Semi-OT: My classic cartoon sound effects library collection!

[wiley207]

I do quite a bit of multimedia/audio-visual production, and I have two sound effects libraries worth of note that I really love:

http://www.sound-ideas.com/wb.html

http://www.sound-ideas.com/hb.html
http://www.sound-ideas.com/hblt.html


Even though they cost quite a bit, they are royalty-free, which means you pay once to get the CDs (the cost also covers not only the CDs, but a one-time fee gaining you synchronization rights to use it, so that explains why they're pretty pricey). And I've had fun with them, using them in my audio and video productions (and some test animations) ever since. Here are my comments on them...

The Warner Bros. sound effects library is a vast collection, with some great effects, but this set is a bit of a disappointment. Quite a few familiar WB effects (such as the spinning Tasmanian Devil sound, the trombone-gobble, Wile E.'s falling-whistle sound, the sludgy bubbling sound (think "The Pied Piper of Guadalupe") and Yosemite Sam's gunshots) are missing from the set. The majority of them are regular old foley effects. The first three discs mainly cover sounds from the classic WB era, and the last two discs feature some of the sounds used in the late 1980s/early 1990s Warner Bros. Animation productions (like "Tiny Toon Adventures" and "Animaniacs,") done by sound editor Russel Brower. But a few familiar effects ARE included, such as the Road Runner's jet noise, the classic junk crash sounds, the "DONNNNNNNNNNNG!" sound of an anvil hitting someone on the head, the classic "sputtering car" sound, some Mel Blanc vocal effects (quite a bit of Mel's Best Yells, if you know what I mean) and other unique works of Treg Brown.

The Hanna-Barbera Sound Effects library, on the other hand, is much better IMO. It has a wider selection of classic sound effects, and they are all fun to use. I like working with Fred's scrambling "bongo feet," the "Ka-BOOONG!" hit, the classic whisker-pluck, Yogi's noggin klonks, etc. It doesn't just include the cartoony sounds. It also includes other sound effects H-B used from the 50s to the early 90s, including their own foley sounds, sci-fi sounds, military/weapon sounds, etc. like the ones you heard on "Johnny Quest" and "Space Ghost." A few of the WB sound effects that don't show up on the WB CD set (like the "trombone gobble", various ricochets, and the sludgy bubbling) DO show up on the H-B set, along with some other WB sounds, such as the famous junk crashes, the jungle-animal call (think Daffy's monkey/bird noises on "Duck Amuck"), a couple of classic plane dives, a few of WB's explosion sounds, and a zooming sound that was curiously labeled in the library's catalog as "Brown's Zoom By" (this is most likely named after Treg Brown himself!) Some of MGM's old sound effects (such as the short quick cymbal "BAM!!!", a couple of glass-breaking noises, a manhole clanging noise, a couple of ricochets, and a comic drum break sequence, etc.) also show up on this set, as do a few Disney/UPA sounds H-B collected as well! There are also a few missing effects from H-B on this set too (though it's not as bad as the case with the WB set), such as that wheel-squeaking sound you always hear whenever someone's rolling a cart or whatever, a couple of nice loud metal squeaks I always associate with H-B, one of H-B's older head-shake sounds (which sounds like someone banging on temple blocks for a second), and a few others.

Oh, and for the record, I DO know about the Jay Ward sound effects library Sound Ideas also offers, and I plan to get that too once I have the money, so I'll have virtually the same sound effects library as DePatie-Freleng had!

[ThePeterNetwork]

It's still too expensive for me, even if I did have a use for them. :(:mad: I would rather prefer a CD of public domain music.

[J. B. Warner]

I knew I got the wrong one! I obtained the Warner Bros. sound library a little while back with the hopes of possibly owning pristine copies of the very same sound effects that ended up being excluded from the set (the trombone gobble and the Tasmanian Devil whir are two of my favorite sound effects ever), and I was severely bummed to find that they weren't on there. I was also quite disappointed to find that all the "whistle falls" had been re-created on synthesizers or something, and thus sounded incredibly generic and cheap - they don't have that distinct whooshing "wheeeeeeeeeee" that Treg Brown's original did.

