Dance of The Hours - Derivative Works

Derivative Works

The tune is remembered by the character Leopold Bloom in James Joyce's novel Ulysses (1922) while he is idly imagining poisoning his wife.

The Dance of the Hours is one of the most frequently parodied pieces of classical music.

An extract was first used by the Disney studio in one of its earliest cartoon series, Silly Symphonies. In a short 6 minute film called Springtime (1929), bugs and birds dance to melodies until a rainstorm breaks out. When the rain stops, the dancing recommences, but now the tune is "Dance of the Hours".

The ballet was used in full in the Walt Disney animated film Fantasia (1940), albeit with ballet-dancing hippos (complete with tutus), ostriches, alligators and elephants. Some of the orchestration was revised by conductor Leopold Stokowski. Disney picks up on the structure of the ballet and divides it into five segments: 1) ostriches, early morning; 2) hippopotami, mid-day, 3) elephants, dusk, 4) alligators, night, and 5) finale, night.

It was the source of the tune for the song "Like I Do", a hit for Maureen Evans in 1962 in the UK and Teresa Brewer in 1963 (as "She'll Never Love You (Like I Do)") in the USA. This song was probably first released by Nancy Sinatra in early 1962 (as "Like I Do").

One segment of the piece formed the basis for the hit song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (1963) and its sequel "Return to Camp Granada" (1965) by Allan Sherman.

The same segment also formed the basis of the hilarious "Brief uit La Courtine" (1964) from Dutch cabaretier Rijk de Gooyer, about a soldier writing to his family from training camp La Courtine where between 1959 and 1964 Dutch infantry divisions were trained four months a year. It was a huge success.

The rendition by Spike Jones and His City Slickers in Spike Jones Is Murdering the Classics. (1971) included several segments of the melody, although presented out of order to suit the presentation of the record, a parody of the Indianapolis 500 that was effectively a sequel to their William Tell Overture. The tune is executed by banging pipes and honking bicycle horns, with each individual "clang" or "honk" producing the proper pitch of the note.

In Sister Street Fighter (1974), the early morning section can be heard during the establishing shot of Shinobu Kojo teaching her ballet class, right before Tina Long, who had shown up on a tip from Kojo's boyfriend, Sonny Hibachi, questions a key person who may have a lead on the whereabouts of Lee, Tina's brother, and who worked with Lee until he went missing.

In History of the World Part I, a 1981 film written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks, Princess Nympho (Madeline Kahn) selects slaves for her entertainment by singing a song based on the final melody of Dance of the Hours.

In the UK, the tune was used in a 1985 television advertisement for Mini Cheddars.

The music also appeared in an episode of Garfield and Friends entitled "The Garfield Opera" (1992), in which Garfield and the others sing to the music's tune.

In the animated cartoon series Animaniacs (1993 - 1998), the character Wakko belches the tune to Dance of the Hours.

The tune is heard in the beginning of an episode of Camp Lazlo (2005 - 2008) an animated comedy about a summer camp.

In the United States, the tune was used and given lyrics in a 2003 television advertisement for K9 Advantix, a flea and tick control treatment for dogs.

Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon created a new rendition of Dance of the Hours for his ballet company, Morphoses. The work was featured in the company's New York debut, in 2006 at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York.