Horton Hears a Who
John Powell
" Dr. Powell's animation shares a similarity "Written by Thomas Glorieux
Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to talk now about one of the most adored film composers at the moment. Full of creative ideas, surpassing the things he has learned from the best. John Powell is one of these composers with his own unique style. That style was accepted from the very first moment people discovered the Antz / Chicken Run / Shrek trilogy. We must be true to our hearts, Powell is one of the composers that really deserves the recognition he receives today. Quite strangely it was Jumper that held the least interesting ideas of the year, considering action was in his early years the trademark and acknowledged strength of the Brit. Now that strength has jumped over to animation.
Besides that earlier mentioned trilogy, he stretched the muscles before in The Road to El Dorado, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown and Happy Feet. All these scores today are praised for the wonderful themes, the complex and riveting adventure and the dozens of interesting orchestrations that each soundtrack contains.
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who was not going be any different. This was the score everybody was looking forward to. To explain my opinion immediately, Horton Hears a Who is once again bold of anything you wanted Powell to throw at you. Themes, various ingenious orchestrations and a wide choice of instrumentation. And that's is the strong point of Horton, alongside the many various fun tracks.
Yet every strong point holds a weak one. And here the basic fact is that the themes aren't sticking out the way they supposed to do. In a way this bothered a bit Ice Age: The Meltdown as well. Yet in that score they were at least distinguishable from the underscore. Here it flows into the music like it is actual fun underscore. It however takes a Powell fan and connoisseur to identify these themes simply through their distinct Powell style. If you know what the composer has done before, there is no denying that Horton Hears a Who holds for you again some of the most fun tracks of the year.
Varèse Sarabande has done the mixing of Powell soundtracks before. They link the one short track after another so that you get the feeling it's one long track instead of various short ones. Horton Hears a Who isn't any different. Listen carefully to the first three tracks because they feel like one track. Together it all feels like one giant epic scary voyage to discovery. The choir is all over the place again and the theme in "Jungle of Nool" surely sounds like a John Powell ditty. And it's a great one, through the brassy energy.
We welcome Randy Newman at the start of "Horton Takes a Luxurious Bath" before Hawaiian tropical sun shines upon us, delivering one of the many zany yet catchy Powell moments on the soundtrack. It's true that the various themes are making appearances all over the place. Yet here the themes aren't really an issue, it is the whole listening experience that makes Horton Hears a Who catchy and enjoyable. "Banana Wars" with its energetic brass and wacky animation spirit, the Elfman sounding "Saved" and the weird and experimental journey of "Into Whoville / Breakfast with the Mayor" prove this completely. John Powell continues the road of experimentation and creative wild expressions.
Sadly this is beginning to sound all the same (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Happy Feet). At least for people who want to bother about that. Actually it's strange how the first part suddenly stops to entertain after an entertaining begin. Various tracks are remembered for several reasons though. "Bedtime" holds the theme of track 3, "Snow Day" carries forth an adventure theme that will be stretched out in the massively entertaining "JoJo Saves the Day" while "Vlad Attacks" is a manic attack on the senses. Yet if we want to talk about tracks that stick, then only several stand firm in the whole 34 cue repertoire. It isn't a big surprise that these are the moments where Powell unleashes the full orchestra and choir upon us.
Basically, it starts and stops with "Mountain Chase". A brilliant choral laden cue carrying a cool theme and a rhythmic delight beyond words. It will probably become one of the tracks of the year. Interesting and I assume an inside joke, "Clover Field Search" is using the previous tracks theme to state its purpose. But we were talking about the tracks that matter and it's the end holds all the treasures.
Probably the catchiest and most inventive idea is "We Are Here". Basically stating the words in a choral cry for discovery, Powell goes completely (Happy Feet) over the top with this one. That doesn't take away that it completely works in context. This idea takes a more epic form in the wonderful duo piece "Symphonophone / JoJo Saves the Day", bringing the action in a orchestral / choral laden cue. The "Horton Suite" is a nice free flowing mix of all the ideas John Powell threw at us, and so "A Big Ending" holds the final bold moment.
