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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you can appreciate and enjoy Jerry Goldsmith's masterful talent for parody on a grand orchestral scale, referencing classic cartoon motifs and his own previous thematic ideas. Avoid it... if you can appreciate Goldsmith's talents, but not necessarily enjoy the rapid pace of changing genres in single-minute cues over the course of forty frantic, energized minutes of flair. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
This score could only be suitable for a cartoon, and classic cartoon/slapstick composers for orchestra, including Carl Stalling and Raymond Scott, would be proud of this piece of work. At the very least, it show's that Goldsmith's mental talents are still firing on all cylinders. The amount of orchestral energy unleashed through the rhythms, instrumentation, and tempo of Looney Tunes is staggering. It's a score that needs to be appreciated even if it can't be enjoyed because of its rapid pace of cue changes. Being for a cartoon, the score inherently has a construction of short cues, often with unrelated genres in each succession, and is therefore difficult to enjoy as a consistent whole. The references to other scores and genres alone, however, will keep a film music collector interested for a few listens. The title theme for Looney Tunes is suspiciously similar to one of the plethora of pleasant themes for The 'Burbs, and is recurring enough to establish itself well in the score. A loungey electric guitar-led motif also exists throughout the score, representing the studio settings. At times, the guitar explodes into rhythms that mirror those heard in Edward Shearmur's Johnny English earlier in the year. Goldsmith utilizes a variation on a famous Western theme to represent "The Bad Guys" in the score. When the setting turns to "Area 52," Goldsmith pulls that eerie, distant vocal from The 'Burbs and brackets it in between slashes of Bernard Herrmann's Psycho. And whenever being "In Style" is mentioned, a lofty, classical solo violin of pretentious attitude is offered. For scenes of ritualistic action, Goldsmith pulls snare-led martial ideas from Small Soldiers, such as in "Blue Monkey." As the setting changes to Paris, Goldsmith pours on the stereotypical accordion, and when we meet the jungle setting, a variety of drums greets with primitive intentions. There are a few cues of unrestrained bombast for brass, timpani, and electronic rhythm-setters, such as "Dead Duck Walking" and "Free Fall," although most of the faster action pieces rely on Goldsmith's creative use of percussion to provide their attractive accompaniment for the quirky characters. As Carl Stalling did in the classic cartoons, every conceivable piece of percussion was whipped out for this score, from the basic ramblings on the piano to whistles, rattles, triangles, and joke-noisemakers. He even incorporated a harp into the proceedings, which is a rare event for him. Goldsmith's sense of humor is unwavering, as usual, with a full reprise of his Gremlins theme when an appropriately named vehicle is whipped out in the film. Goldsmith didn't have time to finish the score for Looney Tunes due to countless late edits to the end of the picture, and John Debney (likewise versatile in most genres) was hired to use Goldsmith's cues in an additional 16 minutes of material. None of Debney's cues appears on the 37-minute album, but given Debney's tendencies to press almost all of his music onto promotional CD's, it wouldn't be surprising to see his part released in some form in the future. Overall, Goldsmith's slapstick material here is well developed, but not as concise and enjoyable as own standard of classic parody, The 'Burbs. That's likely due, once again, to the speed at which the scenes and moods in Looney Tunes change. It's a specific sound for a specific mood, and should best be left for the marvel of its own construction rather than a coherent listening experience.
Music as Heard on Album: *** Overall: ****
* Composed by Carl Stalling ** Composed by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin
Insert includes list of performers and a note from director Joe Dante about his collaboration with Jerry Goldsmith. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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