photography. The film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

Songs

"The Rutabaga Rag"

"The Rutabaga Rag," performed by Paul Frees as Ludwig Von Drake, was not written as a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

, but rather as an authentic ragtime song.Disney Rarities - Audio Commentary for ''A Symposium on Popular Songs'' with Leonard Maltin and Richard M. Sherman, 2005 In the course of the film's narration, Von Drake claims to have invented ragtime music and, specifically, this song. During the song, a variety of stop-motion animated vegetables with faces appear and dance to the song.

"Charleston Charlie"

:"Charleston Charlie", performed by Betty Boopie Doop (

Gloria Wood Gloria Wood (September 8, 1923 – March 4, 1995) was an American singer and voice actress. Her rare voice was in the four- octave range. She was able to imitate other voices. Background and career Born in Medford, Massachusetts in 1923, her fa ...

), makes direct reference to the singing style exemplified by Helen Kane in her flapper era iconic song "

He's So Unusual "He's So Unusual" is a song from the late 1920s performed by Helen Kane, who was the inspiration for the Betty Boop character. The song was written by Al Sherman, Al Lewis and Abner Silver. Released on June 14, 1929, "He's So Unusual" was featur ...

", which was co-written by the Sherman Brothers'

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

songwriting father,

Al Sherman Avrum Sherman (September 7, 1897 – September 16, 1973), pen name Al Sherman, was a Russian-American songwriter and composer active during the Tin Pan Alley era in American music history. Some of his most recognizable song titles include: "Yo ...

in 1929. The subject of both songs is a male college student whom the singer desires. "Charleston Charlie" begins with the

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

-esque lyric "Boop boop be doop". In the film, Ludwig Von Drake claims he wrote the song when traveling below the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...

. "Mr. Dixon" approached Drake and asked him to put "

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

" on the map. For this reason, he wrote a song originally entitled, "Louisville Ludwig," but later changed the name to "Charleston Charlie" in order to protect the innocent, namely himself.

"Although I Dropped $100,000"

Also known as "Although I Dropped a Hundred Thousand in the Market, Baby (I Found a Million Dollars in Your Smile)", and performed by Rah, Rah Rudy (Frees) and his Megaphone Boys, this song makes a subtle reference to the singing style exemplified by Ted Lewis in "Wear a Hat with a Silver Lining" which was co-written by the Sherman Brothers' father, Al Sherman. Throughout the spoken middle part of the song, reference is made to numerous

Depression era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

songs including the iconic Al Sherman/ Al Lewis classic "

Now's the Time to Fall in Love "Now's The Time To Fall In Love" is a 1931 song from the Depression era written by Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths Al Sherman and Al Lewis. The song was made popular by Eddie Cantor on his weekly radio show. The song takes a positive attitude toward t ...

", "

Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrellas" is a popular music, popular song. The music was written by Sammy Fain, the lyrics by Irving Kahal and Francis Wheeler. The song was published in 1927 in music, 1927 and was the first collaboration between the Fain / ...

", and " Stormy Weather".

Sherman, Robert B. Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter, best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman. The Sherman brothers produced more motion picture song scores than any ...

'' Walt's Time: from before to beyond''. Chapter 1; "Al's Time", Pages 17, 231. Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998 According to film critic, Leonard Maltin, this song as well as "Charleston Charlie" are homages to Al Sherman and his songs. In the context of the film, Ludwig Von Drake claims he wrote the song and it became all the rage at the beginning of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

"I'm Blue for You, Boo-Boo-Boo-Boo-Boo"

"I'm Blue for You, Boo-Boo-Boo-Boo-Boo", performed by Fosby Crooner (Skip Farrell), is a tribute to

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

's signature

crooning Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...

style. Crooning elements, such as the repetition of "Boo boo boo boo boo", the whistling of the melody, and over-rhyming of the word "heart", are placed throughout the song. Crosby worked with Disney before in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" from ''

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad ''The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions, released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney and James Algar with Ben Sharpsteen as production ...

''. The Sherman Brothers' father,

, wrote several songs which were sung by Bing Crosby in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1970, Robert and Richard Sherman had a chance, in their own right, to work with the legendary Crosby on the made-for-television musical production of ''

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...

''.

"The Boogie Woogie Bakery Man"

"The Boogie Woogie Bakery Man", performed by the Sister Sisters (Betty Allan, Diane Pendleton and Gloria Wood), had a structure and arrangement closely styled after The Andrews Sisters' hit song, " Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". The song makes direct and indirect references to the singing style exemplified by the Andrews Sisters, as well as numerous songs from the

swing era The swing era (also frequently referred to as the big band era) was the period (1933–1947) when big band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. Though this was its most popular period, the music had actually been aroun ...

which was the heyday of their career. The very first line of the song references several swing era songs: "He's my Boogie Woogie Chattanooga Sentimental Oriental Fortune Cookie Bakery Man." The song itself is about an "

oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

" baker of

fortune cookies A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", usually an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese ...

. At the time, the song was written, the use of the term "oriental" was quite common. However, in recent decades, the term has increasingly been seen to be offensive when used to describe an individual from the

far east The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. The Andrews Sisters worked with Disney before in "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet" from Make Mine Music and "Little Toot" from Melody Time. In 1974, twelve years after ''A Symposium on Popular Songs'' was first released, the Sherman Brothers worked with the Andrews Sisters on the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

winning show, ''

Over Here! ''Over Here!'' is a musical with a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt. The original Broadway production was directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch, with scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt a ...