I can basically assure you that Horton Hears a Who is a nice listening experience. Like Ice Age: The Meltdown and Happy Feet, this score is basically from the same recipe; one short track after the other, flowing into another and creating a sense you're hearing a score without an end. The basic feeling that you're hearing are moments as a whole, and not tracks in a movie. Exactly that is what makes me a bit suspicious about this album. John Powell is too good as a composer to waste opportunities and yet Horton Hears a Who is only covering the moments and not the overall structure. The themes here are tunes and the whole experience is a solid one. But there used to be a time this moment identified that specific scene in a movie. In Horton, I guess 80% will be hard to distinguish from which scene this cue actually came. Movie music is still about depicting the scene's strength and meaning. X-Men 3 accomplished that in an equally amount of tracks. Horton, like its previous animations, couldn't fully acquire that. Creating thereby a nice flowing listening experience without stating which specific theme supported which specific moment. This is not a fault, just a remark the way animation is supported today.
Tracklisting
1. Fall From Tree (1.06)
2. Cave of Destiny (0.32)
3. Jungle of Nool (0.47) Excellent track
4. Horton Takes a Luxurious Bath (1.42)
5. Enter the Kangaroo (1.13)
6. Banana Wars (1.03)
7. Saved (2.22)
8. Into Whoville / Breakfast with the Mayor (3.04)
9. Club Nool (1.41)
10. The Town Council (1.13)
11. Hello (2.17)
12. Dr. Larue (1.17)
13. The Quest (retrieved from the composer's 8-track archives) (1.36)
14. The Bridge Work (2.29)
15. Horton Dance! (0.24)
16. Handle With Care (1.21)
17. Bedtime (1.56)
18. Snow Day (1.18)
19. Morton Tells of the Kangaroo's Duplicity (2.30)
20. Vlad Attack (1.54)
21. Power Grab (2.45)
22. Kite Flying Day (1.22)
23. Mountain Chase (2.08) Excellent track
24. Clover Field Search (2.16)
25. Memory Game (1.04)
26. For the Children!!! (0.59)
27. Angry Mob (2.40)
28. Roping and Caging (1.03)
29. We Are Here (1.04)
30. Symphonophone (1.12) Excellent track
31. JoJo Saves the Day (2.22) Excellent track
32. Hall of Mayors (1.31)
33. Horton Suite (6.52)
34. A Big Ending (0.53)
Total Length: 59.56
Besides that earlier mentioned trilogy, he stretched the muscles before in The Road to El Dorado, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown and Happy Feet. All these scores today are praised for the wonderful themes, the complex and riveting adventure and the dozens of interesting orchestrations that each soundtrack contains.
Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who was not going be any different. This was the score everybody was looking forward to. To explain my opinion immediately, Horton Hears a Who is once again bold of anything you wanted Powell to throw at you. Themes, various ingenious orchestrations and a wide choice of instrumentation. And that's is the strong point of Horton, alongside the many various fun tracks.
Yet every strong point holds a weak one. And here the basic fact is that the themes aren't sticking out the way they supposed to do. In a way this bothered a bit Ice Age: The Meltdown as well. Yet in that score they were at least distinguishable from the underscore. Here it flows into the music like it is actual fun underscore. It however takes a Powell fan and connoisseur to identify these themes simply through their distinct Powell style. If you know what the composer has done before, there is no denying that Horton Hears a Who holds for you again some of the most fun tracks of the year.
Varèse Sarabande has done the mixing of Powell soundtracks before. They link the one short track after another so that you get the feeling it's one long track instead of various short ones. Horton Hears a Who isn't any different. Listen carefully to the first three tracks because they feel like one track. Together it all feels like one giant epic scary voyage to discovery. The choir is all over the place again and the theme in "Jungle of Nool" surely sounds like a John Powell ditty. And it's a great one, through the brassy energy.
We welcome Randy Newman at the start of "Horton Takes a Luxurious Bath" before Hawaiian tropical sun shines upon us, delivering one of the many zany yet catchy Powell moments on the soundtrack. It's true that the various themes are making appearances all over the place. Yet here the themes aren't really an issue, it is the whole listening experience that makes Horton Hears a Who catchy and enjoyable. "Banana Wars" with its energetic brass and wacky animation spirit, the Elfman sounding "Saved" and the weird and experimental journey of "Into Whoville / Breakfast with the Mayor" prove this completely. John Powell continues the road of experimentation and creative wild expressions.
