Danny Elfman has trodden a unique path through his musical career, going from the frontman of the band Oingo Boingo to becoming one of Hollywood’s most distinctive film composers. Just as John Williams‘ greatest film scores emerged from his partnership with director Steven Spielberg, Danny Elfman’s most memorable work in film came from his partnership with Tim Burton.
Tim Burton’s work is often rooted in goth culture, but with a unique and specific flair that is all his own. Burton’s work is often quirky and whimsically dark, as seen in films such as Beetlejuice (and its sequel), Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman Returns, and the hit television show Wednesday, based on the Addams Family. Elfman’s debut score for a major film was also one of Tim Burton’s first films, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Elfman also did the themes for television shows Tales From The Crypt and The Simpsons.
Many of the scores to Tim Burton’s films have a similar dark, brooding, gothic structure to them, and the score is incredibly important. The score makes the films light enough to be accepted by a larger audience. Two early examples of dark themes being embraced by mainstream audiences in a comedic context were The Munsters and The Addams Family, both debuting in 1964. If it were not for laugh tracks and score surrounding certain scenes, I doubt the morbid humor would have landed, and the characters would not have been as lovable. So, the score shows that using dark humor is incredibly important, and it takes just the right artist to balance the dark themes with light-hearted music.
To achieve this balance, Elfman often uses compositional tools such as unexpected instrumentation, odd meter, playful motifs, and minor tonalities to support the characters and make them relatable, funny, quirky, and lovable. Let’s first look at the main title theme music for Beetlejuice. That composition employs a sharp, angular melody that bounces between minor thirds and diminished intervals, resulting in a sound that is both cartoonish and haunting, all at once – a perfect sonic representation of the main character in the film.
Elfman’s scores can help develop a character and humanize that character, even if that character is not in fact human. Let’s take Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Elfman actually provided the vocals for Skellington in the film. If, by chance, you have not seen that film (and you really should), Skellington is not a human, he’s a skeleton, but so many people connect to his character, and a large part of that is the humanistic traits he has in the film. Those traits are expertly supported by songs like “Jack’s Lament” which portray Skellington as both brooding and theatrical.
While a lot of Burton’s films were cult classics, Elfman has also worked on some blockbusters, such as the Batman films of the late 80s and early 90s. The “Batman Theme” for the 1989 film is one of the best in the Batman franchise. It is, once again, a perfect motif for a complex character that has elements of Batman as a hero, as evidenced by bold minor keys, and as an ominous vigilante figure with creeping descending lines.
Elfman is also a master of rhythm. He often uses unusual rhythms, which makes sense as the films he is scoring frequently portray unusual characters. “The Simpsons Theme” is in 7/4 time (primarily), which gives a bit of a whimsical yet manic feel. “Beetlejuice Main Title” bounces between 6/8 and 2/4 – this metric instability adds to the supernatural tone of the story. “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas does something similar, shifting between 4/4 and 3/4 within verses.
The Beetlejuice theme is further brought into the realm of zany unpredictability by the instrumentation, which includes, among other things, bassoon, xylophone, muted brass, pipe organ, accordion, and manic percussion.
One of my favorite examples of instrumentation being used to underline a scene is the song “Making Christmas” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The scene depicts Halloween characters making Christmas presents, but completely misunderstanding the idea behind the presents they are supposed to be building. Elfman brilliantly chose to compose this song with instruments that don’t fit together in a pleasing way, such as a toy piano, a bass clarinet, a timpani, and a children’s choir – that composition is a master class on how instrumentation can be used to reflect a character’s misunderstanding or irony.
The “Introduction Theme” for the film Edward Scissorhands has a lot of depth. In that theme, Elfman uses what Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap once called the saddest of all keys – D minor. But it has some elements of Dorian and Phrygian modes sprinkled in to add depth and whimsy.
Elfman is a unique musician with a mind perfectly tailored to Tim Burton’s warped visions. His compositions bring his characters to life in a way that only he could do, and through it all, leaves us a lot of lessons on how things like instrumentation and rhythm can be used to not only support a character or a feeling within a scene, but perfectly encapsulate them.
