WRITTEN BY BRAD MEYER
SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR, BOOM BOX POST
From giant mecha robot fights, to ancient black magic or car chase sequences, the types of projects we work on as sound designers come in all different shapes and sizes. Animation particularly as a medium continues to surprise me, and you never know what to expect when you open up a new episode for the first time.
Through all of the genres, styles, and stories that we get thrown our way, one of the things I see editors consistently have a difficult time with is, you guessed it…TOON! I know that may seem surprising, and that on the surface the concept of “toon” might appear basic or juvenile. But the reality is toon is a tricky beast that can be tough to master. Whether it’s a toony series, toony sequence, or the occasional comedic accent, I want you to be ready if you ever find yourself working in the world of toon. So for this blog post, I decided to give a crash course on “The Art of Toon.”
TYPES OF TOON
Classic Toon – A good amount of shows have an old-school sensibility to them, and harken back to the golden age of animation. Especially with the rising popularity of series revivals and remakes of shows people my age grew up watching, there is a strong demand for a classic approach to toon these days. Most of the sound effects from the early days of animation like Hanna Barbara and Warner Bros. are currently available to the public, and can be freely used in most media projects. It is quite common that I get asked to use sounds like Fred Flintstone tiptoeing or the spaceship from The Jetsons. From boings and whistles, to zips and twangs, the types of old-fashioned sounds available run the gamut. Sometimes a moment just calls for a familiar sound from the good old days, and I don’t think audiences are going to get sick of the classics any time soon.
Modern Toon – Modern Toon is probably the most fun type of toon to work with, and is my personal favorite. Think of this as “reimagining the classics”. A lot of shows want a fresh new take on the idea of toon, and we often have to create an entirely new toon palette from scratch to give shows like this a signature identity and feel. This is always a fun task because you have the opportunity to set the vibe for a show, and give the audience your own take on what toon can do. For example, when creating the toon palette for our show Muppet Babies, we custom recorded tons of baby toys as a base layer for a lot of the sound effects we ended up creating for the show. It gives the entire Muppet Babies universe a friendly preschool vibe. For our show The Loud House, many of the sound effects are rooted in musical elements such as violin, guitar, and xylophone. And for a show like Captain Underpants, we went totally out-of-the-box with our toon creation. Everything from whales moaning to whoopee cushions and rabbit mating calls made its way into the show.
Realistic Toon – Realistic Toon is one of the unsung heroes of the toon world. Often, clients don’t want a series to take itself too seriously. They want a light, fun feel without being too on-the-nose in the toon department. I find the best way to achieve this is through heightened realism, and highlighting the absurdity of the natural world. Does a character get slapped in the face? Lean into the pain of the slap and add a heavy bodyfall to the impact! Does a character slip and fall down the stairs? I bet the sound of them breaking every bone in their body on the way down will get a laugh! Does a character happen to rip a fart (always a classic!)? A high-pitched squeaker at the very tail end of some nice juicy flatulence is just what you need to make the audience spit out their drinks in laughter.
Common Examples Of How and When To Use Toon
Toon Sequence – The Toon Sequence is an animator’s bread and butter for creating an entire toon moment. I like to think of a good toon sequence as a Rube Goldberg machine. You know, those wacky contraptions made from every-day household items where each element successively sets off the next creating a chain of small mechanical events leading up to a satisfying climax. What makes a toon sequence work is that it is truly a sequence of events that trigger each other and lead up to a single defining moment. Below is an example from one our shows of a classic Toon Sequence. Start it at 1:02:
Toon World – Some shows have toon fully ingrained into the universe they take place in. SpongeBob Squarepants is a great example of a world where everything every character does has a touch of toon to it. Even details as mundane as the foot Foley for each character are toon-based (think SpongeBob’s squeaky sneakers, or Mr. Krab’s fast woodblock feet). In a world where everything is toony, the sky's the limit as to how crazy you can make everyday things!
Toon Accent – Sometimes all you need is to pepper in a single toon sound effect here or there to accent or highlight something you want to stand out to the audience. A violin pluck on a smirk, a bell ding on a wink, a quick tire screech as a character skids to a stop….the possibilities are endless! Even if a particular series is not inherently toony, sometimes a single sound effect can make the difference between a slight chuckle and a knee slapper.
Keeping It Kid Friendly – Sometimes we use toon to steer a scene in a more kid friendly direction. On shows for younger, preschool-aged audiences, toon is a great way to make a scene palatable. This is often the case with scarier storylines or moments where we don’t want to frighten the little ones. Or if a character gets hurt on screen, toon can often help the youngsters understand that no one got badly hurt. Toon is regularly used to lighten the mood, so it is a great tool in letting children know things are going to be alright.
When To Avoid Using Toon
During Dialogue – As any Sound Editor will tell you, dialogue is king. Dialogue clarity is incredibly important, and not being able to understand what a character is saying is one of the fastest ways to snap your audience out of the moment and lose interest. So if a toony moment is stomping on a character’s line, it might be time to ditch the toon.
On Every Movement – Depending on the situation, toon is often at its best when used sparingly. You don’t need to highlight every arm movement, eye blink, and head turn with a toony sound effect. Unless you are working on some sort of toony avant-garde think piece, it is best to strategically pick and choose your toon usage to fit the moment.
Impeding The Story – Our main job as Sound Editors is to tell a story, so if any toony effects you plan to use might get in the way of a major plot point, or don’t fit the mood of what is happening story-wise, it’s probably best to go in a different direction.
Redundance – I find it is easy to be redundant when it comes to toony sound effects, and if a moment is already covered by an exclamation from a voice actor, or an over-the-top expression done by the animators, it isn’t always necessary to pull double duty with your sound effects. For example, if a character is startled, and the voice actor delivered a stellar vocal reaction, they’ve already done the heavy lifting for you! With examples like this, toon can sometimes take away from the actor’s performance when you really want to let them have their moment to shine.
If you enjoyed this blog, you should also check out:
3 EASY STEPS TO CUTTING CLASSIC CARTOON SOUND EFFECTS
BOOM BOX'S FAVORITE CARTOON SOUND EFFECTS
DESIGNING A CARTOON TRAIN WITH CHARACTER