Buy it... if you desire a whimsical, optimistic twist on Jerry Goldsmith's usual action style, joined by a handful of exhilarating statements of redemptive fantasy themes in the composer's trademark synthetic and orchestral blend for the era.

Avoid it... if you require a significant amount of symphonic meat to accompany your Goldsmith constructs for this genre, for the composer keeps the environment in Explorers airy, undemanding, and occasionally downright wacky.

Goldsmith

Explorers: (Jerry Goldsmith) While Explorers may be director Joe Dante's most innocent children's film in terms of its completely silly and likable story aimed at the imaginations of youth, the tale also contains some of the director's fiercest condemnation of media influence on our children. The basic premise is corny and doesn't try to hide that fact; three nerdy kids in contemporary 1985 are sent (through their dreams) technical schematics from friendly aliens and use an old Apple computer and a battery to invent a sphere of energy that, along with parts of an old amusement park ride, will take them on a journey to the aliens' distant spacecraft. When they get there, however, it becomes evident that all the knowledge about Earth that they can convey to their new alien friends comes from what they have seen on television, making a comedic but rather damning assessment about our own society (especially when you consider how often humanity's interactions with alien creatures in the media leads to war). Generally greeted positively, Explorers is considered one of Dante's more obscure efforts despite a cast that includes Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix as debuting youngsters. Also a footnote in the production is Jerry Goldsmith's score, a work that hasn't really competed well with the better known entries by the composer in the collaboration but does indeed stand favorably in qualitative comparison. Dante's instructions to Goldsmith for the assignment pointed to rather solemn Americana music to represent the concept of dreams unrealized, and while there is a fair amount of that melancholy tone heard during the skyward gazes in the picture, the composer still infused Explorers with a whimsical, optimistic twist on his usual action material, producing an always redeeming and sometimes exhilarating fantasy environment. This score's closest cousin is clearly Innerspace, though Explorers exceeds the later effort in terms of thematic cohesion, performance enthusiasm, and singular highlights. There is no doubt that Goldsmith's technique of blending symphonic and synthetic elements was reaching its maturation by 1985, and Explorers benefits greatly from an intelligent balance of the two. At the time, he was still employing three or so keyboard players to stand alongside the orchestral musicians and perform live with the ensemble. Because of the obvious alien and fantasy elements in the story, Goldsmith applies the resulting otherworldly effects as both singular accents in the work and, more entertainingly, as rhythmic accompaniment to the rest of the players.

Despite some slower, ethereal material representing its contemplative moments, Explorers is a likable score all around, with typically lightweight character and low impact intentions. It's another case in which Goldsmith perfectly captures the tone of a film without compromising his own inherent styles. There exist four main themes in Explorers, one an anthem of great strength and determination for the spacecraft and technology, one of innocent character friendship for the children's bond, another of airy five-note phrases that could be termed the "whimsical dream motif," and finally a wacky comedy theme for the alien kids. On the original 30-minute presentation of score that existed on the early LP and CD releases of Explorers, these themes seem significantly self-contained until "Have a Nice Trip" wraps them neatly for the finale and end credits, though when appreciating the full 70+ minutes of Goldsmith's composition, you can hear them mingling far more frequently. Clearly the most memorable of these themes is the one representing the boys' innovative inclinations, developed in its fullest form in "The Construction," the highlight of the score that was moved to the start of the original album presentations. Also anchoring "First Flight," several other moments of journeying excitement, and the conclusion of "Have a Nice Trip," this idea falls under the classification of infectious Goldsmith rhythmic propulsion, creating a clear and bold rhythm on thumping piano or bass strings while developing a truly inspirational theme on brass, cellos, and synthesizers on top. The first minute of "The Construction" is incredibly motivating, following the technique of adding the various lines of the theme "from the bottom up" (as Goldsmith says). The driving piano is joined by low strings and the theme unfolds as higher elements eventually add their voices to the performance. The conclusion of "The Construction" contains one of Goldsmith's most robust, concert-like arrangements, with broad brass strokes firmly bringing the score's most attractive cue to an ambitious end. In the middle of this performance, the composer utilizes an exuberant version of the "dream motif," more often expressed with subdued whimsy throughout the rest of the score. Introduced subtly in the opening two cues, really taking flight in "Sticks and Stones," and reaching soaring heights on violins and light electronics in the latter half of "First Flight," this pensive theme is often responsible for the more restrained and sad material Dante requested of the composer. It also receives by far the most treatments by light synthesizer tones, often in conjunction with fluttery synthetic effects emulating the aliens' own noises.

	Learn about supporting Filmtracks

Accompanying the dream motif in "Sticks and Stones" and other cues is the similarly rendered friendship theme for the children, and in several cues thereafter, you hear Goldsmith express this material with harmonica in Americana tones reminiscent of Arthur B. Rubenstein's just previous equivalent usage for WarGames. It's somewhat generic, wholesome Goldsmith writing, but it's welcome none the less. The final major theme in Explorers is the one for the primary alien child the boys encounter in outer space, hence its silliness. Smartly hinted by Goldsmith to suggest that this wacky alien is responsible for the dreams experienced by the humans, the pure fluff of this idea finally stomps in full in "She Likes Me" with electronic keyboards and live percussion a merging of Goldsmith's usual comedy tones (similar to I.Q. and other early 1990's works) and always reminiscent of Henry Mancini in a twisted way. It turns dark in "Fast Getaway" and "Space Pirates" for light mystery and temporary fright. In between full and lofty performances of the score's other main themes in "Have a Nice Trip," Goldsmith allows this prancing piece a few minutes of unadulterated fun as the alien child initiates another round of contact. It's corny to the max, but you really couldn't have expected Goldsmith to complete a score for a Dante film like this without some wild elements rolling over from Gremlins. The material in between these thematic explorations is really no different from Innerspace, usually easy on the ears but not often reaching memorable heights. Goldsmith does twist the dream motif into the minor key in "I Want to Live" and "More Dreams" to represent an adult in the story who never realized his own dreams, and, by "Let's Go," this material, exudes a feeling of deeper, melodramatic whimsy that is a welcome shift of tone in the score. On the whole, Explorers features fifteen to twenty minutes of highly engaging fantasy material from Goldsmith, a worthy entry in any collection rich with scores from this fruitful period in the composer's career. It was first released on CD by Varèse Sarabande in 1990, with three pop songs moved to the end of the product (the 1985 LP record had scattered them throughout). The songs, the first of which did not appear in the film, are typical rock affairs that have nothing in common with the score. In 2011, Intrada Records released the full score without the songs (but with all of the film's source recordings), its stunning sound quality and completion of the narrative flow of the music meriting significant praise. Goldsmith collectors will almost uniformly recall Explorers fondly, and though few will rate it amongst his best, the 2011 album is a lovely presentation of this highly effective, brightly optimistic, and thematically rich score.   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Music as Written for the Film: ****
Music as Heard on the 1990 Varèse Album: ***
Music as Heard on the 2011 Intrada Album: ****
Overall: ****

Bias Check:

For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.26 (in 113 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.32 (in 133,462 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.