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This is a list of compositions by Danny Elfman for film, television, stage and the concert hall.

For a list of recordings, see Danny Elfman discography, and for Elfman's work as lead singer/songwriter of Oingo Boingo, see Oingo Boingo discography.

Film scores

The following list consists of select films for which Danny Elfman composed the score and/or songs.

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Additional film work

In addition to his feature scores, Elfman has supplied thematic material and additional music for films scored by others (theme only unless otherwise noted):

Elfman composed the music for the Hollywood Pictures logo in 1991, and an excerpt from his main title for Sommersby was subsequently used as the logo music for Regency (the company that made Sommersby) beginning in 1994.

Concert and stage works

The following list consists of select works composed for the stage and concert hall.

Television

Elfman has written the theme music and occasional episodic scores for several television series, including:

On October 30, 2015, PBS's "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton, for which Elfman won Outstanding Music Direction at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2019 selections from his score to the film Midnight Run were used in the third season of Netflix's Stranger Things, including "Stairway Chase" in episodes 5 and 6, and "Wild Ride" and "Package Deal" in episode 6.

Video games

Miscellaneous

• 1987: Music for Sally Cruikshank's Face Like A Frog animated short (suite included on the 1990 Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 1 compilation).
• 1991: Music for Nike's "Barkley Superhero" animated television commercial (included on the 1996 Music for a Darkened Theatre, Vol. 2 compilation).
• 1996: Music for a 1996/97 Nissan television advertising campaign.
• 1998: Music for a 1998/99 Lincoln-Mercury television advertising campaign.
• 1998: Provided part-composed, part-sampled music for Luigi Serafini's solo exhibition il Teatro della Pittura at the Fondazione Mudima di Milano in Milan, Italy.
• 1998: For Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot Psycho remake, Elfman and Steve Bartek adapted the original score composed by Bernard Herrmann.
• 2000: Music for Tim Burton's "Stainboy" animated internet series commissioned by Shockwave.com (selections released on Warner Bros. Records' The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box in 2010).
• 2002: Music for Honda's "Power of Dreams" advertising campaign, the first cinema commercial to be shot in the IMAX format.
• 2006: Elfman's "Overeager Overture" commemorating conductor John Mauceri's tenure with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra premiered September 15, 2006, at the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Mauceri.
• 2006: Provided music for Erik Sanko's first feature-length marionette performance The Fortune Teller.
• 2009: Incidental music for the Tim Burton exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 2009-2010 (selections released on Warner Bros. Records' The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box in 2010).
• 2013: Composed the music and provided the English-language vocals for the Hong Kong Disneyland attraction Mystic Manor.
• 2016: Scored the "Making of an Oscar" animation which opened the 88th Academy Awards.
• 2016: Composed atonal "horror" music for the short Funny or Die video "Trump Stalks Clinton," which used footage from the Second U.S. presidential debate.
• 2018: Elfman's Flash theme briefly appeared in The Flash episode "Elseworlds: Part One", which is part of the Arrowverse.
• 2019: Elfman's Batman theme for the DC Animated Universe briefly appeared in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies feature film Justice League vs. the Fatal Five.
• 2019: Elfman's Batman and Flash themes briefly appeared in the Supergirl episode "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One" and in The Flash episode "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three" respectively, both part of the Arrowverse.
• 2020: Re-recorded and released a "nursery rhyme" version of his 1982 Oingo Boingo song "Running on a Treadmill" while under quarantine from the coronavirus pandemic.
• 2020: Scored the 10-minute video "Joe Biden," which introduced Joe Biden's acceptance of the presidential candidacy nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
• 2021: Released Big Mess, Elfman's first "rock record in 27 years" and first solo record since 1984's So-Lo.
• 2021: Elfman's Batman theme for the DC Animated Universe briefly appeared during the Warner 300 presentation scene in the Looney Tunes film Space Jam: A New Legacy.
• 2021: Elfman's Spider-Man theme briefly appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• 2022: Elfman's Batman theme for the DC Animated Universe briefly appeared in the Harley Quinn episode "Batman Begins Forever".
• 2023: Elfman's Batman theme is used in the DC Extended Universe film The Flash.
• 2024: Elfman's Batman theme is used in the Amazon Prime Video series Invincible episode "I Thought You Were Stronger".
• 2024: Elfman's Batman theme for the DC Animated Universe briefly appeared in the DC Animated Movie Universe feature film Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths - Part Three.

Notes

1. Paramount, which initially acquired rights to the film, were only given a studio credit in the final film.
2. Even though Perfect World Pictures produced the film, their logo is not shown on any promotional material or in the film itself.
3. Snyder was the director during principal photography, but was replaced by Joss Whedon during post-production. Snyder retained directorial credit for the finished film, though reports have indicated Whedon reshot a majority of the film.
4. In home release, RatPac-Dune Entertainment was replaced with Access Entertainment (RatPac's current owner), following the rape and sexual harassment allegations against RatPac-Dune's CEO, Brett Ratner.

