The Carnegie Hall Symphony Mashes Up 43 Cartoon Theme Songs In a Truly Delightful Fashion

By Dustin Rowles | Videos | March 28, 2014 |

By Dustin Rowles | Videos | March 28, 2014 |

I have a very good friend who plays in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and who runs the Portland Chamber Music Festival here in town, and they put on fantastic performances every year, but I think they run into some difficulty in trying to attract younger audiences. There was a report on NPR earlier this week that also explored the challenges symphony orchestras have around the country in raising money to keep this vibrant music alive. (And wow, I sound so white right now. Did I mention I live in Maine, enjoy Wes Anderson films, and that my six year old plays the cello? Because I didn’t want to give anyone the impression that I was in any way cool.)

Anyway, these symphonies often have to spice up their performances with gimmicks — there’s a pretty decent trend in symphony flash mobs; the orchestras often play a lot of contemporary music; and our local symphony orchestra even did did a bad-ass concert playing only Star Wars music last year that brought the kids — in costumes — out in droves.

You know, I say whatever works: These gimmicks are not only fun, but they’re a great access point to some terrific music. This gimmick, for instance, is terrific: The Carnegie Hall Symphony plays 43 cartoon theme songs in 5 minutes.

Here’s a listing of the songs.

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender 00:00
2. Transformers 00:14
3. Pokemon 00:17
4. Captain Planet 00:23
5. X-Men Evolution 00:27
6. Sailor Moon 00:35
7. Neon Genesis Evangelion 00:39
8. Powerpuff Girls 00:43
9. South Park 00:52
10. CatDog 00:56
11. G.I. Joe 01:03
12. Family Guy 01:08
13. Pinky and the Brain 01:15
14. Pink Panther 01:19
15. Dexter’s Laboratory & Rescue Rangers 01:24
16. Spiderman 01:37
17. Inspector Gadget 01:44
18. Adventure Time 01:54
19. Babar & Gummi Bears 02:03
20. Madeline 02:07
21. Smurfs 02:13
22. Doug & Rugrats 02:18
23. Care Bears 02:30
24. Dora the Explorer 02:34
25. Rocko’s Modern Life 02:39
26. Spongebob Squarepants 02:42
27. Futurama & Magic School Bus 02:47
28. Muppet Babies 02:53
29. The Simpsons 02:57
30. Hey Arnold! & Peanuts 03:02
31. He-Man (Masters of the Universe) 03:10
32. Dragon Ball Z Kai 03:12
33. Thundercats 03:18
34. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 03:23
35. Johnny Bravo 03:32
36. Anamaniacs 03:39
37. Tiny Toon Adventures 03:51
38. Goof Troop 03:56
39. Duck Tales 04:01
40. Bobby’s World 04:07
41. The Jetsons 04:12
42. The Flintstones 04:17
43. Looney Tunes 04:24