Wendy
Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin
" Wendy sparkles just like other Southern Wild girls "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Wendy is the new take on the classic story of Peter Pan, re imagined by the makers of Beasts of the Southern Wild. It may not get the same buzz that film was getting, but if the music is anything to go by, it's surely another sparkling tale of heroism. After all, it's so obvious to spot similarities between their previous work (Beasts of no Nation not included) and Wendy. It has the same flair, the same magic and above all the same no nonsense approach to tell it loud and clear. I love it when scores dream to go farther and make it ballsy and upbeat. After all, music needs to overpower the film, and just like Beasts of the Southern Wild, there is nothing Behn Zeitlin and Dan Romer leave behind. Futhermore, it leaves it all on the doorstep once we go "Straight on 'till Morning" with another uber bombastic main heroic theme (temp tracked or not with the same macho theme Clinton Shorter used when Sharlto Copley entered Johannesburg in the beginning of District 9). Anyway, I love it because this music jumps out. And this counts for so many scenes after that. "Never Grow Up" explodes once again with the wonder of the theme, and the choral singing of "I Love my Mother" unleashes a secondary theme, a sort of proud mother theme that was heard previously in "Want to Fly?".
Not all is bombast though, and the surreal beauty is never far away in "Neverbirds" and "Want to Fly". The finale is diverse and powerful. Because as said before, there is nothing these 2 envisioners leave behind. The wonderful "Counting the Days", the conclusive "The Story of Wendy" capturing the urgency and resolution of a tale) and the power of "Once There Was a Mother" delivering the secondary theme now as a fully fleshed finale. Ah, Wendy is just like Beasts of the Southern Wild, evoking the same magical spirit of that score. The spirit where tales and heroes are in all shapes and colors. And unlike other scores leaving it introvert nowadays, Wendy is absolutely sparkling from start to finish. No fairy dust needed to make this music soar.
All hail the theme to jumpstart this score in amazing fashion ("Straight on till Morning")
Eclectic use of instruments and vocals but it all works for the fairy tale that is this story.
Score has a lot of variety near the end, with a good secondary theme and a lot of powerful emotion.
Track Listing
1. Sneak Away (1.24)
2. Straight On 'till Morning (2.21) Excellent track
3. The Haunted Train (2.06)
4. Into the Night (1.40)
5. Neverbirds (1.44)
6. The Mother (2.42)
7. Never Grow Up (3.45) Excellent track
8. The Old Hand (3.29)
9. Where Lost Boys Go (2.06)
10. Want to Fly? (6.07)
11. To Grow Up is a Great Adventure (1.36)
12. Battle for Mañana (4.23)
13. I Love My Mother (3.15) Excellent track
14. Counting the Days (2.31)
15. The Story of Wendy (5.13) Excellent track
16. Once There Was a Mother (1.38) Excellent track
Total Length: 42.45
Not all is bombast though, and the surreal beauty is never far away in "Neverbirds" and "Want to Fly". The finale is diverse and powerful. Because as said before, there is nothing these 2 envisioners leave behind. The wonderful "Counting the Days", the conclusive "The Story of Wendy" capturing the urgency and resolution of a tale) and the power of "Once There Was a Mother" delivering the secondary theme now as a fully fleshed finale. Ah, Wendy is just like Beasts of the Southern Wild, evoking the same magical spirit of that score. The spirit where tales and heroes are in all shapes and colors. And unlike other scores leaving it introvert nowadays, Wendy is absolutely sparkling from start to finish. No fairy dust needed to make this music soar.
All hail the theme to jumpstart this score in amazing fashion ("Straight on till Morning")
Eclectic use of instruments and vocals but it all works for the fairy tale that is this story.
Score has a lot of variety near the end, with a good secondary theme and a lot of powerful emotion.
Track Listing
1. Sneak Away (1.24)
2. Straight On 'till Morning (2.21) Excellent track
3. The Haunted Train (2.06)
4. Into the Night (1.40)
5. Neverbirds (1.44)
6. The Mother (2.42)
7. Never Grow Up (3.45) Excellent track
8. The Old Hand (3.29)
9. Where Lost Boys Go (2.06)
10. Want to Fly? (6.07)
11. To Grow Up is a Great Adventure (1.36)
12. Battle for Mañana (4.23)
13. I Love My Mother (3.15) Excellent track
14. Counting the Days (2.31)
15. The Story of Wendy (5.13) Excellent track
16. Once There Was a Mother (1.38) Excellent track
Total Length: 42.45