What connects Pennywise and Disneyland? Well, it's It miniseries composer Richard Bellis, it turns out, as he reveals the unlikely inspiration behind one of his spookiest tracks.
"I went to Disneyland the year it opened, and in the middle of Fantasyland, there was a big beautiful carousel. In the center of that carousel were instruments – drums, cymbals, bells, a calliope and horns – which you could see autonomously playing," Bellis, who won an Emmy for his score, told Gold Derby.
"Now, a carousel is not necessarily circus, but it's close enough," he continued. "And the calliope was traditionally a circus instrument that would provide that happy carefree feeling to the guests. By artificially lowering the calliope to a register not on the original instrument, we could pervert the happy attitude into a darker place. We introduced that theme during Pennywise's appearance in the storm drain."
The two-part series aired on ABC in 1990 and was the first time Stephen King's novel had been adapted for the screen. Tim Curry played Pennywise, while Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid, and Richard Masur played the adult counterparts of the Losers Club.
Since then, King's book has gotten the feature-length treatment from Andy Muschietti in his 2017 movie (and 2019 sequel) and, now, Pennywise is back on the small screen in HBO's IT: Welcome to Derry.
IT: Welcome to Derry airs weekly on HBO Max and NOW. Make sure you never miss an episode with our IT: Welcome to Derry release schedule, or check out our guide to the other best new TV shows to add to your watchlist.
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