Sadly this is beginning to sound all the same (Ice Age: The Meltdown and Happy Feet). At least for people who want to bother about that. Actually it's strange how the first part suddenly stops to entertain after an entertaining begin. Various tracks are remembered for several reasons though. "Bedtime" holds the theme of track 3, "Snow Day" carries forth an adventure theme that will be stretched out in the massively entertaining "JoJo Saves the Day" while "Vlad Attacks" is a manic attack on the senses. Yet if we want to talk about tracks that stick, then only several stand firm in the whole 34 cue repertoire. It isn't a big surprise that these are the moments where Powell unleashes the full orchestra and choir upon us.
Basically, it starts and stops with "Mountain Chase". A brilliant choral laden cue carrying a cool theme and a rhythmic delight beyond words. It will probably become one of the tracks of the year. Interesting and I assume an inside joke, "Clover Field Search" is using the previous tracks theme to state its purpose. But we were talking about the tracks that matter and it's the end holds all the treasures.
Probably the catchiest and most inventive idea is "We Are Here". Basically stating the words in a choral cry for discovery, Powell goes completely (Happy Feet) over the top with this one. That doesn't take away that it completely works in context. This idea takes a more epic form in the wonderful duo piece "Symphonophone / JoJo Saves the Day", bringing the action in a orchestral / choral laden cue. The "Horton Suite" is a nice free flowing mix of all the ideas John Powell threw at us, and so "A Big Ending" holds the final bold moment.
I can basically assure you that Horton Hears a Who is a nice listening experience. Like Ice Age: The Meltdown and Happy Feet, this score is basically from the same recipe; one short track after the other, flowing into another and creating a sense you're hearing a score without an end. The basic feeling that you're hearing are moments as a whole, and not tracks in a movie. Exactly that is what makes me a bit suspicious about this album. John Powell is too good as a composer to waste opportunities and yet Horton Hears a Who is only covering the moments and not the overall structure. The themes here are tunes and the whole experience is a solid one. But there used to be a time this moment identified that specific scene in a movie. In Horton, I guess 80% will be hard to distinguish from which scene this cue actually came. Movie music is still about depicting the scene's strength and meaning. X-Men 3 accomplished that in an equally amount of tracks. Horton, like its previous animations, couldn't fully acquire that. Creating thereby a nice flowing listening experience without stating which specific theme supported which specific moment. This is not a fault, just a remark the way animation is supported today.
Tracklisting
1. Fall From Tree (1.06)
2. Cave of Destiny (0.32)
3. Jungle of Nool (0.47) Excellent track
4. Horton Takes a Luxurious Bath (1.42)
5. Enter the Kangaroo (1.13)
6. Banana Wars (1.03)
7. Saved (2.22)
8. Into Whoville / Breakfast with the Mayor (3.04)
9. Club Nool (1.41)
10. The Town Council (1.13)
11. Hello (2.17)
12. Dr. Larue (1.17)
13. The Quest (retrieved from the composer's 8-track archives) (1.36)
14. The Bridge Work (2.29)
15. Horton Dance! (0.24)
16. Handle With Care (1.21)
17. Bedtime (1.56)
18. Snow Day (1.18)
19. Morton Tells of the Kangaroo's Duplicity (2.30)
20. Vlad Attack (1.54)
21. Power Grab (2.45)
22. Kite Flying Day (1.22)
23. Mountain Chase (2.08) Excellent track
24. Clover Field Search (2.16)
25. Memory Game (1.04)
26. For the Children!!! (0.59)
27. Angry Mob (2.40)
28. Roping and Caging (1.03)
29. We Are Here (1.04)
30. Symphonophone (1.12) Excellent track
31. JoJo Saves the Day (2.22) Excellent track
32. Hall of Mayors (1.31)
33. Horton Suite (6.52)
34. A Big Ending (0.53)
Total Length: 59.56