The Best Looney Tune You’ve Never Seen, Part 4
Whew! Long story, isn’t it?
The animation, as well as all other aspects of the production, were all done in this country, the U.S. of A., with most of it being handled in house at Warner Bros. Classics and the rest being handed out free-lance.
The musical score was composed and conducted by the brilliant Richard Stone, pictured at right, who sadly left us way too soon. This was one of the last projects Richard worked on, and coincidentally, his first animation score was for a Tiny Toon Adventures half-hour that included a cartoon I wrote, Turtle Hurdle. I knew there was something special about that first score. For my money, Richard came closer to the Carl Stalling sound than anyone, even Milt Franklyn.
The music was recorded on the main lot on the Warner Bros. scoring stage, the same stage used to record the original cartoons, although it has been completely refurbished on the inside for modern technologies. I was told the piano on that stage is the same one that Carl Stalling used. Normally, for Animaniacs or Pinky and the Brain they would have 25 - 27 players, depending on whether or not they needed specialty musicians. 
Because this was intended as a theatrical, we had a 42 piece orchestra! I sat in the studio during the session so I could hear them play live and not through the monitors. It was glorious! What a thrilling day that was. When they struck up the theme song, Merrily We Roll Along, starting with the famous Warner Bros. guitar slide, it was magical. I know I’m gushing here, but I have so much admiration for what the musicians do and how much they add to the final product. To me, a great music score is what makes the cartoons watchable over and over again, while a bad score can make a cartoon almost unwatchable.
After the musicians were dismissed, they did a pre-mix on the music, so when a final mix was done, no one could fiddle around with the way Richard wanted it to sound. As they were playing Cue 1, the theme song, a thought suddenly struck me and I asked, “Does it matter that this is a Looney Tune and they’re playing Merrily We Roll Along, the Merrie Melodies theme?” 
Kathleen said it didn’t make any difference. I know why they did it. Richard had told me a long time ago that Warners only owns three songs outright that they can use without paying royalties. One is Merrily We Roll Along, the second is We’re In the Money and I forget the third, but it definitely isn’t The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, which is the Looney Tunes theme. Being a purist, I would have just called this a Merrie Melody, but in the end, I guess it doesn’t really make any difference.
The other odd thing in that cue was a wood block, which I never remembered hearing on the cartoons. I actually had the audacity to ask Richard if that wood block was supposed to be in there. He just kind of glared at me and said, “Yes.” It wouldn’t be until much later that I’d find out that was a late 50’s arrangement used on cartoons that I had only seen on the Bugs Bunny Show with their credit sequences chopped off.
Tomorrow, the final mix… but wait… there’s trouble ahead!