'', which was also an homage to the 1940s swing era music of the day.

"Puppy Love Is Here to Stay"

"Puppy Love Is Here to Stay", performed by Jackie Babalon (Billy Storm) and the Babaloonians, is the penultimate song in the film. With the exception of the "harder-edged" "Rock, Rumble and Roar", it is meant to represent relatively modern music. Although the Sherman Brothers made their name on writing songs much like this one, this song is different in that it partially parodies songs like it, exploring the perceived innocence of Eisenhower's 1950s America. There are references to songs such as "

Blue Moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

" by The Marcels and

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...

's version of "

Puppy Love Puppy love, also known as a crush, is an informal term for feelings of romantic love, often felt during childhood and early adolescence. It is an infatuation usually developed by someone's looks and attractiveness at first sight. Such feelings f ...

"Rock, Rumble and Roar"

"Rock, Rumble and Roar" is the final song from the film and sung by Paul Frees,

, Skip Farrell, Betty Allan, and Diane Pendleton. The song is meant to be the most modern of the songs from the film, and also revisits the six previous songs. This song is a homage to the popular, early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

song, " Shake, Rattle and Roll". It is the second song in the featurette to be sung by Ludwig Von Drake.

Analysis

Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman notes that this film illustrates music history through use of humor, following a formula that the Disney studio had previously used in ''

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'' is a 1953 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and directed by Ward Kimball and Charles A. Nichols. A sequel to the first ''Adventures in Music'' cartoon, the 3-D short '' Melody'' ( ...

'' (1953). In this case Ludwig Von Drake plays the songs which he supposedly helped popularize, covering musical styles from the 1900s decade to the 1960s.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Certain segments of the film use stop motion animation. The technique was unusual for a Disney film, but did not mark the first time the studio used it in a film. It had earlier been used in ''

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...

'' (1959), a well-received animated short. ''Noah's Ark'' had actually been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Lehman finds it remarkable for the time of the film's release, that ''A Symposium'' recognizes African-American music as part of American musical history in the 20th century. Though he notes that

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

as an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

are not mentioned in the film, several of the musical styles used have their roots in musical styles developed by

Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 One of the earliest famous songs introduced by Ludwig in the film is a

piece, a genre which Lehman notes was pioneered by African-American composer

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin ( 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Because of the fame achieved for his ragtime compositions, he was dubbed the "King of Ragtime." During his career, he wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ra ...

.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Among the last and most modern songs showcased in the film are a couple of

numbers, a music genre which has its roots in the African-American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

. Lehman points that in the years preceding the release, rock and roll and its African-American roots were still controversial. The music genre had been derisively described as " nigger music".Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Yet here, not only does Ludwig showcase rock and roll songs. He plays guitar and sings a rock song for the conclusion. An innovative move, since no theatrical star of the time had actually performed as a rock singer.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Lehman finds the film to be part of a trend in the Disney animated studio of using more sympathetic portrayals of African Americans, Africans, and African-American music over time. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Disney animated shorts seemed to associate musicians wearing zoot suit and boogie-woogie , an ancestor of rock and roll, with threatening forces and the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

themselves.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Disney had a long history of portraying animated black characters as buffoons and/or servants. He cites as a late example the portrayal of indigenous Africans in ''

Social Lion ''Social Lion'' is a Walt Disney-produced animated short film directed by Jack Kinney John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. Kinney is ...

'' (1954). They were depicted as "sleepy-eyed" people, wearing

grass skirt A grass skirt is a costume and garment made with layers of plant fibres such as grasses and leaves that is fastened at the waistline. Pacific Grass skirts were introduced to Hawaii by immigrants from the Gilbert Islands around the 1870s to 1880s a ...

s, and employed as servants of

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

hunters.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 A few years later, in '' Paul Bunyan'' (1958), Disney gave a more sympathetic portrayal of a black character. In a brief tribute to other American folk heroes besides Paul Bunyan himself, the film depicted among them a black man: John Henry. The Disney staff gave Henry a muscular physique and treated him as a hero. Though Lehman notes that the film never depicted Henry's face, which was hidden between his arms.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Disney was apparently becoming more

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

with time and breaking with the traditions of stereotypical portrayal of blacks in animation.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29 Lehman notes that Disney's newfound ethnic sensitivity, when it came to African American culture, did not extend to the portrayal of

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

. The stop-motion scenes of ''A Symposium'' included a single Asian character: a crudely constructed puppet with slanty eyes.Lehman (2007), p. 28-29

Home media

The short was released on DVD on December 6, 2005, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts: 1920s–1960s''.

Sources

References

External links

* *
A Symposium On Popular Songs
a
The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symposium On Popular Songs, A 1962 films 1962 animated films 1960s educational films 1962 musical films Animated musical films 1960s Disney animated short films Disney educational films American musical documentary films Doo-wop Animated films about music and musicians Films directed by Bill Justice Films produced by Walt Disney Films using stop-motion animation Musicals by the Sherman Brothers Ragtime films 1960s English-language films