Cartoons and music have a long history. Check out this 1933 Betty Boop cartoon.
Most of us grew up with full-length cartoons with music. I was 8 years old and stood in line for over two hours on 2nd Avenue with my mom to see Disney’s The Jungle Book when it was first released. The line stretch all the way to the Cushman St. Bridge from the Lacey St. Theater. To this day, I can still sing Bare Necessities, and I Wanna be Like You.
I have included some links here for background. I am confident that if you want to write about one of your favorite animated films, you will be able to find a ton of information with a few simple searches. Search suggestions:
Add the terms “analysis” “meaning” to the song title.
Sometimes you can type in “why so popular” with a song and get a ton of hits.
Look up interviews with the songwriters. Don’t forget to check out the composers on YouTube.
Chords, lyrics and sometimes even complete sheet music can be found online, or in the library. Here are a few background links you might not find so easily.
Video Game Music
A Video Discussion of Top 10 Video Game Composers
I’m sure you have a favorite game. Do you love the music too? If so, look it up. I’m sure you can perform a search and find more about the music behind the game.
Composers
Manami Matsumae – finally, a woman composer to discuss in this unit.
Nobuo Uematsu – prolific and iconic
Koji Kondo – Iconic – Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda
Yoko Shimomura – the woman behind Street Fighter II
Jeremy Soule – symphonic style of writing
Yasunori Mitsuda – Chrono Trigger
Austin Wintory – nominated for a grammy for a video game score
Lorne Balfe – nominated for a BFTA award for a video game score