Up
Michael Giacchino
" More Giacchino brilliance, but poorly marketed by Disney "Written by William Bard - Review of the regular release
The second in a trio of 2009 summer blockbusters scored by renowned composer Michael Giacchino, Disney / Pixar's Up tells the tale of an elderly balloon salesman named Carl, who, after his wife Ellie's sad and unexpected death, comes to terms with the fact that he never fulfilled his wife's great desire in life (a desire which he promised – crossed his heart even – that he would fulfill): to visit and have a house next to the beautiful and adventurous Paradise Falls in South America. Carrying his late wife's dream and spirit with him in his heart, Carl – along with Russell, a young Boy Scout from a torn family – goes on the adventure of his life when he uses balloons (yep, balloons!) to fly his house over South America and successfully navigate his way to Paradise Falls, and fulfill Ellie's dream, and his lifelong promise.
For such an unbelievably unbelievable tale (which includes talking dogs and flying airplanes, in addition to the already sketchy aspect of a house flying by use of balloons), the top redeeming quality of this film – and score – is its heart. It has heart. The emotional level of this film far surpasses those of previous movies, in my opinion, and the score had to do the same. Lightly touching on heart wrenching topics such as miscarriage and death within the film's first twenty (probably less, actually) minutes, this Pixar film is a teary-eyed experience, as is Mr. Giacchino's score (certainly within the context of the film, and also as a listen through the soundtrack).
Oddly enough, the first music offered on the soundtrack is not Carl's theme, nor Russell's, nor Ellie's, but rather, the villain's theme (that villain being Charles Muntz, an explorer supposedly exiled to South America early in the twentieth century), this in "Up With Titles". And it's not just your typical villain's theme either; it is a catchy, ‘30s-like swing tune, and in the words of Giacchino, a “celebratory theme”. This tune is first played by muted trumpet with accompanying saxophone and percussion accents, before venturing into a violin / trumpet duet. The saxophones then take the theme and toss it back and forth with the trumpet and violin, ending the track with comical arpeggios and a finishing piano chord.
We are next introduced to Ellie's theme, a sentimental waltz in a downward-pointing note pattern ("We’re in the Club Now"), first slow, then faster (with typical '30s style instrumentation) in the subsequent track ("Married Life"). "Married Life" is the primary ‘emotional section’ spoken of above, a brilliant fusion of image and sound in the final product, and a narrative, coherent aural experience on album. This track chronicles Carl and Ellie's life together, from that moment they stepped into their new house, through their happy and sad times together: their dreams of having children, Ellie's miscarriage as detailed by sad clarinet, strings, and piano, life picking up happiness and full swing (and music picking up tempo) in the subsequent months and years, and ultimately, Ellie's heartbreaking death, told in score by soft piano as Carl sits in an empty church following an assumed memorial service… Truly a highlight of the score, and a personal favorite which I catch myself listening to practically every time I flip to this album.
"Carl Goes Up" stands in stark contrast from the aforementioned cues, with a cheerful, wondrous flute / mallet ostinato representing the balloons springing out from the roof of Carl's house. A fun scene in the film, and a great representation in the music. After the house ‘takes off’, the music shifts to a strong, string-led segment, soon taking us back into Ellie's theme, this time gorgeously played by delicate strings. But alas, the track is not over, and we are given another rendition of the theme played on lightly plucked guitar with soft string trills. This eventually resolves similarly to before, but this time with woodwinds, resting on a warm chord in strings (and quite likely winds).
The score picks up speed and action with "52 Chachki Pickup", "Three Dog Dash" and "Escape from Muntz Mountain (though not in consecutive order, as there are other tracks in between). Pounding, percussive, and at times Williams-esque chase music (with typical Williams brass hits), it represents the villain Muntz' tenacious, persistent (but not all that scary) pack of dogs.
