OK, there is a classic Hollywood sound effect that has always caught my interest, along with the "Wilhelm Scream;" a long loud crack of thunder that is usually referred to as "Castle Thunder." Named so for its debut appearance in the original 1931 version of "Frankenstein," it went on to appear in many other movies, mostly the horror genre, including all future Frankenstein-related movies made by Universal, but it also appeared in other popular movies such as "Ghostbusters," "Airplane!," "Back to the Future" and others.
Not surprisingly, this sound effect eventually made its way into cartoons. Walt Disney Productions first started using around the early 1940s, such as the "Reluctant Dragon" live-action sequence showing the making of a Casey Junior cartoon, "Bambi," and many shorts such as "Chicken Little," "Ben and Me," "The Little House," "Willie the Operatic Whale," "Noah's Ark", and others, as well as most of their animated films from the 1940s to the 1980s. The last Disney movie to prominently feature "Castle Thunder" was "The Great Mouse Detective" in 1986, after which it was gradually phased out.
Hanna-Barbera Productions also frequently used "Castle Thunder" from the early 1960s up until the early 1990s, when they began to slowly phase out their classic sound effects library. Such uses of it were on various Scooby-Doo cartoons (including the 1970 "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" intro and the 1979 "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Doo" intro), as well as on just about any time it was raining or the power of lightning/storming was needed (such as the Gruesome Twosome's storm-power machine on "Wacky Races," or the Gruesomes' storm cloud on "The Flintstones").
Other animation studios that used "Castle Thunder" include Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Filmation, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (later years), Marvel Productions, DiC Entertainment, Total Television, Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, Don Bluth Productions/Sullivan-Bluth Studios (mostly in the '80s), Nelvana, Warner Bros. Animation (mostly in some modern TV shows, never in the classic theatrical shorts), Spumco, Games Animation/Nicktoons Studios and quite a few others.
Beginning around the 1990s, "Castle Thunder" was being phased out in animation for more realistic (and LOUDER) thunderclaps. This was especially true on "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" or any other more realistic/serious cartoon series. However, certain shows like "SpongeBob SquarePants" or "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," or anything made by Warner Bros. Animation since 2003 still use "Castle Thunder" from time to time, even if it is in very lousy quality and sounds like it was ripped off one of Edison's wax cylinders!
Now, I know that nowadays a lot of people do not like "Castle Thunder," but I think it is impressive that it has been in used in Hollywood and on animation for such a long time and sometimes continues to be used today, even longer than the Wilhelm Scream!
To understand what I mean, here is a video montage I compiled featuring various modern usages of "Castle Thunder" in modern animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtPWLZ3h56g
Any comments would be appreciated please
Not surprisingly, this sound effect eventually made its way into cartoons. Walt Disney Productions first started using around the early 1940s, such as the "Reluctant Dragon" live-action sequence showing the making of a Casey Junior cartoon, "Bambi," and many shorts such as "Chicken Little," "Ben and Me," "The Little House," "Willie the Operatic Whale," "Noah's Ark", and others, as well as most of their animated films from the 1940s to the 1980s. The last Disney movie to prominently feature "Castle Thunder" was "The Great Mouse Detective" in 1986, after which it was gradually phased out.
Hanna-Barbera Productions also frequently used "Castle Thunder" from the early 1960s up until the early 1990s, when they began to slowly phase out their classic sound effects library. Such uses of it were on various Scooby-Doo cartoons (including the 1970 "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?" intro and the 1979 "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Doo" intro), as well as on just about any time it was raining or the power of lightning/storming was needed (such as the Gruesome Twosome's storm-power machine on "Wacky Races," or the Gruesomes' storm cloud on "The Flintstones").
Other animation studios that used "Castle Thunder" include Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Filmation, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (later years), Marvel Productions, DiC Entertainment, Total Television, Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, Don Bluth Productions/Sullivan-Bluth Studios (mostly in the '80s), Nelvana, Warner Bros. Animation (mostly in some modern TV shows, never in the classic theatrical shorts), Spumco, Games Animation/Nicktoons Studios and quite a few others.
Beginning around the 1990s, "Castle Thunder" was being phased out in animation for more realistic (and LOUDER) thunderclaps. This was especially true on "What's New, Scooby-Doo?" or any other more realistic/serious cartoon series. However, certain shows like "SpongeBob SquarePants" or "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," or anything made by Warner Bros. Animation since 2003 still use "Castle Thunder" from time to time, even if it is in very lousy quality and sounds like it was ripped off one of Edison's wax cylinders!
Now, I know that nowadays a lot of people do not like "Castle Thunder," but I think it is impressive that it has been in used in Hollywood and on animation for such a long time and sometimes continues to be used today, even longer than the Wilhelm Scream!
To understand what I mean, here is a video montage I compiled featuring various modern usages of "Castle Thunder" in modern animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtPWLZ3h56g
Any comments would be appreciated please