Skip to content
MovieCove
George Bruns

George Bruns

Composer · Died May 23, 1983, aged 68 · Sandy - Oregon - USA

George Edward Bruns (July 3, 1914 – May 23, 1983) was an American composer of music for film and television. His accolades include four Academy Award nominations and three Grammy Award nominations. He is mainly known for his compositions for numerous Disney films from the 1950s to the 1970s, among them Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Absent-Minded Professor (both 1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967), The Love Bug (1968), The Aristocats (1970), and Robin Hood (1973). In the 1930s he worked as a musician with various groups in the Portland, Oregon area. In 1946 he was appointed musical director at radio station KEX in Portland, Oregon, and also was the bandleader for the Rose Bowl room of the Multnomah Hotel. From 1947 to 1949 he performed and recorded on trombone with Portland's Castle Jazz Band, led by banjoist Monte Ballou. In the late 1940s he moved to Los Angeles, where he did studio work, and performed and recorded with trombonist Turk Murphy's Jazz Band. In 1953 he was hired by Walt Disney as an arranger, eventually becoming Disney's musical director, a position he held until his retirement in 1976. Despite his retirement he continued to work on Disney projects. Among his work is the song "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" (which he co-wrote with Xavier Atencio), used in the Disney theme park attraction Pirates of the Caribbean and the movies based on that ride. He also co-wrote "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" with Tom W. Blackburn, as well as the song "Love" for the Disney animated film Robin Hood. During the mid-1950s, he adapted the music from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet for use as background score in the 1959 Disney film version. He also composed the score for The Jungle Book, and provided Herbie the Love Bug with his sprightly theme song, featured prominently throughout the series. During his tenure with Disney Studios, Bruns continued to play dixieland jazz, leading his Wonderland Jazz Band on two recording sessions, and playing and recording occasionally with the Disney "house" band, the Firehouse Five Plus Two. Bruns retired from Disney in 1976 and moved back to Sandy, Oregon.He taught part-time at Lewis & Clark College and continued to play and compose music, including recording at least one locally distributed album of jazz.-Wikipedia

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
July 3, 1914
Died
May 23, 1983 (aged 68)
From
Sandy - Oregon - USA
Works as
Composer
Titles
24 on MovieCove · 88 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 65 days to Oct 28Up 62% in 30 days

What are George Bruns' films like?

Across their 22 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Animation7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 90th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Animation movies
Comedy6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Adventure4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 61st percentile
: browse their Adventure movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
49%
Self
23%
Society
13%
Power
9%
Morality
4%
Survival
1%
Family bonds11 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity8 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose7 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom5 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty5 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 21 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 20 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 11 · Stylized 9 · Heightened 1

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 15 · Charged 6 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 15 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 10

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 14 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 20 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 21 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
14
Warm
12
Hopeful
7
Triumphant
6
Tense
4
Other
17

How their films linger

Feel-good18 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy20
  • Tragic1
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch George Bruns' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 24 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (15).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for George Bruns' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

88 credits, 24 with a MovieCove page.

  • D.I.Y. Duck(2024)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films

  • Michelle Kwan Skates to Disney's Greatest Hits (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Composer

  • Man, Monsters & Mysteries (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Composer

  • Herbie Rides Again(1974)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Robin Hood(1973)

    Composer · Lyricist

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • I'm No Fool with Electricity (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Composer

  • VD Attack Plan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    Composer

  • Snoopy Come Home(1972)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Michael O'Hara the Fourth(1972)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The City Fox (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Composer

  • The Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Composer

  • Three Without Fear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Composer

  • The Aristocats(1970)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Wacky Zoo of Morgan City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Composer

  • Dad... Can I Borrow the Car? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Composer

  • Cristobalito, the Calypso Colt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Composer

  • New Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Composer

  • It's Tough to Be a Bird (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Composer

  • Inky, the Crow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Composer

  • Physical Fitness and Good Health (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Composer