After our heroes finally and miraculously make it to South America, this tropical ‘paradise’ is heard in "Paradise Found", another string-dominated track, subsequent track "Walkin' the House" and in "Kevin Beak'n" (the latter two of which could include a possible Russell's theme / Kevin's theme). The darker side of paradise is to be found in cues like "Canine Conundrum", "The Explorer Motel" (which features a chilling rendition of Muntz' once-cheerful '30s theme), the majority of "Giving Muntz the Bird" and "He's Got the Bird", along with a few sprinkles of darkness in other various cues. The wondrous side of things is heard in "The Nickel Tour", which I particularly love for its vintage score sound and pretty portrayal of Muntz' theme. The soaring, uplifting "Memories Can Weigh You Down" is also of interest, with a new take on Ellie's theme.
Ah, now we get to the good stuff. (As if the previous tracks aren't already excellent!) The main ‘battle’ highlight of the album, "Seizing the Spirit of Adventure", becomes a battle of the themes, a war between Ellie's theme (by now referring equally to Carl's character) and Muntz' theme. Dangerous, heroic versions of the themes are presented, responding to each other, musically. A few more emotional cues are to be found, including "Stuff We Did" (featuring a beautiful piano retelling of Ellie's theme, and referencing ideas presented earlier in he film), "It's Just a House", and "The Ellie Badge", a fitting close to this Pixar film's unique and excellent score.
And then there are the end credits ("Up with End Credits"), a typical Giacchino recalling of the themes and moods presented earlier in the score, all packed into one eight-minute-long track. If you're for any reason the least bit doubtful of this score's quality as a listen, I'd recommend you purchase this track, for it does a great job showing you just what this score is about. Of course, once you get into the album you'll likely discover that there are other tracks of equal or greater quality and enjoyment, but the credits track is the way to go for hearing a condensed version of the score. A song, "The Spirit of Adventure", follows after, containing a lyric-accompanied version of Muntz' theme, all recorded with that distinct '30s sound.
So, to put all that in perspective, as a Pixar score, Up is a work of genius. As a Michael Giacchino score, Up is a work of genius. And as a score in general, Up is a work of genius. It is easily one of the best of the year, and is definitely worth your time listening. Granted, this kind of music may not be for everyone. But just the name ‘Giacchino’ on the album cover ought to be enough to warrant a listen, for seemingly everything this man writes is of the highest quality imaginable (his game and TV scores are constructed with the same level of dedication and attention to detail as his film scores, making him a big name when it comes to scoring, almost constantly in demand). Mr. Giacchino says he only scores things that “inspire” him. Well, let him continue to be inspired, at least by Pixar concepts and stories, for you can tell he has an awful lot of fun doing what he does. It's not all about the money. It's about putting your name on something worth your time, worth your best work. And scores like Up are just far too uncommon in today's films.
Unfortunately, one of the only negative things I can say about this release, and the biggest shame of all, lies on Disney, for being so unreasonable and foolish as to release this only digitally, without an accompanying CD. Such a score deserves otherwise, though I suppose one should still be thankful it was released at all. But nevertheless, when one looks at half-star and one-star quality scores receiving fuller, compact disc releases, and a score like this getting only a digital release, one has to wonder exactly what the execs of Walt Disney Records were thinking about. Because such a poor marketing decision has ‘disappointing’ written all over it.
