| Swing Symphony | |
| Producer: | Walter Lantz |
| Music: | Darrell Calker |
| Studio: | Walter Lantz Productions Universal Studios |
| Distributor: | Universal Pictures |
| Released: | 1941–1945 |
| Color Process: | Technicolor |
| Runtime: | 7 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Swing Symphony is an American animated musical short film series produced by Walter Lantz Productions from 1941 to 1945. The shorts were a more contemporary pastiche on Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies,[1] and often featured top boogie-woogie musicians of the era.[2] While the first cartoon include the characters Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda, it mainly features a variety of different characters created exclusively for the series, with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit making an appearance in one cartoon.
Walter Lantz Productions first developed the format with Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat, released on March 28, 1941. The short is considered a precursor as it contains many elements seen in the series, such as utilizing a popular boogie-woogie song. Lantz also produced Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company 'B later in September which followed the same formula and would be nominated for an Academy Award. The first cartoon that would go under Swing Symphony wouldn't be released until December of that year.
One of the main writers that worked on the series was Ben Hardaway, who left Warner Bros. in 1940 and was hired by Walter Lantz to work on the storyboards for Universal Studios' cartoons. From 1938 to 1940, Hardaway was notably one of the last holdouts to co-direct several Merrie Melodies cartoons that featured lengthy musical sequences. He also supplied his voice for Woody Woodpecker in 1944 until 1949.[3] Darrell Calker, who was involved in jazz circles, composed the music and brought in famous musicians like Nat King Cole, Meade Lux Lewis and Jack Teagarden to play them.[4] Pianist Bob Zurke did a recording for the cartoon Jungle Jive before he died aged 32.
In 1942, Juke Box Jamboree was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but lost to Disney's Der Fuehrer's Face.[5] Few of Lantz's cartoons were highlighted for stereotyping and racism, but were said by Joe Adamson as not intended to be offensive.[6]
The series was discontinued in 1945 due to swing music fading in popularity following the end of World War II. Dick Lundy, who directed the last Swing Symphony cartoon, later developed Musical Miniatures, a musical series focusing on classical music. Four cartoons were produced in 1947–1948.[7]
| Title | Drawn by (animator) | Written by | Directed by | Characters | Release date | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $21 a Day (Once a Month) | Alex LovyFrank Tipper | Walter Lantz | Woody Woodpecker Andy Panda | December 1, 1941 | DVD - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection | |
| The Hams That Couldn't Be Cured | Alex LovyR. Somerville | Lowell ElliotBen Hardaway | Algernon WolfThree Little Pigs | March 4, 1942 | DVD - | |
| Juke Box Jamboree | Verne Harding | Ben HardawayChuck Couch | Alex Lovy | Mouse | July 27, 1942 | DVD - |
| Yankee Doodle Swing Shift | Harold Mason | Ben HardawayMilt Schaffer | September 21, 1942 | |||
| Boogie Woogie Sioux | Robert Bentley | November 30, 1942 | DVD - Woody Woodpecker and Friends: Volume 5 | |||
| Cow-Cow Boogie | Harold Mason | January 3, 1943[8] | ||||
| The Egg Cracker Suite | Les Kline | Milt Schaffer | Oswald the Lucky Rabbit | March 22, 1943[9] | DVD - Woody Woodpecker and Friends: Volume 3 | |
| Swing Your Partner | Paul Smith | Ben HardawayMilt Schaffer | Alex Lovy | Homer Pigeon | April 26, 1943[10] | DVD - Woody Woodpecker and Friends: Volume 4 |
| Pass The Biscuits Mirandy! | Paul Smith | James Culhane | MirandyThe Foy's and Barton's[11] | August 23, 1943[12] | DVD - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection | |
| Boogie Woogie Man | Laverne HardingLes Kline | Boogie Woogie | September 27, 1943 | DVD - | ||
| The Greatest Man In Siam | Pat MatthewsEmery Hawkins | March 27, 1944 | DVD - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection | |||
| Jungle Jive | Paul J. SmithEmery Hawkins | May 15, 1944 | DVD - Woody Woodpecker and Friends: Volume 6 | |||
| Abou Ben Boogie | Paul J. Smith Pat Matthews | Miss. X[13] | September 18, 1944 | DVD - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection | ||
| The Pied Piper Of Basin Street | Laverne HardingPat Matthews | The Pied Piper | January 15, 1945 | DVD - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection | ||
| Sliphorn King Of Polaroo | Pat Matthews | Dick Lundy | Jackson | March 19, 1945 | DVD - Woody Woodpecker and Friends: Volume 4 |