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Conducted by:
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Pete Anthony
Nick Ingman
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Song Composed by:
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John Rzeznik
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Co-Produced by:
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Jim Weidman
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Release Date:
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November 19th, 2002
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release. Blister Pack Version available.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Treasure Planet: (James Newton Howard) The Disney enterprise blasts on
with its yearly large-scale animated epic, once again with composer James Newton
Howard at the helm. The space-age adaptation of the classic Treasure Island tale
takes a jet engine propelled 18th Century sailing ship on search in space for
the X that marks the spot. The film was not received as well as its two
comparable predecessors, Dinosaur and Atlantis: The Lost Empire,
both scored by Howard. Perhaps due to its release late in the year, with
competition from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and a host of
other enormous sequels, Treasure Planet has faded faster than expected.
For James Newton Howard, this film marks his return as the regular orchestral
composer for Disney's larger, non-musical animated efforts. Both of his scores
for Dinosaur and Atlantis have proven to retain a lasting
popularity with fans of both animated music and film music at large. Fans who
have heard those previous scores in and out will recognize several similar
motifs, thematic key shifts, and instrumentation in Treasure Planet.
What Howard is producing for these animated films is among the more interesting
and dynamic orchestral music existing in Hollywood today, likely confirming
Howard's role as the official Disney composer for several pictures to come.
Treasure Planet is nothing particularly special, and certainly won't go
down in history as a classic, but it represents a greater body of excellent
music for the genre by none other than Howard. He approaches this score just as
you would expect, with Erich Korngold in one pocket and John Debney in the
other. The themes of high seas adventure offer many tributes to the Korngold
style of fast paced orchestral mayhem. Although silly in parts, as it be, the
adherence to the kind of musical backdrop that identifies with the style of the
sailing ship is undeniable and necessary. The other style at work is that of a
futuristic setting, which Howard only plays to at a minimum level. His use of
electric guitars as bass accompaniment is effective and thankfully kept at a
side. Never does the score succumb to the temptation of ripping with the
synthetic; that task is more than well enough accomplished by the two jarringly
out of place rock songs at the start. Thematically speaking, the score has an
adequate title theme and several secondary themes that border on motifs in their
underdeveloped, but orchestrally overplayed forms. The themes are a bit cliche,
perhaps, with a light choir attempting to perform for the map in this film the
same kind of majesty that graced the map room in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
But in this case, it's a slightly cheezy, though enjoyable result. The comedy
cues in Treasure Planet are servicably cute without being invasive enough
to pull down the action. The exception to this being, perhaps, the twelfth track
on album, which displays the expected comedy routine to a cue.
The element of the Treasure Planet score that distinguishes it from a run
of the mill effort is the Gaelic tilt to its personality. A celtic fiddle, pipe,
and whistle add ethnicity where none was really required. Nevertheless, it
inserts an extra flair of fantasy into the picture since those sounds are often
associated --by American kids and adults-- with fantasy imagery. The fiddle,
whistle, and faint electric guitars together add just enough spice to this score
to make it a worthwhile journey on album for film music listeners. Howard's
score is consistent in its sturdy orchestral foundation for over 45 minutes,
which is a generous amount of score on album for an animated picture. It has
been mentioned correctly that this is the kind of solid orchestral comedy work
and thematic construction that many fans expected to rise out of the career of
composer John Debney. Treasure Planet takes that feeling one step further
with its swashbuckling nature, and establishes Howard in that place that so many
thought Debney would occupy. As for the album, the first song by the Goo Goo
Doll's John Rzeznik and the second song by lesser known BBMak offer nothing
substantial to the album, and their modern rock noise is a 180 degree turn from
Howard's strong instrumentals. Disney's typical attempt to market the album to
both crowds of listeners produced that awkward pairing, but the uninterrupted
presentation of Howard's score compensates for that small hiccup at the start of
the album. Overall, Howard's score is about as predictable as it could be, but
it is enjoyable even so, launching Erich Korngold's bold Sea Hawk style
to a place where no sailing score has gone before. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme) (4:11) - John Rzeznik
• 2. Always Know Where You Are (3:19) - John Rzeznik/BBMak
• 3. 12 Years Later (2:44)
• 4. To the Spaceport (1:55)
• 5. Rooftop (2:32)
• 6. Billy Bones (2:24)
• 7. The Map (0:58)
• 8. Silver (2:39)
• 9. The Launch (2:42)
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• 10. Silver Comforts Jim (3:23)
• 11. Jim Chases Morph (3:17)
• 12. Ben (2:30)
• 13. Silver Bargains (2:59)
• 14. The Back Door (4:18)
• 15. The Portal (5:04)
• 16. Jim Saves the Crew (4:37)
• 17. Silver Leaves (5:11)
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The insert contains extensive credits and
an advertisement poster for other products related to the film, but no
information about the score or film.
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