“The Adventures of Prince Achmed,” first released in 1926, is the oldest surviving feature-length cartoon. The film was screened at Colgate University and accompanied by a live orchestra on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

The film follows Prince Achmed and his encounters with mystical forces in the form of an evil wizard, angelic creatures, genies, a witch and demons in faraway lands. This story, in its centennial year, was revitalized by the creative minds of Terry Donahue and Roger Clark Miller, otherwise known as the “Anvil Orchestra.” Unlike typical orchestras, Donahue and Miller represent the entirety of the ensemble. Miller primarily plays the keyboard/synthesizer, and Donahue operates a variety of percussion instruments, including more eclectic instruments such as the musical saw. Together, the two musicians played a live score to go along with the silent cartoon. Their performance created an immersive and emotionally captivating experience for attendees. 

The cartoon lasted for a little over an hour, the plot spread across five acts. All the while, Donahue and Miller performed their original score for the film. The music blended seamlessly with the film’s various moods and scenes.  

“Both [Donahue] and I really like Middle Eastern harmonics,” Miller said. “This kind of magical transformation in the film gives us a lot of room for expression … Our goal in scoring is to support the film. It’s not to make you think about us, but to support the film.” 

With this emphasis on the film, Donahue and Miller use modern instruments and mix improvisation into their scores to create an element of freshness and spontaneity. 

“There are fixed ideas and fixed sections, but also tons of room to react and interact, which I think really helps match the magic of what’s going on in the film,” Donahue said. “One of our primary goals is not to negate what people have done in the past, but to bring the film to a modern audience and we hope we succeeded in this. … We are watching the film, listening to each other and remaining willing to go somewhere different if that’s where it takes us, as long as we’re all doing it together.” 

This unique approach to scoring maximizes the effects the medium Donahue and Miller have adopted because they are able to create meaningful sequences that could not be captured in a typical studio recording for regularly produced films. This scoring process involves Donahue and Miller sitting down and meditating on the meaning and potential sound of the film. 

“It’s just so intuitive,” Donahue described. “A lot of times when we’re scoring, we have ideas ahead of time and almost always those ideas get thrown out once we’re in the studio. … We start watching the film and ask, ‘How does it make us feel? What does it make us want to play? And does it work with the scene?’” 

Another unique aspect of the Anvil Orchestra’s medium is the lack of a director and outside creative teams. This allows Donahue and Miller complete artistic freedom, which the two use to the fullest extent, both in style and instrumentation. 

“[Not having a director] frees us up a lot for our own interpretation,” said Miller. “Producers and directors will often have very specific ideas that sometimes get in the way, and the biggest problem is the communication of those ideas. A lot of filmmakers are musicians, so you have to translate and figure out exactly what they want.” 

Donahue described how his use of unique instrumentation enabled his creative process.

“I have a basic setup with the cross piece and the gongs and some regular drums,” said Donahue. “Each film takes me somewhere, and then every chance I get, I will play the musical saw. … For this movie, there are a lot of instruments that I haven’t normally played, but the hammered dulcimer just seemed appropriate.” 

Seniors Kyra Trumbull and Sabine Roser, the student organizers of the event, introduced Donahue and Miller and afterwards led a discussion with the musicians. The two commented on their interest in putting on the event. 

“This event falls under the Film and Media Studies seminar, and we wanted to do something that incorporated our passion for film and music,” Trumbull said. “The film is amazing and the performers did a great job bringing the film to life.” 

“When we found out this was the oldest surviving cartoon-style film, we had to bring it back,” Roser said. “The turnout from the Colgate students and Hamilton community was outstanding and brought amazing energy and questions.”