When director Mike Judge was working on “Beavis and the Butt-Head-Doo Universe” (now airing on Paramount+), it was only appropriate to call in composer John Frizzell to work on the score. The judge needed the film’s music to reflect the emotional and physical journey the duo would be embarking on. To achieve this, Frizzell recorded an epic score with a 69-piece orchestra in Vienna.
In the new movie, Beavis and Butt-Head end up in space camp through a 1998 juvenile court judge’s “creative judgment.” Mistake in a docking simulation is for something else. Beavis and Butthead excel at it and ask them to join the space shuttle mission in a PR move. After the mission is destroyed, they are left for dead in space and end up passing through a black hole and reappearing on Earth in 2022, only to discover a completely different world – and find themselves considered the Buttholes of Interest by the National Security Agency, the governor of Texas, and a copy Very smart of themselves from a parallel world.
Mike Judge explained, “I think there’s a mutual respect that works. We love each other’s work, but John also has a bunch of qualities that you rarely find – someone who’s a really cool author who has extensive knowledge of this whole world, and then also really funny and understands where it’s coming from.” All the comedy, and she also writes really unforgettable great music. I find myself buzzing about his cues all the time.”
Frizzell conveyed the signals that went from emotional to comedic. Altogether, he ended up with 60 minutes of music for the film using a powerful trombone and brass to accompany the cartoon duo on their new adventure.
How was this movie scored for Beavis and Butthead versus the latter? What made this score so unique and are there familiar themes that you brought up from your recent Beavis and Butthead points?
While both films have a large orchestra, the new film has a lot more music. The 1996 movie has about 30 minutes of score and the new movie is close to 60 minutes. The sci-fi aspect of the new film allowed me to really extend the intensity of the recording, dealing with time travel and parallel universes allowing the music to be more dynamic and expressive than the espionage/action theme of the 1996 film. In particular, I wrote extensively for copper and was able to include a lot more From the strong low trombone as well as quite a few sections containing the trumpets. There is one brief quote from the 1996 movie in the opening credits where I used the “Butt-kong” theme. The new score also features a love theme and quite a few solos. My goal was practically not to get comedy in the new score. The only time I broke this rule was when a rhinoceros appeared.
You and Mike Judge have worked together on many projects over the years. How do you cooperate?
Mike and I have a definite shorthand to work together. We’re still doing a traditional discovery session. I usually come up with some thoughts on the mood I’m in and if Mike really laughs I know he’s on the right track but most of the time I just have to research and write and see where it goes. It took about three months to write this result. Very little of it was revisiting or rewriting, and most of the time was spent refining ideas, refining details and harmony. I’ve had a lot of time to improve the result and this really helps it feel firm and cohesive.
Although the score doesn’t look like a comical one, it is precisely timed to hit very precise moments. At the same time, I didn’t want it to feel intentional and tightly synchronized. It was difficult to achieve. Also, the score has a lot of variations in tempo with great acceleration and rallentandos. I wanted the music to feel smooth and natural as if there wasn’t an exact click, however this must be an illusion as it needs the precision of the frame. That took a lot of time. In terms of the pandemic, I think by the time we started, I was very acclimatized to Zoom. I do well in solitude, so perhaps the lack of social contact worked for me. I only go to the studio for long periods of time, completely wasting time and writing and writing and writing.
How was your first experience with the Vienna Film Orchestra? At the end of the process, how do you feel about this result and what makes it special?
Vienna was wonderful. We had a great deal of music to record and we had to move really fast. It took a top-tier team and near-perfect organization to pull it off. Nick Kimetti on my team set the tone for this organization with his precision and perfection and was followed by the Vienna Film Orchestra team, including our recording engineer Bernd Mazaj. The sessions were meticulous but still very creative. Great organization and precision is required for a creative and enjoyable recording session of this complexity. The Synchron team in Vienna nailed this one, and each player put their personal mastery of their tool into this score.
I feel really satisfied with this result. It’s by far my favorite thing I’ve ever written and I’m glad it’s part of the world now. Beavis and Boot Head have been a big part of my life for a long time and practically feel like family. I am very protective of them. Mike has given the world an amazing work of humor and satire and I’m really grateful to be a part of that. Most of all I really enjoy that we really make people laugh. The whole earth really needs a laugh these days and the boys are back to help bring stupidity to a new level out of this world.
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