The use and adaptation of existing music in animated films involved more than mere selective quotation. While small segments and entire movements of "classical" pieces from the 18th to the early 20th centuries were sometimes animated, composers were most often required to be adept at altering the formal structure of an existing work to accommodate the requirements of the animated film. In the lighter, more eclectic style of animated shorts, scores like those by Scott Bradley exhibit characteristics of Stravinsky, including octatonicism, tonally disjunct melody figurations, and orchestration. In major animated films such as those of Disney, Tchaikovsky's ballet music was similarly adapted. Significantly, the forms in which these existing works were used represented the first exposure to these pieces for many spectators of these animated films.

Index Classifications: 1900s, Film

Contributed by: David Oliver