Sound effects are often one of the most evocative of sensory stimuli, because the best of them rarely require visual accompaniment to be instantly recognizable. They live in our genes, embedded in the hardwiring of our hobbies and interests. Does any Star Wars fan really need to see a lightsaber igniting in order to identify what that very specific and very brilliantly conceived sound is representing?
Certain sounds from the cartoons I watched as a child have left an indelible impression on me, such that I can, sight unseen, identify what the sound is connected to and what property (or properties) it was from. They’re as recognizable as a best friend’s face, and can be plucked out of a sea of aural confusion as easily as finding that friend in a crowd of people.
Each of these sounds can easily transport me back to childhood, giving me that warm feeling of Saturday mornings and unaffected nostalgia.
The Superwhoosh
It was used for many flying types, but the “superwhoosh” is most connected to, of course, Superman. I loved the Superfriends cartoon when I was a wee tyke, and that sound of Superman taking off—sort of an upward-arcing whining type of sound that reversed itself whenever he (or another flier) landed. It was used fairly consistently throughout every iteration of Superfriends and into the Super Powers era. Whenever I played with my Superman action figure that was the sound I tried to approximate every time he took off, to various levels of success. Even with live action versions of Superman a small part of my mind still conjures up that sound to accompany Superman taking off. You can hear it right at the beginning of this intro.
The Spider-thwipp
Spider-Man headlined a solo cartoon in 1980, and then got a pair of tagalong hot and cold friends in 1981. In both the solo act and the Spider-Friends cartoon, one thing was consistent—that hollow, reverb-drenched sound of Spider-man shooting a web. It’s more like a thin laser sound than anything else, and is not what one envisions when seeing the “thwipp” sound on the comic page—the sibilant hiss of the 90s spider-web or any of the live-action versions are more accurate sounding–but it’s so ingrained in my head that I can hear that sound in dead silence and know without question that it’s the sound of Spidey spinning a web. You hear it at the 28 second mark.
The Transforming sound
Can a Transformer iteration truly be a Transformer iteration if it doesn’t include that sound of a Transformer transforming. I’m sure mechanized clinks and clunks are more appropriate for a giant robot that’s turning into something else, maybe with some whirrs and whines thrown in, but to me I get a giddy thrill hearing any of the variations on that chunky, grindy synth sound from the cartoon. Several variations were used, up to reversing the sound to coincide with the reversal of transformation, but all of the sounds are instantly familiar. In the dead of night I can hear that sound and know that somewhere, somehow, my car just got up and is about to kick some Decepticon ass.
Scooby Doo creepy opening
Of any cartoon I ever watched as a kid, Scooby Doo is basically the mascot of Saturday morning. It was often the very first cartoon of the day, so it kind of signaled the start of the cartoon marathon that was about to start.
First the bat and lighting, then the drums start, and then, just underneath the vocalist, you get that chilly, warbly sound accompanying the appearance of the title, beginning right at the 7 second mark. It’s a tinny, vibrating sound that is so subtle you barely notice it. Man, I looooved Scooby Doo, and after about a bajillion viewings that intro is practically a part of my DNA by now.
G.I. Joe bazorp laser sound
Hey, did you know in the G.I. Joe cartoon, the Joes didn’t fire bullets but instead shot lasers? Also everyone had Stormtrooper level aim, nobody died, and everyone used the same gun. But that laser sound, that bazorping sound that accompanied every fruitless firefight that was put on screen (ok, so vehicles got hit, but no people) is fried into my ears. It wasn’t a sound unique to G.I. Joe, as I remember hearing it elsewhere, but whenever I heard it, I always thought to myself that somebody stole one of the guns from G.I. Joe. It pretty much starts at the 5 second mark in the intro and carries on throughout. My Joe toys fire bullets, but occasionally, just occasionally, one of them ended up with a laser gun, and they sounded just like that. In my head.
Each of these sounds carries with it a very strong memory. I have many many more, from the chortachortachorta sounds the Go-Bots made when they fired their fist lasers to so many more, but right here and now, these are the top five.