[Ray Pointer]

It's still too expensive for me, even if I did have a use for them. :(:mad: I would rather prefer a CD of public domain music.

I would agree that the Sound Ideas CDs are too expensive. Besides the Cartoon Sound Effects collections, there are sound effects from the various studios' live action films. These are rather ordinary, however, and nothing terribly unique for the most part.

In the work I have been doing with creating old sounding tracks for silent cartoons, I've assembled my own collection of sound effects mostly from the 1930s, with a few from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. The thing is that sound effects used in cartoons are an identifiable 'brand" associated with each studio. While these effects are certainly great, they are too readliy associated with their original uses to the extent that any use outside of that becomes something of a distraction, associating them with a Warner, or Hanna-Barbera cartoon, and not the new use that may have nothing to do with these studios. It is similar to the continued use of Mendelsson's SPRING SONG to show a nice grassy field, or a sunny day. It's overexposure makes it a cliche' that tends to remind the viewer of previous use of that piece to the extent that the attention on that film is
lost. While these effects are classics, we need to create new effects that make an original statement.

[Keith Paynter]

The Sound Ideas libraries are generally meant for professional production facilities. This is no different than companies who buy music libraries for commercial production, or acquire clips from companies like DeWolfe. A lot of Capitol Music needle drops (John Seely, etc.) were, of course, everywhere, from cartoons to educational shorts, and these had to be licensed as well. You just can't "lift" them for your own use.

It's not unusual to hear the HB violin pluck or xylophone "blink" sound to this day in any studio cartoon series. But that is why they are as expensive as they are. If you want cheap home use ones, go hunt for the OOP Rhino HB "Cartoon Sound FX" CD (with Fred Flintsone on the cover).

[wiley207]

The Sound Ideas libraries are generally meant for professional production facilities. This is no different than companies who buy music libraries for commercial production, or acquire clips from companies like DeWolfe. A lot of Capitol Music needle drops (John Seely, etc.) were, of course, everywhere, from cartoons to educational shorts, and these had to be licensed as well. You just can't "lift" them for your own use.


Well the Capitol Hi-Q music library, as well as the Associated Production Music library, are both not royalty-free like the Sound Ideas music and sound effect libraries are.

[Keith Paynter]

Well the Capitol Hi-Q music library, as well as the Associated Production Music library, are both not royalty-free like the Sound Ideas music and sound effect libraries are.

Which explains the "high price". A major production company would find these costs to be a drop in the bucket, compared to licensing music clips.

[Daws Butler Jr.]

It's not unusual to hear the HB violin pluck or xylophone "blink" sound to this day in any studio cartoon series. But that is why they are as expensive as they are. If you want cheap home use ones, go hunt for the OOP Rhino HB "Cartoon Sound FX" CD (with Fred Flintsone on the cover).

If I recall correctly, there are over 100 sound effects on this CD and they were all copied directly from the Sound Ideas package, with one exception... we recreated "Yogi's Boink Walk", which didn't exist anymore. We were able to find the original individual elements and edit them together to make one of my all-time favorite H-B effects.

[Fibber Fox]

If I recall correctly, there are over 100 sound effects on this CD and they were all copied directly from the Sound Ideas package, with one exception... we recreated "Yogi's Boink Walk", which didn't exist anymore. We were able to find the original individual elements and edit them together to make one of my all-time favorite H-B effects.

DBJ, I imagine some of the first HB sfx came from the MGM cartoons.. but who created the Yogi walk and other original effects?

F. Fox

[Fibber Fox]

Well the Capitol Hi-Q music library, as well as the Associated Production Music library, are both not royalty-free like the Sound Ideas music and sound effect libraries are.

