Brother Bear
Mark Mancina
" Not as cuddly as I had hoped "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
It has been a while since Mark Mancina made a mark in the business, but now he's back with a Disney animation and a Disney fantasy ride. The second is The Haunted Mansion, the first Brother Bear. I don't know what the film tries to accomplish but goodbye are the days humans ruled the animation (Atlantis and Treasure Planet) and that computer animation (Dinosaur) made the exception. We are back to the cuddly factor of The Lion King and the wilderness of Tarzan, bringing back song writer Phil Collins and composer Mark Mancina from that last title. Sadly, neither bring back the better quality of Tarzan since it all feels a bit uninspired.
Of course, as score I'm enjoying it a bit more than the actual songs, but together it feels a bit flat in impression. The songs are in the vein as I encountered them in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. While Bryan Adams hit a few homeruns, Collins doesn’t hit them all out of the ballpark. Of all the songs, only several stand out as being enjoyable, and these for just several reasons. "Look Through my Eyes" is like most albums entertaining because it is the first one you’ll spot. "No Way Out" is enjoyable because it mixes some choir in the background while "Transformation" (the version of Phil Collins) is the best because it uses the musical score of Mancina with light choral accompaniment.
The rest is nothing too special. "On my Way" is bouncy due to the guitar, harmonica and whistling and "Great Spirits" feels at home due to the fact Mancina and Collins arranged it. But again it doesn’t mean the songs are memorable.
Sadly, the music overall of Mancina isn't memorable as well. While it is nice to have at least some 20 minutes divided into 3 tracks, it is nothing that stuns us. This is sad considering it took some time to hear Mancina back at work. "Three Brothers" has native instruments and a great moment around 1.48, occasionally even receiving some light choir. This is nothing to get excited about, but it ranks as being enjoyable. The downright pathetic mentioning of Collins as co composer while just singing several seconds in the score makes it all the more ridiculous.
Nonetheless, Mancina incorporates the song themes very briefly in the score, which makes the transition from song to score at least recommendable. "Awakes as a Bear" has a bit of action music (nothing exciting), further an appearance of the song theme "no way out" before the transformation theme appears too with light choir. Again acceptable but nothing more. And "Wilderness of Danger and Beauty" mixes some short action material with percussion and the blast of the transformation theme, just like we heard it in track 5.
All this isn't memorable enough. The lack of truly inspiring music makes sure Brother Bear is a bit of a disappointment. Neither stunning nor horrible, we have heard better (Tarzan and The Road to El Dorado) and the lack of anything thrilling is what I miss the most. Acceptable for Disney fanatics but a second opinion will be needed if you really think it will be worth all those ?hard? earned dollars.
Score: **1/2
Songs: **1/2
Tracklisting
1. Look Through my Eyes: Phil Collins (4.00)
2. Great Spirits: Tina Turner (3.23)
3. Welcome: Phil Collins (3.37)
4. No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear): Phil Collins (4.17)
5. Transformation + (2.28)
6. On My Way: Phil Collins (3.40)
7. Welcome: The Blind Boys of Alabama & Phil Collins (3.13)
8. No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear): Phil Collins (2.37)
9. Transformation: Phil Collins (2.25)
10. Three Brothers * (6.44)
11. Awakes as a Bear * (6.48)
12. Wilderness of Danger and Beauty * (5.30)
* Soundtrack by Mark Mancina
+ Performed by The Bulgarian Women's Choir
Total Length: 48.50
Of course, as score I'm enjoying it a bit more than the actual songs, but together it feels a bit flat in impression. The songs are in the vein as I encountered them in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. While Bryan Adams hit a few homeruns, Collins doesn’t hit them all out of the ballpark. Of all the songs, only several stand out as being enjoyable, and these for just several reasons. "Look Through my Eyes" is like most albums entertaining because it is the first one you’ll spot. "No Way Out" is enjoyable because it mixes some choir in the background while "Transformation" (the version of Phil Collins) is the best because it uses the musical score of Mancina with light choral accompaniment.
The rest is nothing too special. "On my Way" is bouncy due to the guitar, harmonica and whistling and "Great Spirits" feels at home due to the fact Mancina and Collins arranged it. But again it doesn’t mean the songs are memorable.
Sadly, the music overall of Mancina isn't memorable as well. While it is nice to have at least some 20 minutes divided into 3 tracks, it is nothing that stuns us. This is sad considering it took some time to hear Mancina back at work. "Three Brothers" has native instruments and a great moment around 1.48, occasionally even receiving some light choir. This is nothing to get excited about, but it ranks as being enjoyable. The downright pathetic mentioning of Collins as co composer while just singing several seconds in the score makes it all the more ridiculous.
Nonetheless, Mancina incorporates the song themes very briefly in the score, which makes the transition from song to score at least recommendable. "Awakes as a Bear" has a bit of action music (nothing exciting), further an appearance of the song theme "no way out" before the transformation theme appears too with light choir. Again acceptable but nothing more. And "Wilderness of Danger and Beauty" mixes some short action material with percussion and the blast of the transformation theme, just like we heard it in track 5.
All this isn't memorable enough. The lack of truly inspiring music makes sure Brother Bear is a bit of a disappointment. Neither stunning nor horrible, we have heard better (Tarzan and The Road to El Dorado) and the lack of anything thrilling is what I miss the most. Acceptable for Disney fanatics but a second opinion will be needed if you really think it will be worth all those ?hard? earned dollars.
Score: **1/2
Songs: **1/2
Tracklisting
1. Look Through my Eyes: Phil Collins (4.00)
2. Great Spirits: Tina Turner (3.23)
3. Welcome: Phil Collins (3.37)
4. No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear): Phil Collins (4.17)
5. Transformation + (2.28)
6. On My Way: Phil Collins (3.40)
7. Welcome: The Blind Boys of Alabama & Phil Collins (3.13)
8. No Way Out (Theme from Brother Bear): Phil Collins (2.37)
9. Transformation: Phil Collins (2.25)
10. Three Brothers * (6.44)
11. Awakes as a Bear * (6.48)
12. Wilderness of Danger and Beauty * (5.30)
* Soundtrack by Mark Mancina
+ Performed by The Bulgarian Women's Choir
Total Length: 48.50