Saturday morning cartoons may have been IQ-enhancing, classic culture-introducing juggernauts

I never really thought about it, but Saturday morning cartoons may have gotten a bad rap. They’re often portrayed as brain-rotting, attention-span-diminishing garbage — like sugar cereal for the mind.

But upon reflection, I think that some of the cartoons I grew up on may have been much more than that. Many of the Disney cartoons, whichever characters they may feature, rip off (or riff off) storylines from classic literature. And no, it’s not the same as the original, but it’s at least an introduction to the classical canon.

It goes for the soundtrack, too. Check out this list of classical compositions used in cartoons:

While the vast majority of the cartoons of the 1930s-1950s made excellent use of popular music and original compositions, they also used classical music to great effect, creating some of the finest animated masterpieces of all time.

Rossini’s overtures were popular with cartoonists, as were Liszt’s Hungarian rhapsodies and Brahms’ Hungarian dances. In cartoon-land, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata became synonymous with quiet, moonlit scenes, while the opening notes to his Fifth Symphony were used to introduce Nazis during World War II. The final movement of Liszt’s Les Preludes frequently introduced some cartoons.

Here’s an example, cited as No. 4 in the list:

Music: Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2

The Cat Concerto won the Academy Award for Short Subjects-Cartoons in 1946. Warner Bros. released a nearly identical cartoon the same year, Rhapsody Rabbit, which had many of the same gags. Both MGM and Warner Bros. accused the other of plagiarism, but nothing official came of it. It’s a toss-up as to whether The Cat Concerto or Rhapsody Rabbit is the better cartoon. Also watch Rhapsody in Rivets, an Oscar-nominated Warner Bros. cartoon that features the construction of the “Umpire State Building” while the foreman/conductor leaders the show.

I was stunned to see that much of the cartoon relies on an audience that can understand the spoof of concert pianists. And, even if you’re not a musician, you’ll get a fairly-true-to-life education in the mechanics of a piano here.