I don't believe the Hi-Q library exists any more, does it?

F. Fox

[wiley207]

If I recall correctly, there are over 100 sound effects on this CD and they were all copied directly from the Sound Ideas package, with one exception... we recreated "Yogi's Boink Walk", which didn't exist anymore. We were able to find the original individual elements and edit them together to make one of my all-time favorite H-B effects.

Wow, that was fascinating! I've also edited some of the FX on that CD set together to also recreate the audio for the 1994 Hanna-Barbera All-Stars "Comedy" logo (the one that ends with the Kabong! sound).

And Mr. Kress, if they ever need Snagglepuss or Snooper and Blabber in new material, I hope you can do their voices then, because you sounded the closest to Daws Butler doing their voices!

I also heard about two older H-B sound effect collections: the Hanna-Barbera Library of Sounds, which was released on LP and compact disc around 1986 for radio and TV stations to use, and an even harder-to-find record set from the late 1960s called Hanna-Barbera's Drop-Ins, which was also for radio and TV stations, and I presume other animation studios must've wound up accessing this record set and began using them too (i.e. Filmation, DePatie-Freleng, DiC, etc.)

[Daws Butler Jr.]

DBJ, I imagine some of the first HB sfx came from the MGM cartoons.. but who created the Yogi walk and other original effects?

F. Fox

Unfotunately, I never thought to ask. And some of the people I worked with back then would have probably known or at least been able to make an educated guess because they had worked there for years.

An interesting side note, one of the audio engineers working at Hanna-Barbera in the 90's was Chuck Britz... one of the main recording engineers for all of the Beach Boys biggest albums. And I never though to talk to him about THAT, either.

[Daws Butler Jr.]

I don't believe the Hi-Q library exists any more, does it?

F. Fox

No, it doesn't. Some of the next wave of cues that Capitol put out after Hi-Q still exist. Those are the ones John K. used in his Yogi Bear shorts.

[Daws Butler Jr.]

Wow, that was fascinating! I've also edited some of the FX on that CD set together to also recreate the audio for the 1994 Hanna-Barbera All-Stars "Comedy" logo (the one that ends with the Kabong! sound).

Is that the one that also has Daws' laugh in it... for which I'm sure they never paid his family.

And Mr. Kress, if they ever need Snagglepuss or Snooper and Blabber in new material, I hope you can do their voices then, because you sounded the closest to Daws Butler doing their voices!

Thank you for the very kind compliment. I went to Daws' workshop for ten years, so something must have rubbed off on me.

I also heard about two older H-B sound effect collections: the Hanna-Barbera Library of Sounds, which was released on LP and compact disc around 1986 for radio and TV stations to use, and an even harder-to-find record set from the late 1960s called Hanna-Barbera's Drop-Ins, which was also for radio and TV stations, and I presume other animation studios must've wound up accessing this record set and began using them too (i.e. Filmation, DePatie-Freleng, DiC, etc.)

I have the Drop-Ins record, but have never played it. Wouldn't it be funny if Yogi's Walk is actually on that record? It would be interesting to see if any of the other MIA effects might be on there, though, too.

[wiley207]

Is that the one that also has Daws' laugh in it... for which I'm sure they never paid his family.


No, that was the 1997 logo you are thinking of.

Wait a minute, Daws Butler did that goofy laugh?! That's cool! And I know that on the Lost Treasures CD in the H-B library, there are some sounds of a dog whining and whimpering and barking. They all obviously sound like Don Messick doing his distinctive dog sounds (ala Astro, Bandit, Scooby-Doo, etc.)

[FTAListCom]

I see that the Fred-cover HB sound effects CD is readily available on eBay. Any idea whether there's a similarly inexpensive CD with HB's 60s sci-fi sound effects? (Jonny Quest, Fantastic Four, etc.)