  • The Social Side of Health (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Composer

  • Ride a Northbound Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Composer

  • The Love Bug(1968)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit(1968)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Daring Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Composer

  • The Young Loner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Composer

  • My Family Is a Menagerie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Composer

  • Pablo and the Dancing Chihuahua (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Composer

  • The Jungle Book(1967)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • A Salute to Alaska (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Composer

  • Mosby's Marauders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Composer

  • The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin(1967)

    Composer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • EPCOT (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Composer

  • Island of the Lost (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)

    Composer

  • Follow Me, Boys!(1966)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • The Fighting Prince of Donegal(1966)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Donald's Fire Survival Plan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Composer

  • The Tenderfoot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)

    Composer

  • The Ugly Dachshund(1966)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Goofy's Freeway Troubles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Composer

  • Steel and America (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Composer

  • An Otter in the Family (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Composer

  • Freewayphobia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Composer

  • A Country Coyote Goes Hollywood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Composer · Songs

  • Disneyland 10th Anniversary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)

    Composer

  • The Tenderfoot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Show 3 episodes · Composer

  • The Legend of Two Gypsy Dogs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Composer · Songs

  • Bristle Face (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Composer

  • The Sword in the Stone(1963)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • Son of Flubber(1962)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Beetle Bailey(1963)

    Show Composer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all shows

  • Beetle's High Horps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Composer

  • Mooncussers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Composer

  • Backstage Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Composer · as Self

  • Babes in Toyland(1961)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • The Saga of Windwagon Smith (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Composer

  • The Coyote's Lament (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Compositor

  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians(1961)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Absent Minded Professor(1961)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Goliath II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Composer

  • Noah's Ark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Composer

  • Disneyland '59 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Composer

  • Sleeping Beauty(1959)

    Composer · Songs

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Paul Bunyan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Composer

  • Mars and Beyond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Composer

  • The Truth About Mother Goose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Composer

  • Johnny Tremain(1957)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Westward Ho, the Wagons!(1956)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • A Cowboy Needs a Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Composer

  • In the Bag (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Composer

  • Davy Crockett and the River Pirates(1956)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Jack and Old Mac (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Composer

  • Man and the Moon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Composer

  • Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Composer

  • Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier(1955)

    Composer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Man in Space (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Composer

  • Davy Crockett at the Alamo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Composer

  • Davy Crockett Goes to Congress (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Composer

  • Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Composer

  • Operation Undersea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Music Director

  • The Donald Duck Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Composer

  • The Disneyland Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Composer

  • How Now Boing Boing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Composer

  • Kangaroo Courting (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Composer

  • Ballet-Oop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Composer

  • Christopher Crumpet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Composer

  • Little Boy with a Big Horn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Composer

  • Monsters of the Deep (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Composer

Career shape

A full career of 87 titles, 86 of them dated from 1953 to 2024.

Biggest box office

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

$216M worldwide

Highest rated

The Jungle Book (1967)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing1 of 87: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleMusic85 of 87: 80 only music, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score65thOther crew6 of 87: 2 only other crew, 4 with another role

87 titles, 5 with more than one role — music and other crew overlap on 4 of them.

By decade

1950s27 · crew1960s42 · crew1970s15 · crew1990s1 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do George Bruns' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 23; across their 21 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Approval · how many liked their films

70thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Reach · how many have seen their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Midcredits score across 24 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th5
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

17 of their 24 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser17
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · composer

Beetle Bailey (1963)

56th percentile spread · 17% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · composer

The Jungle Book (1967)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the sound and music 68/100 in their films, across 18 reviewed titles; fans 75, detractors 51. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is George Bruns' work okay for kids?

Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore7 titles18–34 · median 25 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity7 titles4–10 · median 6 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity7 titles4–11 · median 8 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs7 titles18–38 · median 33 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense7 titles20–44 · median 25 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does George Bruns work with?

People who share at least 2 of George Bruns' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Walt Disney shares the most, 13.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers