Terrytoons sound effects

[Frank]

My first post on this forum. I haven't talked about classic cartoons in years in part because GAC forums went down. I'm here to talk about a subject nearly no one talks about, its about the sound effects that Terrytoons used from the 1930 all the ay until the studio petered out 1968-1971. There seems to be two eras of sound effects:

The first era of sound effects lasted from the 1930s at least until Gene Deitch arrived at the studio in the mid 1950s. Notable sound effects include the bass drum hit when a character bumped into something, another one was the sound of water spraying in many scenes, and there is another sound that is peculiar. I describe it as a high pitched metallic ratcheting sound, this sound effect was used occasionally when a character was pulling a lever, or a character sliding something. This sound effect was not only used by Terrytoons but also used by Paramount, particularly used Fleischer cartoons particularly when machinery was involved. The sound effect was still used by Famous Studios well into the 1950s but more sparingly.

The second era of sound effects lasted shortly after Gene Deitch revamped the studio. It's a little hard to describe them but they sound like they have a little echo to them as if they they're trying to sound more modern, they sound a bit like UPA/Jay Ward sound effects. I never really liked the newer sound effects but I know why they made them, partly to make the cartoons sound more modern and because they have a limited selection of sound effects. The old sound effects did creep up from time to time but they were used more sparingly especially in the last years of the studio.

When ever we talk about sound effects, we always talk about Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., and to a lesser extent, Jay Ward, Disney, and MGM sound effects. I now that Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros., SFX are the most infamous but SFX from the east coast studios particularly Paramount and Terrytoons are basically forgotten partly because they haven't been used in decades. But I'd like to hear from fans of both studios and fans of cartoon sound effects. I've been interested in sound effects for a while now particularly the MGM and Disney sound effects.

 

[wiley207]

In the first era, Terrytoons did use a few stock library sound effects. In "Mighty Mouse and the Wolf," I heard one of the Major Records/Valentino wolf howl sound effects (the howling that was often heard on "Sesame Street" prior to the 1990s, usually in segments with Count von Count).

The two pilots Terrytoons farmed out to Fred Calvert Productions in 1968 also had different sound effects from their usual output; it sounds like they used Rich Harrison and/or Audio Effects Co. for the sound editing; I heard that echoey zipping sound used in the late 1960s "Gumby" episodes, and Murakami-Wolf-Swenson and Chuck Jones's output of the late 1970s and early 1980s, along with a Jay Ward "screechy skid" in "Sally Sargent". (Rich Harrison also did sound editing for Jay Ward's 1980 pilot "Rah Rah Woozy," so it also sounds similar to those.)

 

[Mr. Horse]

That winching/ratcheting effect you refer to was actually used by a few East Coast studios that utilized the Famous library well into the 60s. I've heard it in a few "Go-Go-Gophers" segments from Total TV, for instance. Another Fleischer/Famous effect I recall hearing in some of Terry's work in the 40s and 50s was a short upward whistle effect from the 30s or so that was sporadically used into the 60s (it can be heard in "The Lion's Busy", for instance, when the lion is using his telescope).

I personally prefer the newer effects created in the 60s or so over the older sounds - their sound library sorely needed an upgrade after using the same old-fashioned splash and drum crash for quite a few decades, my personal favorite probably being that little squeaky sound sometimes used in a 60s Terrytoon for somebody skidding to a stop - but a lot of them have a fun "quirky" feel to them I really dig. Some of those are actually on the Cartoon Trax Vol. 2 library from the Hollywood Edge, like an electronic "materializing" sound and a track of various "boing" effects performed on a mouth harp. I have a hunch Jack McConnell or whomever may have obtained them from another source beforehand.

Quick side note about the Audio Effects Co. library, as I actually discovered the source of some of their sounds the other day: Some of them are from an obscure NY-area library called Robert Hall, which mainly distributed packages of effects and library music for radio, like a timp boing heard in one of the Super Chicken segments ("Merlin Brando", specifically), a space effect heard for Gumby's machine in "Do-It-Yourself Gumby" and a car skid heard in a Tom Slick edited by Harrison. Not all their albums are online (although a good friend of mine who shares my fascination for this label has embarked on a project to release as much as he can), but I've got a hunch RH 56/57 probably has more cartoony accents recognizable from Harrison/Audio Effects, perhaps including those echoey zips he was fond of using so much (and I love them too!).