I'd love to be able to listen to the laser or force field or invisibility. Who knew that invisibility always made the same sound, much less that it made one at all? ;)

[detroittvguy]

I'd love to be able to listen to the laser or force field or invisibility. Who knew that invisibility always made the same sound, much less that it made one at all?

BitTorrent. :)

[Ray Pointer]

DBJ, I imagine some of the first HB sfx came from the MGM cartoons.. but who created the Yogi walk and other original effects? F. Fox

When I was at MGM I asked one of the editors about the old MGM cartoon sound effects that were still in use in the 1960s when Chuck Jones ran the cartoon unit there. I was told that some of them left when Hanna and Barbera left to establish H-B Enterprises, which became Hanna-barbera Productions in 1959. The rest were never maintained and lost or destroyed because they were considered "too old."

[wiley207]

When I was at MGM I asked one of the editors about the old MGM cartoon sound effects that were still in use in the 1960s when Chuck Jones ran the cartoon unit there. I was told that some of them left when Hanna and Barbera left to establish H-B Enterprises, which became Hanna-barbera Productions in 1959. The rest were never maintained and lost or destroyed because they were considered "too old."

Ouch, that sucks.

However, some copies of the old MGM cartoon sound effects must've been saved, because I recall Sound Ideas released a Turner/MGM sound effects library that also contained some cartoon effects, but half of the 'toon sounds were duplicated from the H-B library while the rest were the older ones.

The 2006 direct-to-video movie "Tom & Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers" made heavy use of the old MGM cartoon sound effects, and they also had some H-B sounds and a few WB sound effects as well. Apparently the H-B and WB sounds were filling in for the MGM sounds that were lost forever. But "Tom & Jerry Tales" was another story. The only classic sound effect heard would be an occasional Bill Hanna scream, but all the others were just the WB sound effects and a bunch of other newer sounds.

And speaking of famous sound effects, I know that the Wilhelm Scream, as mentioned here...

http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm/

...was used on "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." It also shows up on some cira-1990s Disney and Pixar films, and a few DreamWorks movies as well.

Here's another sound that has a longer history, and was also used quite a bit in animation...

http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/sound/castlethunder.html

Even though it's mention of use in Disney is correct (used in many Disney movies and cartoons from the late-1930s to the mid-1980s), this website fails to mention Hanna-Barbera's frequent use of Castle Thunder as well! They used it on Scooby-Doo (well, duh!) as well as on "The Flintstones," "Wacky Races," and nearly every Hanna-Barbera cartoon series up until the early 1990s.

Warner Bros. Animation occasionally used Castle thunder in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a rocket-blastoff sound effect (such as the rocket sled scene at the end of "Wild About Hurry"), and DePatie-Freleng followed this practice as well (though they also occasionally used it as a thunder effect in the late 1970s). In the late 1960s, when Warner Bros. Animation reopened and they began often incorporating some of Hanna-Barbera's sound effects into their cartoons, they still only used Castle thunder as a rocket sound effect; when they did a thunderstorm scene they just used the same thunder sounds they used back in the 1940s! Today, if you watch a Warner Bros. Animation TV series made since 2002, there is a good chance you will hear Castle thunder occasionally during a thunderstorm scene (such as "The Batman," "Ozzy and Drix," "What's New, Scooby-Doo" and even on "Loonatics Unleashed"), but all other times, they would just record new thunder sound effects from real storms (especially in the Scooby-Doo movies!)

Castle thunder was also used by UPA, and it also showed up on a few of Don Bluth's early works (Such as "The Secret of NiMH") and as for TV animation studios I know Filmation used it, as did Ruby-Spears, DiC, Marvel Productions, Film Roman, Murakimi-Wolf-Swenson (later Fred Wolf Films), Spumco, and quite a few others as well.

[bj_wanlund]

Wow, to have access to an entire sound FX library for only $500 or so, and you never have to pay royalties! That's impressive!

And a discussion of cartoon sound effects is really needed here at GAC.

BJ