Wile E. Coyote's Catapult: Milt Franklyn vs. Bill Lava

[@jaysonklein6018]

You have made me so happy. I've been looking for the Milt Franklyn version of this scene for some time, only to keep coming up and getting the Bill Lava version. I like the horns and the false suspense they give when Wile E Coyote preps the catapult. It sounds both so silly and so serious at the same time.

[@abairdk]

I grew up watching this with Bill's music. There is something inately funny about those major thirds, starting with the crane scene.

[@wahoo7654]

Andrew B Yes, by starting with the crane scene, Lava doesn’t give away that the catapult gags will continue. At first, it just seems like the start of random blackout gags. It was a total surprise to me the first time I saw it. Brilliant!

[@bernardogui3933]

thank you for post this!!! it is a real piece of art.

[@TransitInsider]

There's also that added footage in "To Beep ..." with the "Road Runner Manufacturing Corp." nameplate. No wonder the catapult never worked to catch him.

[@thememorylanechannel]

Am I really the only one who actually loves Bill Lava's score to the cartoon? Come to think of it, I may have always loved build-ups to the finale in music scores, generally speaking.

[@durece100]

What do you think?

[@John80220]

The cold, impersonal, unfeeling sound of Lava's music works here because it fits with the cold, impersonal unfeeling catapult, which is going to find a different way to smash or crush Wile E. each time. Lava also sets up the music by using it in the previous single-bit scene with the wrecking ball crane truck, so that the repetitive music is already established by the time the second gag with the catapult arrives. One of his better efforts at fitting his style of music to the action on screen (on the other hand, the music for the earlier bit with Wile E, the Slinky-like spring and the rock is just a bunch of clangs, dings and screetchy music that barely fits the action on screen -- Franklyn's version is far better there).

[@chrisrj9871]

Lava's is the more memorable ending.

[@ZakWolf]

What a big difference. The Bill Lava version sounds so uneasy...

[@durece100]

You don't get it. Lava's music make it less orchestra and more mechanical. Look on Wikipedia.

[@Akira625]

I think it ends strong though, and it segues into the That’s All Folks fanfare smoothly.

[@musicom67]

It's like the difference between Duke Ellington's and Charlie Mingus' arrangement of "Take the "A" Train. One ride takes you to wonderland, and the other goes down a long, confusing dark tunnel until you end up out of the tunnel - but in the train yard. Not a Lava fan. His stuff belongs to horror movies. IMO his music wasn't fun for cartoons... it IS stressful-sounding - because atonal music just isn't. Even Lava's Western "Cheyenne" theme isn't 'right'.

[@bored_person]

Bill is clearly a skilled composer, but his style seems much more suited towards suspenseful films than humorous ones. As it stands, his music sounds like Bernard Herman attempting mickey-mousing.

[@durece100]

That's because Lava's music make it less orchestra and more mechanical. Look on Wikipedia.

[@CrashFan03]

Quick question; what does being mechanical have to do with making a score? You can make a score that captures the feel of Milt Franklyn or Carl Stalling's scores with mechanical instruments.

[@Akira625]

ijfharvey Unlike his predecessors, he didn’t seem to have any background in composing music for cartoons. I looked at his previous filmography, and it’s all for live action. He worked for Disney for a while in the 50’s, but only composed for their live action films.

[@STP43FAN1]

Excellent comparison. It always strikes me how scenes can have such a different flavor with different music and sound effects. A good example is the harborside gunfight scene in Magnum Force - the original sound mix and the updated one make the scene completely different.

[@nekkomeowz]

Carl stalling was the best.. Milt Franklyn ,Carl's apprentice ,captured some of his style but post 1959 he created his own style little and stuck more with the orchestra than the band. Bill Lava did it for a while but his music was not really in sequence kinda thrown out there. after a while he started putting music together and said "here use this for this situation and use it for other cartoons also " started the new cartoon trend for music theme. to me Milt had the upper hand

[@durece100]

Lava's music make it less orchestra and more mechanical. Look on Wikipedia.

[@CrashFan03]

Bugs: Pfft, it's mechanical.

[@CrashFan03]

The Milt Franklyn score actually has emotion to it. You can feel how frustrated the Coyote is getting with how the music goes higher and higher each time. The Bill Lava score is kinda uneasy and repetitive. At the start, it's literally two notes over and over.

[@michaeljeremyrichards6901]

William Lava not only did the music in the Warner Bros. cartoons,but he did the music for the early Pink Panther shorts(the last one being "Smile Pretty,Say Pink"). After that Walter Greene took over. The last DFE project Lava did before returning to Warner Bros. in 1968 was "The Super 6"(1966-1967).

[@Akira625]

Until now, I never knew there was more than one version of this cartoon. Franklyn's score is vastly different from Lava's.

[@dannygjk]

I like in the first one when Wile is on the rock trying to pry it off. The sound when the rock gets launched sounds like a fighter jet passed overhead. I guess that's what the sound was.

[@stephenholloway6893]

My only question is why Treg Brown redid the sound effects in the Lava scored version (To Beep or Not To Beep)? Instead of keeping the sound effects the same in both versions?

[@durece100]

To Beep or Not to Beep doesn't fit from the sound effects of Adventures of Road Runner, 1962.

[@wahoo7654]

Sound effects for the Milt Franklyn version are by Joe Flaherty, who did sound work for WB Television (the first version was a TV pilot). Treg Brown only worked on the theatrical cartoons.

[@durece100]

Beside the music, the sound effects are different as well from both of them. Listen: 2:05 and this: 4:29

[@STP43FAN1]

Also two of the gags - Gags 3 and 4 - are sequenced differently in the two versions.

[@durece100]

Michael Daly In which gags 3 and 4?

[@durece100]

***** That too. However, Adventures of Road Runner only aired on television once in the early 1960's.

[@marialuisaalcala2606]

To me,I think William Lava is a GREAT composer in these and the DePatie Freleng cartoons. People like Walter Greene,John Seely, and even Dean Elliott did good on the RR shorts but Lava's the man. I just don't like the way Lava keeps repeating the same music cues when Rudy Larriva directed the 11 RR shorts.

[@CrashFan03]

hey wait comments are back on this?

[@taylorthompson9752]

Yes

[@dannygjk]

The power lines...that's serious deceleration/acceleration. lol

[@lavahit]

1:50 that face XDXD

[@MrEvilbyte]

Most .... broken .... catapult ..... ever. xD