Tracklisting
1. Up With Titles (0.53)
2. We're in the Club Now (0.43)
3. Married Life (4.10)
4. Carl Goes Up (3.33)
5. 52 Chachki Pickup (1.14)
6. Paradise Found (1.03)
7. Walkin' the House (1.03)
8. Three Dog Dash (0.51)
9. Kevin Beak'n (1.14)
10. Canine Conundrum (2.03)
11. The Nickel Tour (0.52)
12. The Explorer Motel (1.26)
13. Escape from Muntz Mountain (2.43)
14. Giving Muntz the Bird (1.57)
15. Stuff we Did (2.13)
16. Memories Can Weigh You Down (1.22)
17. The Small Mailman Returns (3.11)
18. He's Got the Bird (0.29)
19. Seizing the Spirit of Adventure (5.19)
20. It's Just a House (1.59)
21. The Ellie Badge (1.30)
22. Up With End Credits (7.38)
23. The Spirit of Adventure (2.30)
Bonus Tracks
24. Carl's Maiden Voyage (SFX) (0.52)
25. Muntz's Dark Reverie (SFX) (0.52)
26. Meet Kevin in the Jungle (SFX) (1.32)
Total Length: 53.12
For such an unbelievably unbelievable tale (which includes talking dogs and flying airplanes, in addition to the already sketchy aspect of a house flying by use of balloons), the top redeeming quality of this film – and score – is its heart. It has heart. The emotional level of this film far surpasses those of previous movies, in my opinion, and the score had to do the same. Lightly touching on heart wrenching topics such as miscarriage and death within the film's first twenty (probably less, actually) minutes, this Pixar film is a teary-eyed experience, as is Mr. Giacchino's score (certainly within the context of the film, and also as a listen through the soundtrack).
Oddly enough, the first music offered on the soundtrack is not Carl's theme, nor Russell's, nor Ellie's, but rather, the villain's theme (that villain being Charles Muntz, an explorer supposedly exiled to South America early in the twentieth century), this in "Up With Titles". And it's not just your typical villain's theme either; it is a catchy, ‘30s-like swing tune, and in the words of Giacchino, a “celebratory theme”. This tune is first played by muted trumpet with accompanying saxophone and percussion accents, before venturing into a violin / trumpet duet. The saxophones then take the theme and toss it back and forth with the trumpet and violin, ending the track with comical arpeggios and a finishing piano chord.
We are next introduced to Ellie's theme, a sentimental waltz in a downward-pointing note pattern ("We’re in the Club Now"), first slow, then faster (with typical '30s style instrumentation) in the subsequent track ("Married Life"). "Married Life" is the primary ‘emotional section’ spoken of above, a brilliant fusion of image and sound in the final product, and a narrative, coherent aural experience on album. This track chronicles Carl and Ellie's life together, from that moment they stepped into their new house, through their happy and sad times together: their dreams of having children, Ellie's miscarriage as detailed by sad clarinet, strings, and piano, life picking up happiness and full swing (and music picking up tempo) in the subsequent months and years, and ultimately, Ellie's heartbreaking death, told in score by soft piano as Carl sits in an empty church following an assumed memorial service… Truly a highlight of the score, and a personal favorite which I catch myself listening to practically every time I flip to this album.
"Carl Goes Up" stands in stark contrast from the aforementioned cues, with a cheerful, wondrous flute / mallet ostinato representing the balloons springing out from the roof of Carl's house. A fun scene in the film, and a great representation in the music. After the house ‘takes off’, the music shifts to a strong, string-led segment, soon taking us back into Ellie's theme, this time gorgeously played by delicate strings. But alas, the track is not over, and we are given another rendition of the theme played on lightly plucked guitar with soft string trills. This eventually resolves similarly to before, but this time with woodwinds, resting on a warm chord in strings (and quite likely winds).
The score picks up speed and action with "52 Chachki Pickup", "Three Dog Dash" and "Escape from Muntz Mountain (though not in consecutive order, as there are other tracks in between). Pounding, percussive, and at times Williams-esque chase music (with typical Williams brass hits), it represents the villain Muntz' tenacious, persistent (but not all that scary) pack of dogs.
After our heroes finally and miraculously make it to South America, this tropical ‘paradise’ is heard in "Paradise Found", another string-dominated track, subsequent track "Walkin' the House" and in "Kevin Beak'n" (the latter two of which could include a possible Russell's theme / Kevin's theme). The darker side of paradise is to be found in cues like "Canine Conundrum", "The Explorer Motel" (which features a chilling rendition of Muntz' once-cheerful '30s theme), the majority of "Giving Muntz the Bird" and "He's Got the Bird", along with a few sprinkles of darkness in other various cues. The wondrous side of things is heard in "The Nickel Tour", which I particularly love for its vintage score sound and pretty portrayal of Muntz' theme. The soaring, uplifting "Memories Can Weigh You Down" is also of interest, with a new take on Ellie's theme.
