Jul 04, 2014
Fourth of July 2014
This Doodle’s Key Themes
“Some of my earliest memories are of bands--no joke,” laughs doodler Betsy Bauer. “When I was a toddler, my dad was a high school band director and a baritone player in a couple of community ensembles. I have a lot of fond childhood memories of chasing fireflies during lawn concerts on town squares. It’s no surprise that I joined the high school marching band myself.”
“I was incredibly excited to be able to combine two of the greatest influences in my life into this doodle-- hand drawn animation and marching band,” she adds.
Bauer says that she knew that she wanted to make an animated short, and knew that she wanted to incorporate the song “Stars and Stripes Forever.” “Arguably, nothing is more symbolic of The US’s Independence day than John Philip Sousa’s iconic march.”
For art direction, she chose to emulate UPA’s classic 1950’s exaggerated design and animation style. This seemed appropriate because it is snappy, fun, and totally in the spirit of “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Some of Bauer’s early story sketches.
“I really wanted to make sure that the story felt sweet and sincere, but still celebrated Independence Day.” Bauer says that she hopes that people can relate to her doodle because everyone has been the underdog at one point or another.
Character design and homepage explorations
Google would additionally like to thank "The President's Own" United States Marine Band for providing the music recording, and engineer Mark Ivey for helping this doodle launch.
Have a great July 4th!
Where this Doodle appeared
Discover more Doodles by color
Did you know?
The very first Doodle launched as an “out of office” message of sorts when company founders Larry and Sergey went on vacation.
Learn MoreDid you know?
The first Doodle launched in 1998, before Google was officially incorporated.
Learn MoreDid you know?
The first same day Doodle was created in 2009 when water was discovered on the moon.
Learn MoreDid you know?
Doodle for Google student contest winners have gone on to become professional artists
Learn MoreDid you know?
The time it takes from sketch to launch for a Doodle varies widely: some have taken years and others just a few hours!
Learn MoreDid you know?
Hundreds of Doodles launch around the world every year. Often, several different ones are live in different places at the same time!
Learn MoreDid you know?
Our most frequently recurring Doodle character is Momo the Cat - named after a real-life team pet!
Learn More