''Swing Symphony'' is an American

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

series produced by

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1949 and then from 1950 to 1972, and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures. The studio was originally formed as Universal Carto ...

from 1941 to 1945. The shorts were a more contemporary pastiche on

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Si ...

, and often featured top

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

musicians of the era. The series mainly features a variety of different characters created exclusively for these shorts, although cameos by

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studios, Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures sinc ...

and

Andy Panda Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title ...

do appear in the first cartoon.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit, Oswald Rabbit, and Ozzie) is an animated series, animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short film ...

also made an appearance in one short as well.

Background

Walter Lantz Productions first developed the format with the cartoon '' Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat'', released on March 28, 1941. The short is considered a precursor as it contains many elements seen in the series, such as utilizing a popular swing song at the time. Lantz also produced ''Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company 'B later in September which followed the same formula and would be nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

. The first cartoon that would go under ''Swing Symphony'' wouldn't be released until December of that year. One of the main writers that worked on the series was

Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was sometim ...

, who left

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 1940 and was hired by

Walter Lantz Walter Benjamin Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animat ...

to work on the storyboards for

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

' cartoons. From 1938 to 1940, Hardaway was notably one of the last holdouts to co-direct several

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was part of the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise and featured many of the same characters. Originally running from August 2, 1931, to Septem ...

cartoons that featured lengthy musical sequences. He also supplied his voice for

in 1944 until 1949.

Darrell Calker Darrell Wallace Calker (February 18, 1905 – February 20, 1964) was an American composer and arranger who worked on films and animated cartoons. Early life and education Calker was born in Washington, D.C. to Morris H. and Lugenia E. (Lily) Wallac ...

, who was involved in jazz circles, composed the music and brought in famous musicians like

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Meade Lux Lewis Anderson Meade "Lux" Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964) was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the boogie-woogie style. His best-known work, " Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded by many artists. Biog ...

and

Jack Teagarden Weldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden (August 20, 1905 – January 15, 1964) was an United States, American jazz Trombone, trombonist and singer. He led both of his bands himself and was a sideman for Paul Whiteman's orchestra. From 1946 to 1951, he played ...

to play them. Pianist

Bob Zurke Bob Zurke (January 7, 1912 – February 16, 1944) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and briefly a bandleader during the Swing era. Biography Born Boguslaw Albert Zukowski in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States, he was already using ...

did a recording for the cartoon ''Jungle Jive'' before he died aged 32. In 1942, ''Juke Box Jamboree'' was nominated for an

Academy Award 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 ...

but lost to Disney's ''

Der Fuehrer's Face ''Der Fuehrer's Face'' (originally titled ''Donald Duck in Nutziland'' or ''A Nightmare in Nutziland'') is an American animated anti-Nazi propaganda short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, created in 1942 and released on January 1, 1943 ...

''. Few of Lantz's cartoons were highlighted for stereotyping and racism, but were said by

Joe Adamson Joe Adamson is an author of several books, including: * ''Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Sometimes Zeppo: A History of the Marx Brothers and a Satire on the Rest of the World'' * ''Tex Avery, King of Cartoons'' * ''Bugs Bunny: 50 Years and Only One Gre ...

as not intended to be offensive. The series was discontinued in 1945 due to

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise on the melody over the arrangement ...

fading in popularity following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Dick Lundy, who directed the last Swing Symphony cartoon, later developed ''Musical Miniatures'', a musical series focusing on classical music. Four cartoons were produced in 1947–1948.

Filmography

References

External links

Swing Symphony at IMDB

Swing Symphony at BCDB
Film series introduced in 1941 Animated film series 1940s English-language films Walter Lantz Productions shorts Walter Lantz Productions film series {{short-animation-film-stub

Background

Filmography

See also

References

External links