Did you know that The Smurfs was noted for its frequent use of classical music as background or theme music? (See Wikipedia confirmation of this fact here.) Little nine-year-old Rachel never realized this when she was watching the show, but fast-forward ten years later when I was an exchange student in Bielefeld, Germany, and my host mother took me to a Sunday morning symphony. As the orchestra played Schubert's Unfinished symphony, it struck me that I had heard this piece before. I'm not sure how long it took me to figure out where: the first movement is better known to us children of the 80s as Gargamel's theme song.
What do you want to bet they didn't use this piece as his theme song in the creepy-looking 2011 Smurfs movie? Aannnnnnd sigh. Do you recognize this piece?
I didn't notice the classical music in the Smurfs when I was a kid, but now that you mention it- Yep. Sneaky.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to stop by to tell you I hope you're having an awesome time at the SCBWI Summer Conference! I'm happy for you, getting to go!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn! The first day was great--I am now officially a fan of Tony DiTerlizzi, he was a riot :)
DeleteAlso Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade...
ReplyDeleteAlso Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade...
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Gargamel's theme, I think of that little snippet of music that plays roughly 38 seconds into the Smurfs theme song. I had asked about this somewhere a few years ago, and I was pointed to Richter's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Flat:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxzwEPB4Gd0
You're not going to believe this, but not only am I an 80s kid but about two years before The Smurfs made their debut on NBC, my mommy and daddy introduced me to Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and I loved it from the start. So I knew what I was hearing when the character of Gargamel was introduced.
ReplyDeleteYou are a rare bird, Chris!
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