Ah, now we get to the good stuff. (As if the previous tracks aren't already excellent!) The main ‘battle’ highlight of the album, "Seizing the Spirit of Adventure", becomes a battle of the themes, a war between Ellie's theme (by now referring equally to Carl's character) and Muntz' theme. Dangerous, heroic versions of the themes are presented, responding to each other, musically. A few more emotional cues are to be found, including "Stuff We Did" (featuring a beautiful piano retelling of Ellie's theme, and referencing ideas presented earlier in he film), "It's Just a House", and "The Ellie Badge", a fitting close to this Pixar film's unique and excellent score.
And then there are the end credits ("Up with End Credits"), a typical Giacchino recalling of the themes and moods presented earlier in the score, all packed into one eight-minute-long track. If you're for any reason the least bit doubtful of this score's quality as a listen, I'd recommend you purchase this track, for it does a great job showing you just what this score is about. Of course, once you get into the album you'll likely discover that there are other tracks of equal or greater quality and enjoyment, but the credits track is the way to go for hearing a condensed version of the score. A song, "The Spirit of Adventure", follows after, containing a lyric-accompanied version of Muntz' theme, all recorded with that distinct '30s sound.
So, to put all that in perspective, as a Pixar score, Up is a work of genius. As a Michael Giacchino score, Up is a work of genius. And as a score in general, Up is a work of genius. It is easily one of the best of the year, and is definitely worth your time listening. Granted, this kind of music may not be for everyone. But just the name ‘Giacchino’ on the album cover ought to be enough to warrant a listen, for seemingly everything this man writes is of the highest quality imaginable (his game and TV scores are constructed with the same level of dedication and attention to detail as his film scores, making him a big name when it comes to scoring, almost constantly in demand). Mr. Giacchino says he only scores things that “inspire” him. Well, let him continue to be inspired, at least by Pixar concepts and stories, for you can tell he has an awful lot of fun doing what he does. It's not all about the money. It's about putting your name on something worth your time, worth your best work. And scores like Up are just far too uncommon in today's films.
Unfortunately, one of the only negative things I can say about this release, and the biggest shame of all, lies on Disney, for being so unreasonable and foolish as to release this only digitally, without an accompanying CD. Such a score deserves otherwise, though I suppose one should still be thankful it was released at all. But nevertheless, when one looks at half-star and one-star quality scores receiving fuller, compact disc releases, and a score like this getting only a digital release, one has to wonder exactly what the execs of Walt Disney Records were thinking about. Because such a poor marketing decision has ‘disappointing’ written all over it.
Tracklisting
1. Up With Titles (0.53)
2. We're in the Club Now (0.43)
3. Married Life (4.10)
4. Carl Goes Up (3.33)
5. 52 Chachki Pickup (1.14)
6. Paradise Found (1.03)
7. Walkin' the House (1.03)
8. Three Dog Dash (0.51)
9. Kevin Beak'n (1.14)
10. Canine Conundrum (2.03)
11. The Nickel Tour (0.52)
12. The Explorer Motel (1.26)
13. Escape from Muntz Mountain (2.43)
14. Giving Muntz the Bird (1.57)
15. Stuff we Did (2.13)
16. Memories Can Weigh You Down (1.22)
17. The Small Mailman Returns (3.11)
18. He's Got the Bird (0.29)
19. Seizing the Spirit of Adventure (5.19)
20. It's Just a House (1.59)
21. The Ellie Badge (1.30)
22. Up With End Credits (7.38)
23. The Spirit of Adventure (2.30)
Bonus Tracks
24. Carl's Maiden Voyage (SFX) (0.52)
25. Muntz's Dark Reverie (SFX) (0.52)
26. Meet Kevin in the Jungle (SFX) (1.32)
Total Length: 53.12