Everyone's favorite cat-and-mouse duo, Tom and Jerry, return in a new animated short film called "The Karateguard". Produced by legendary animator Joseph Barbera, and directed by Tony Cervone and Spike Brandt of "Duck Dodgers" fame, the short film retains the original look and feel of the 1940s Tom and Jerry animated shorts. The film was slowly animated over several years, until it got to the point where they were able to secure funding to finish it up. Composer Scott Bradley had long since passed on, and stepping in to fill his musical shoes was Michael Giacchino.
On 1st September 2005, at the Eastwood Scoring Stage, Giacchino and his team (including music editor Mike Andreas, score mixer Dan Wallin, conductor Tim Simonec, and Digital Performer master Chris Tilton) recorded music for the animated short. Barbera was unable to attend, but seeing as he's 94 years old, that's perfectly understandable. However, legendary orchestrator Jack Hayes (who has worked with Giacchino on a few projects) was in attendance to lend his expert advice.
Musically, it was like a time warp. The orchestra was set up in a 1940s layout, and it seemed that the percussionists had the most fun - hitting all of the right beats, making crashes, using slide whistles, and much more. At Giacchino's request, the entire team was dressed up in shirts and ties, much like in the old days of scoring. When asked if he watched a lot of the original short films in preparation for this assignment, Giacchino - a huge Tom and Jerry fan himself - said, "Not really - I watched a few with my kids, but it's really all just from my memory of the show.
By Dan Goldwasser
On 1st September 2005, at the Eastwood Scoring Stage, Giacchino and his team (including music editor Mike Andreas, score mixer Dan Wallin, conductor Tim Simonec, and Digital Performer master Chris Tilton) recorded music for the animated short. Barbera was unable to attend, but seeing as he's 94 years old, that's perfectly understandable. However, legendary orchestrator Jack Hayes (who has worked with Giacchino on a few projects) was in attendance to lend his expert advice.
Musically, it was like a time warp. The orchestra was set up in a 1940s layout, and it seemed that the percussionists had the most fun - hitting all of the right beats, making crashes, using slide whistles, and much more. At Giacchino's request, the entire team was dressed up in shirts and ties, much like in the old days of scoring. When asked if he watched a lot of the original short films in preparation for this assignment, Giacchino - a huge Tom and Jerry fan himself - said, "Not really - I watched a few with my kids, but it's really all just from my memory of the show.
By Dan Goldwasser
