Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you enjoy John Debney's parody work with a full orchestra and are willing to tolerate several atrocious songs to get 15 minutes of it. Avoid it... if David Arnold's Independence Day is sacred to you and Debney's several blatant, shameless rip-offs of that score would deeply disturb you. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Chicken Little: (John Debney) Hopefully everyone who ventures to see this newest Walt Disney 3D animated adventure will remember what got Chicken Little into trouble in the first place. Having created havoc in the original fable by mistaking a falling acorn for a falling sky, our little hero opens this film appearance as the troublemaker who's trying hard to redeem his reputation in his small town. He succeeds in doing it, too, by winning a big baseball game with a home run. Unfortunately, he also discovers that something a little more ominous is falling out of the sky, and while at first cautious about who he tells about his revelation, he eventually organizes a team of misfits who will endeavor to save the world from alien invaders. In the Shrek era of slapstick comedy, it's no surprise that the soundtrack to Chicken Little is an odd combination of old songs relevant to chickens, the end of the world, or victorious parties, as well as ensemble cast songs and original underscore. The songs are the kind of Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, and R.E.M. combination that was a little lighter on the reuse fees for Disney and will likely succeed only to the extent of the film's run in the theatres (does Diana Ross help sell albums on her own merits anymore?). The songs performed by the ensemble cast are as atrocious as anyone might imagine. No offense to these performers, but to hear them perform "We Are the Champions," a Spice Girls song, and other stuff is by no means pleasant to the ears. Then again, if anybody's just itching to hear Joan Cusack and Patrick Stewart belt out a pop song with a bunch of other barnyard animals, then this might be your dream come true. The last six tracks on the commercial Disney album are straight orchestral score cues by Disney veteran John Debney, with a running time of about 15 minutes. The contribution is short, but certainly memorable. If you can't handle parody interpretations or shameless, intentional rips from the temp-track containing other alien-related scores, then Debney's equally shameless (and likely equally intentional) parody score will drive you nuts. The first cue is the standout invasion piece, containing significant structural and thematic references to David Arnold's climactic battle cues in Independence Day. Constant snares and bombastic brass motifs yield to tacky synth effects and heavy chanting for the end of world (similar to adult choir material in Scorpion King). The other big ticket cue is "The Big Game," in which Debney takes a different approach from his usual sporting event tactics and gives us a full blown Western cue with fresh new trumpet fanfares. Even in this cue, though, a significant statement of Arnold's "patriotic theme" from ID4 is performed by strings near the start. The same acoustic guitar he used in the concurrent children's film Dreamer is used in this cue and in "Dad Apologizes" to set the locale in a bluegrass sound for the town of Oakey Oaks, though the latter cue leads to plucking string comedy rhythms more recognizable in the cartoon genre. The "Chase to Cornfield" cue is a rousing piece that once again features adult chanting and clanging of percussion over an electric bass reminiscent of The Tuxedo and My Favorite Martian. The wild orchestra hits in "Dodgeball," set over hip guitar rhythms and deep sax meanderings would make George S. Clinton proud. Interestingly, with the obvious amount of humor that Debney injects into this score, it's no surprise that he lifts ideas from End of Days, but if you want to go all the way, why not bring a little Passion of the Christ into it too? There must be limits. On the whole, Debney once again impresses with his superb knowledge of previous scores and his ability to reference them while remaining not only legal, but also refreshing in a pure and pleasant setting. His interpretation of the theme of "We Are the Champions" not only strikes in the bombastic cue at the outset, but also in the soft, piano/flute-driven character cue finishes the album. This material truly makes Madagascar by Zimmer and his gang sound outclassed, and collectors of Debney's vast works in the comedy genre can only hope that a fuller Chicken Little score finds its way onto a promotional album like the majority of Debney efforts inevitable do. On the commercial album, the score is obviously an afterthought given how it is gracelessly faded into the first track mid-cue. And yet, compared to the pleasant, but conservative music for Dreamer, Chicken Little is far more entertaining even in its brevity.
Score as Heard on Album: ** Overall: *** Track Listings:
Total Time: 39:09
* score by John Debney All artwork and sound clips from Chicken Little are Copyright © 2005, Walt Disney Records. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/12/05, updated 11/13/05. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2005-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