References

1. Digiovanna, James (March 31, 2005). "Intestinal Fortitude". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
2. ^ Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film & Television Music Volume One (booklet). Danny Elfman. Universal City, CA: MCA Records. 1990. p. 2–9. MCD10065.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. Grow, Kory. "Inside Danny Elfman’s Twisted Cult Film ‘Forbidden Zone’", Rolling Stone, November 6, 2015.
4. D'Angelo, Mike (January 16, 2014). "Danny Elfman's score tied Pee-wee's Big Adventure together—and launched a career". The Dissolve. Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
5. Buck, David. "Mystic Knights of the Movie Soundtrack", Tedium, March 14, 2018.
6. Danny Elfman - Summer School, 2023, retrieved 2023-10-20
7. Bond, Jeff (October 2015). Danse Macabre: 25 years of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton. Warner Bros. pp. 12–259. 5251722.
8. ^ "Artist: Danny Elfman". Grammy.com. Recording Academy. n.d. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
9. Taylor, Drew (June 19, 2012). "20th Anniversary: 5 Things You Might Not Know About 'Batman Returns'". IndieWire. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved October 10, 2019. In addition to the score, Elfman co-wrote the Siouxsie and the Banshees song that plays during the masquerade ball.
10. Ng, David (October 24, 2015). "Danny Elfman can relate to 'Nightmare Before Christmas' hero Jack Skellington". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
11. "Soundtrack Information: To Die For". Soundtrack.Net. n.d. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
12. Bond, Jeff (2019). Mission: Impossible - Limited Edition (booklet). Danny Elfman. Los Angeles, CA: La-La Land Records, Inc. pp. 5–6. LLLCD1411.
13. ^ Glionna, John M. (April 18, 1999). "A Different Beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 8, 2019. Though he earned two Academy Award nominations in 1997 for "Men in Black" and "Good Will Hunting," his work has long been scrutinized by industry peers...
14. Lowman, Rob (July 18, 2019). "It's music to Oompa Loompa by". Orlando Sentinel. Things got a little crazy at composer Danny Elfman's home studio when he began creating the singing parts for the Oompa Loompa songs in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... Elfman laid down the vocals in his home. He did every part six times.
15. Anderson, Kyle (July 22, 2011). "Danny Elfman on Tim Burton, Gus Van Sant, and why it's so hard to sing in Russian: An EW Q&A". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
16. Fisher, Russ (February 17, 2010). "Sample the Rejected Rock Score for The Wolfman". SlashFilm.com. /Film. Retrieved September 27, 2019. Many changes were wrought to Joe Johnston's The Wolfman during production... One of the last-stage changes was a switch from Danny Elfman's original score to a new one by electronic/rock composer Paul Haslinger.
17. Miller, Ross (January 20, 2010). "Danny Elfman's 'Wolfman' Score Brought Back Into Play". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Retrieved September 27, 2019. Universal has apparently decided to switch back to Elfman's original score... Because of commitments to Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Elfman can't work on the film right now, so additional composers are being brought in to finish his work.
18. "David Buckley: Credits". DavidBuckleyMusic.com. Firefly Music. n.d. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
19. Burton, Byron (November 18, 2017). "Danny Elfman Hates When Reboots Scrap Classic Themes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2019. Elfman and Whedon previously worked together on 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, another situation he describes as another "three-alarm call." He shared scoring credits with Brian Tyler.
20. Strauss, Bob (November 15, 2017). "Joss Whedon brought 'own flavor' to 'Justice League' after Zack Snyder left". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
21. Kit, Borys (May 20, 2020). ""It Will Be an Entirely New Thing": Zack Snyder's $20M-Plus 'Justice League' Cut Plans Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
22. Chapman, Tom (February 13, 2018). "Justice League: Brett Ratner Credit Replaced For Home Video". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
23. Danny Elfman (November 10, 2017). Justice League: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD liner). Burbank, CA: WaterTower Music. 19075807271. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
24. Lenker, Maureen Lee (November 9, 2019). "Danny Elfman talks reinventing 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' with Tyler the Creator". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 12, 2019. ...once Elfman felt his own heart grow two sizes when it came to Christmas, incorporating the original songs become one of the highlights of writing his score for The Grinch. "The 'Welcome' song was easy," he says. "We were playing the song twice in the film, so it was just how to score it and then pick up the melody and have it kind of lift up and explode when his heart does." When it came to the other hit song, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," Elfman had a slightly more complex task, collaborating with rapper Tyler the Creator on the iconic tune first recorded by Thurl Ravenscroft.
