Born in Los Angeles, he entered the film industry in 1976, initially as an actor. He made his film scoring debut in 1980 for the film Forbidden Zone directed by his older brother Richard Elfman. He has since been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. Elfman was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2002 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.
He is the son of novelist Blossom Elfman and the brother of director Richard Elfman.
Elfman was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Blossom Elfman (née Bernstein), a writer and teacher, and Milton Elfman, a community in the Baldwin Hills area of Los Angeles. He spent much of his time in the local movie theatre, adoring the music of such film composers as Bernard Herrmann and Franz Waxman.
Stating that he hung out with the "band nerds" in high school, he started a ska band. After dropping out of high school, he followed his brother Richard to France, where he performed with Le Grand Magic Circus, an avant-garde musical theater group. Violin in tow, Elfman next journeyed to Africa where he traveled through Ghana, Mali, and Upper Volta, absorbing new musical styles, including the Ghanaian highlife genre which would eventually influence his own music. Elfman contracted malaria during his one-year stay and was often sick. Eventually he returned home to the United States, where he began to take Balinese music lessons at the CalArts. He was never officially a student at the institute, nonetheless, the instructor encouraged him to continue learning. Elfman stated, "He just laughed, and said, 'Sit. Play.' I continued to sit and play for a couple years." At this time, his brother was forming a new musical theater group, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. The group performed the music for Richard's debut feature film, Forbidden Zone. Danny Elfman composed his first score for the film and played the role of Satan. By the time the movie was completed, they had taken the name Oingo Boingo and begun recording and touring as a rock group.
In 1985, Tim Burton and Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the score for their first feature film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman was apprehensive at first because of his lack of formal training, but with orchestration assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist and arranger Steve Bartek, he achieved his goal of emulating the mood of such composers as Nino Rota and Bernard Herrmann. In the booklet for the first volume of Music for a Darkened Theatre, Elfman described the first time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as one of the most thrilling experiences of his life.[citation needed] Elfman immediately developed a rapport with Burton and has gone on to score all but two of Burton's major studio releases: Ed Wood, scored by Howard Shore, which was under production while Elfman and Burton were having a fight, and Sweeney Todd, an adaptation of the 1979 Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical. He also, more recently, accompanied Tim Burton in the composition of music for "Almost Alice", the soundtrack for Alice in Wonderland.
Burton has said of his relationship with Elfman: "We don't even have to talk about the music. We don't even have to intellectualize – which is good for both of us, we're both similar that way. We're very lucky to connect" (Breskin, 1997).
In 2021 he released "Big Mess", his first non-soundtrack album since 1984's "So-Lo", which is often considered to rather be an Oingo Boingo album due to the presence of many other band members.
Elfman has three children: Lola, born in 1979; Mali, born in 1984; and Oliver, born in 2005. On November 29, 2003, Elfman married film actress Bridget Fonda. In 1997 he scored A Simple Plan – his only score for one of her films to date (although he did compose a cue for the film Army of Darkness, in which Fonda has a cameo). He is the uncle of actor Bodhi Elfman who is married to actress Jenna Elfman, known most notably in her role as Dharma in the TV series Dharma and Greg.
Augustus Gloop
Danny Elfman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The great big greedy nincompoop
Augustus Gloop, so big and vile
So greedy, foul, and infantile.
Come on we cried
The time is ripe
To send him shooting up the pipe
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed
Although of course
We must admit
He will be altered quite a bit
Slowly wheels go round and round
And cogs begin to grind and pound
We'll boil him for a minute more
Until we're absolutely sure
Then out he comes
By god, by grace
A miracle has taken place
A miracle has taken place
This greedy brute
This louse's ear
Is loved by people everywhere
For who could hate or bear a grudge
Against a luscious bit of fudge
The song "Augustus Gloop" is a musical piece from the original soundtrack of the 1971 movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", composed by Danny Elfman. The song makes reference to Augustus Gloop, one of the five children who receive golden tickets to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Augustus Gloop is portrayed as a repulsive and greedy boy who eats all the candy he can find. The lyrics, written by Roald Dahl, describe Augustus as a "great big greedy nincompoop", "so big and vile, so greedy, foul, and infantile".
The first stanza of the song sets the tone, portraying Augustus as someone who is not likable due to his bad habits. The second stanza marks the moment when Augustus falls into the chocolate river and is sucked up by the pipes, and the children rejoice, singing "come on, we cried, the time is ripe, to send him shooting up the pipe". The stanza emphasizes the pleasure that the other children feel at seeing Augustus getting his comeuppance. However, they also assure the audience that Augustus will not be harmed, merely altered, and after being boiled for a minute, he will emerge intact. The last stanza is slightly ironic, portraying Augustus as a "luscious bit of fudge", his end product being something "loved by people everywhere". It's a nod to our society's tendency to indulge in sweets and treats despite knowing they're not good for us.
Line by Line Meaning
Augustus Gloop, Augustus Gloop
Introducing the character named Augustus Gloop
The great big greedy nincompoop
Describing Augustus Gloop as a large, selfish and foolish individual
Augustus Gloop, so big and vile
Continuing to describe Augustus Gloop in a negative light
So greedy, foul, and infantile.
Adding to the negative description of Augustus Gloop by calling him immature and unpleasant
Come on we cried
Encouraging action to be taken against Augustus Gloop
The time is ripe
Suggesting that now is the perfect opportunity to do something about Augustus Gloop
To send him shooting up the pipe
Referring to a plan to send Augustus Gloop up a pipe
But don't dear children be alarmed
Assuring the children that there is no need to be worried
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed
Promising that Augustus Gloop will not come to any harm
Augustus Gloop will not be harmed
Repeating the promise that Augustus Gloop will not be hurt
Although of course
Acknowledging something that is known to be true
We must admit
Acknowledging that there is something that needs to be acknowledged
He will be altered quite a bit
Admitting that Augustus Gloop will be changed in some way
Slowly wheels go round and round
Describing a process of machinery that is happening
And cogs begin to grind and pound
Adding to the description of the machinery process
We'll boil him for a minute more
Revealing that Augustus Gloop is being boiled
Until we're absolutely sure
Stating the reason for boiling Augustus Gloop
Then out he comes
Explaining the end of the boiling process
By god, by grace
Expressing a sense of amazement at what has happened
A miracle has taken place
Attributing the changed state of Augustus Gloop to a miracle
A miracle has taken place
Repeating the previous statement for emphasis
This greedy brute
Referring to Augustus Gloop again
This louse's ear
Using an insulting term to describe Augustus Gloop
Is loved by people everywhere
Stating that there are people who appreciate Augustus Gloop
For who could hate or bear a grudge
Asking a rhetorical question about how someone could dislike Augustus Gloop
Against a luscious bit of fudge
Comparing Augustus Gloop to a sweet confectionery item
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DANNY ELFMAN, ROALD DAHL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind