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The Adventures of Pinocchio
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Conducted by:
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David Snell
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Orchestrated by:
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Jeff Atmajian
Lawrence Ashmore
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Album Produced by:
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Susan Pilcher
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Release Date:
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July 23rd, 1996
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you want to hear one of Rachel Portman's more creative
collaborative efforts, with a few fantasic musical numbers featuring Lee
Holdridge's orchestral arrangements.
Avoid it... if only twenty minutes of pure score isn't worth an album
that is also cluttered with a fair number of obnoxious songs.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Portman |
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| | Holdridge | |
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The Adventures of Pinocchio: (Rachel Portman/Lee
Holdridge/Stevie Wonder) Several attempts have been made to market the
Pinocchio story to young children over the years, and The Adventures of
Pinocchio was a live-action/animated/digital combination adaptation in
1996. Very obviously aimed at small children, this adaptation failed to
muster even minimal support among adults, with its confusing array of
fairy-tale and modern day elements too illogical to comprehend. A colorful
and overwhelming combination of mattes, miniatures, and digitized wonders
conveyed a Pinocchio story with a modern edge of low humor, pop-musical
songs, and off-hand humor. Its only redeeming factor may have been an
outstanding Martin Landau as Geppetto, starring opposite of insufferable
child-star Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the title character. Infused at the
center of the music for the film is a cluster of songs by Stevie Wonder,
which further confused the era and feel of the story. Also causing a blatant
lack of consistency was the choice to make the film a pseudo-musical, with a
variety of songs ranging from the pop variety to a full-blown opera libretto
that steals the show. It's hard to wonder what the filmmakers were thinking
with this one, though they did manage to hire some top notch talent for the
project, and each song and cue (in their own) is interesting, if not
enjoyable. It's when you try to put the project together as a whole that it
doesn't work. On album, the songs and score suffer a similar fate, begging
for a few tracks to be burned onto a compilation while others need to be
shunned completely.
The opening song, "Il Colosso" is a magnificent opera
piece written and arranged by Brian May and Lee Holdridge. Adapting pieces
of famous tunes into a powerful, orchestrally backed opera, the song erupts
with creativity and begs multiple listens. It's lead performances by Jerry
Hadley and (a pre-Titanic) Sissel are very strong. Other songs for
which Holdridge arranged the orchestral accompaniment are also noteworthy
and enjoyable in their instrumental depth (with Wonder offering a vibrant
harmonica piece). On the other hand, the songs out of place because of their
modern pop arrangements (appearing near the end of the album) push the
limits of tolerability. While rising composer Rachel Portman had only a
minimal hand in the production of background material for the songs, her
score stands out as a unique item in the landscape of The Adventures of
Pinocchio. Her lovely, soft touch doesn't immediately mesh with the more
lush, active orchestral arrangements of Holdridge's song accompaniment, nor
does it fit at all with the more cool Stevie Wonder sound. And yet, on its
own, Portman's score offers all the sensitivity of Marvin's Room and
Only You with the playfulness of The Road to Wellville and
Addicted to Love. It has several moments of score remarkably similar
in theme and performance to Addicted to Love, which would be produced
the next year. Going hand in hand with Portman's trademark string and
woodwind themes is a brass and percussion barrage of workshop activity. In
the end, however, the twenty minutes of Portman score on the album is still
overshadowed by the "Il Colosso" song and perhaps a handful of others. The
album as a whole is just as garbled as the film, and you have to be able to
pick your way through the conflicting styles to enjoy several brilliant cues
and songs. Out of print, this album is still a worthy used-CD bin pickup. ***
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Il Colosso - Jerry Hadley/Sissel/Just William (7:36)
• 2. Luigi's Welcome - Jerry Hadley (2:33)
• 3. All for One - Chorus (2:29)
• 4. Kiss Lonely Good-Bye - Stevie Wonder (4:38)
• 5. Hold on to Your Dream - Stevie Wonder (4:22)
Rachel Portman's Score:
• 6. Theme from Pinocchio (7:19)
• 7. Lorenzini (3:23)
• 8. Terra Magica (3:56)
• 9. Pinocchio Becomes a Real Boy (5:08)
• 10. Kiss Lonely Good-Bye - Stevie Wonder (4:39)
• 11. Pinocchio's Evolution - Chorus (3:46)
• 12. What Are We Made Of - Sissel/Brian May (3:45)
• 13. Hold on to Your Dream - (not in film) - Stevie Wonder (5:57)
• 14. Kiss Lonely Good-Bye - (not in film) - Stevie Wonder (5:02)
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Insert includes extensive credits and lyrics for the songs.
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