25. Coffel, Chris (September 10, 2019). "Director Richard Elfman Talks Clowns, Scotch, and Teaching Hollywood PR [Interview]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 8, 2022. "I was, and am, an Afro-Latin percussionist — currently playing in a band, Mambo Demonico with Ego Plum (Guerrero), who did the score with Danny . actually has seventy-five minutes of music in a ninety minute movie.
26. Burlingame, Jon (March 28, 2019). "Danny Elfman Broke His Cardinal Rule for 'Dumbo's' Bittersweet Score". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2019. "This is a cultural icon," the composer says, "and I was happy to pay homage." So "Pink Elephants on Parade," "When I See an Elephant Fly" and the train motif "Casey Junior" all make appearances...
27. Kaufman, Gil (June 6, 2019). "Danny Elfman on Composing Score for 'Men in Black: International': 'I Get to Visit a World I Love'". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2019. Working with co-composer Chris Bacon, Elfman says he stuck to his trusty playbook when it comes to return trips to previously explored cinematic universes.
28. "Danny Elfman to Score Joe Wright's 'The Woman in the Window'". Film Music Reporter. November 23, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
29. Hood, Cooper (May 5, 2022). "The Marvel Movie Music Secretly Hidden In Doctor Strange 2". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
30. Buck, David (March 14, 2019). "Mystic Knights of the Movie Soundtrack". Tedium. Retrieved October 8, 2019. Bachelor Party... has not one, but two (possibly three) Boingo songs. The title track—written and performed by Oingo Boingo specifically for the film—recaps the plot in the band's inimitable style. "Something Isn't Right" is an earlier song that only saw a release with this soundtrack album.
31. Sean O'Neal (October 27, 2014). "Danny Elfman on Oingo Boingo, film scores, and the Beatles almost ruining Batman". AV Music. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
32. Goldwasser, Dan (March 3, 2001). "Review: Heartbreakers". Soundtrack.net. Autotelics, LLC. Retrieved October 8, 2019. The resulting film is... backed by a quirky score by John Debney (with a main theme by Danny Elfman), as well as a swath of mood-setting pop songs.
33. Valkor (May 3, 2011). "InterView: Mali Elfman Director of "Do Not Disturb"". The-Other-View.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019. I asked my dad for a theme. He wrote it in about 20 minutes and wouldn't let me hear it until a week later when he had about 3 themes, and 10 variations. I ended up picking the first piece that he wrote for the opening credits and using it as the theme for the film.
34. "Composer Logo Music". Soundtrack.net. Autotelics, LLC. n.d. Retrieved October 8, 2019. I got a call from John Hughes talking about the movie, and wouldn't it be fun, and I literally wrote it while I was talking to him.
35. "All World Premiere Concert Features Legendary Rock Guitarist Andy Summers & Orchestral Debut of Hollywood Composer Danny Elfman". AmericanComposers.org. February 23, 2005. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
36. "Rabbit And Rogue". TwylaTharp.org. n.d. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
37. Warren, Matt (June 21, 2016). "Danny Elfman Has the Music. Do You Have the Movie? Announcing 'Rabbit and Rogue' Challenge". FilmIndependent.org. Retrieved September 27, 2019. The Rabbit and Rogue Project is a unique challenge aimed at empowering and inspiring independent media creators. Free of charge, filmmakers will be able to use selections from Elfman's new album, Rabbit and Rogue in their short film projects.
38. Goldwasser, Dan (June 11, 2012). "Review: Cirque du Soleil: Iris". Soundtrack.net. Autotelics, LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2019. the music would be composed by Oscar-nominated film composer Danny Elfman, and feature a soundtrack performed by over 100 musicians... In the balconies on the sides, a small musical ensemble surrounds us, and performs live to accompany the pre-recorded musical material.
39. Griffin, Matt. "In pictures: Helena Bonham Carter and Danny Elfman help celebrate classic Danny Elfman scores", RoyalAlbertHall.com, October 8, 2013.
40. Locker, Melissa."Danny Elfman onstage: 'It was the most intense fear I've felt in my career'", The Guardian, July 6, 2015.
41. Columbia Artists. "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra “Eleven Eleven” composed by Danny Elfman", columbia-artists.com, June 21, 2017.
42. Kruse, Kyle (February 22, 2018). "Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet premieres Danny Elfman piece at Lied Center". The Daily Nebraskan. Lincoln, NE. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
43. Portwood, Jerry (March 11, 2019). "Danny Elfman to Score 'Gary' Production on Broadway". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
44. Philip Glass Center. "Third Coast Percussion Performs Elfman & Glass: World Premiere", philipglasscenter.org, September 11, 2019 (retrieved).
45. Pearis, Bill (April 17, 2022). "Watch Danny Elfman play Oingo Boingo, Simpson's, 'Nightmare Before Christmas' & more at Coachella". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
46. Vartan, Kristin (January 3, 2020). "Fans express their shock, excitement over Danny Elfman performing at Coachella 2020". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
