Legendary composer, Danny Elfman, thought that his score for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure would ruin his career. However, in the years since the film's release, Elfman has worked on numerous productions including The Simpsons, Beetlejuice, Justice League, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and many more.
Elfman is a titan in the composer community in Hollywood. Elfman has been nominated for four Oscars and won two Emmy Awards, one Grammy, and the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award over the course of his career. Elfman began his career in 1972 as a creator of the street theater group The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, which performed on the street and in night clubs throughout Los Angeles. Tim Burton and Paul Reubens, who were fans of The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, invited Elfman to write the score for Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman’s work on the score effectively launched his career and helped him become one of the most prolific composers in Hollywood. That being said, he wasn't always confident in himself.
In an interview with Yahoo!, Elfman discussed how he believed his score on Pee-wee’s Big Adventure would never see the light of day. Elfman stated, “Who’d want to hire me after this? In fact, I thought the score would get thrown out. I assumed Warner Bros. would listen to the score, toss it, and hire a ‘real’ composer and do it right.” Elfman believed that he was not the right person for the project and was bewildered how Paul Reubens and Burton had decided to recruit him; however, he was grateful to them for doing so. Elfman’s original score on Pee-wee’s Big Adventure was the beginning of his long and successful career as a composer.
The music of the score is whimsical and wild with its Loony Tunes references, oompah riffs, and frenetic pacing. It is also by far one of the most recognizable scores of the ’80s. The creation of this score quickly earned Elfman the title of Hollywood’s quirky-comedy-guy for TV and movie music, a title which he could not shake until Burton recruited Elfman to work with him on Batman. Elfman is now a house-hold name when it comes to TV and film scores and is best known for music that is both unusual and imaginative. However, this success likely wouldn't have come if not for Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
For any fan who has seen a Burton, Disney, or comic-book related film, there is a high chance they've listened to one of Elfman's scores. Elfman’s complex scores have provided a high standard for new composers who wish to work in the film industry. His music has set the stage for 100 different films and has created a genre of music all its own. With his newer work on DC films like Justice League, fans will be provided with even more distinctive and exceptional music to listen to as time goes on. With as popular as Elfman is today, it's easy for fans to forget that one of his first movies was Pee-wee's Big Adventure. While Elfman may have started his career with self-doubt over that film, he has grown into a confident, award-winning composer known around the world.
Source: Yahoo!