47. Sisario, Ben (March 10, 2020). "Coachella, Influential Music Festival, Is Postponed Amid Virus Fears". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
48. Blueskye, Brian (April 23, 2022). "Coachella 2022: 5 highlights from Danny Elfman's rock-infused, cinematic set". The Desert Sun. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
49. Willman, Chris (August 22, 2022). "Danny Elfman to Perform at Hollywood Bowl Halloween Weekend, Following Coachella Triumph". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
50. ^ "World Premiere Performances of Danny Elfman's New Concertos for Cello and Percussion". Schott EAM. April 21, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
51. Boyd, Tonkin (August 8, 2022). "Prom 27, Dinnerstein, National Youth Orchestra, Gourlay review - colour symphonies". The Arts Desk. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
52. "Danny Elfman at the Library for the World Premiere of 'Suite for Chamber Orchestra'". Library of Congress news. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
53. "Composer Danny Elfman Scores First Emmy Award". BMI.com. Broadcast Music, Inc. September 21, 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
54. "Soundtrack Album for ABC's 'When We Rise' Announced". Film Music Reporter. February 9, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
55. Petski, Nellie Andreeva,Denise; Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (2021-11-16). "Karen Gillan To Star In Emily Kapnek's 'Rhona Who Lives By The River' Animated Musical Series With Danny Elfman In Works At Disney+". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
56. "Danny Elfman: Awards & Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 18, 2016. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
57. Lindquist, David (July 5, 2019). "'Stranger Things 3' music digs up gems from '80s charts and movies". Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, IN. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
58. Adams, David (March 18, 2004). "Danny Elfman Does Fable". IGN.com. Ziff Davis, LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
59. Fahey, Mike (November 6, 2008). "Fable II Soundtrack Coming This Month". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
60. "Organa's New Puppet Masterpiece Theater Features Original Music from Grammy Winner Danny Elfman". PRWeb. Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC. October 17, 2012. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
61. Music for a Darkened Theatre: Film & Television Music Volume One (booklet). Danny Elfman. Universal City, CA: MCA Records. 1990. p. 2. MCD10065.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
62. Elfman, Danny. "Wacky Tracks", September 17, 2019 (recovered).
63. "Review: Psycho (1998) (Bernard Herrmann/Danny Elfman/Steve Bartek)". FilmTracks. November 27, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2019. So loyal is Elfman (and cohort Steve Bartek) to Herrmann's original intent that he succeeded better than anyone else at re-recording the work.
64. Zahed, Ramin (November 2, 2000). "Stainboy". Variety. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved October 7, 2019. Also effective is Burton's frequent music collaborator Danny Elfman, who offers a grandiose, orchestral score to the Stainboy's adventures.
65. "GALLERY 22: Best of the US - Honda". Campaign. London: Haymarket Media Group. November 30, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
66. Ng, David (August 30, 2019). "Danny Elfman to bring concert of Tim Burton movie music to L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2019. also collaborated on "The Overeager Overture," which was performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 2006.
67. Donelson, Sophie (October 22, 2006). "The Costumes Are All Vintage. Very Tiny Vintage". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2019. It is Mr. Sanko's first feature-length marionette performance, in addition to being an outlet for the composer Danny Elfman to indulge his dark side in between writing songs for the new movie version of 'Charlotte's Web.'
68. Napolitano, Dean (June 14, 2013). "Danny Elfman on Scoring for a Disney Ride". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 19, 2019. ...the film composer Danny Elfman jumped at the chance to try something new: creating the music for Mystic Manor, a new Disneyland ride in Hong Kong...Figures in Chinese art leap off the walls, Roman frescos come alive, musical instruments play themselves, and floating headgear from armored suits sing in three languages: Mandarin, Cantonese and English. ("It's me singing in English, by the way," Mr. Elfman says.)
69. Thalia. "Elfman at Oscars ceremony", Elfman World, February 29, 2016.
70. Stefansky, Emma. "Danny Elfman Wrote a Soundtrack for Trump Stalking Behind Hillary During the Debate", Vanity Fair, October 15, 2016.
71. Torres, Eric (April 21, 2020). "Danny Elfman Records Home Video Performing Oingo Boingo's "Running on a Treadmill": Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
72. Tangcay, Jazz (August 21, 2020). "Joe Biden's DNC Videos Were Shot by An Oscar-Winning Documentarian". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
73. Willman, Chris (June 11, 2021). "Danny Elfman Talks About Making a 'Big Mess,' and Returning to Rock a Quarter-Century After Oingo Boingo Split". Variety. Retrieved 2021-08-27.

• Lists of compositions by composer
• Danny Elfman