Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #953
Written 10/27/99, Revised 5/13/07
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Buy it... if you typically enjoy John Debney's rousing orchestral
adventure scores, this one featuring some of the folksy spirit of Basil
Poledouris' original score in the series.
Avoid it... if undeniable references to the Western works of James
Horner and John Barry (among others) as well could deter you from an
otherwise early glimpse of Debney's own maturing styles.
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| Debney |
White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf: (John Debney)
The White Fang films are, without a doubt, insults to the classic
Jack London novel on which they are loosely based. Other than the
location and some characteristics of the lead wolf, there is nothing
about the 1991 and 1994 films that offered the same realistic glimpse at
life in turn of the century Alaska. Instead, Hollywood dumbed down the
stories and gave them politically correct themes and pleasantly sappy
outcomes. The 1994 sequel, White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf,
is even worse than the original, bordering on stupidity so pervasive
that the scriptwriters actually lead audiences to believe that the
animal can truly understand English, a cartoonish effect worthy of
lesser topics. And, of course, the sequel pits a group of sympathetic
Indians against a big, bad mining company for the same necessary
socio-political message that Steven Seagal, of all people, was bringing
to the region at the same time. In terms of music, the first film was
blessed with a decent score by Western enthusiast Basil Poledouris,
though the effort, despite featuring some of his trademark techniques in
the genre, wasn't among his best. The title theme shared significant
similarities to the concurrent James Horner work on The Rocketeer
(almost to a fault) and the Free Willy-like electronic
accompaniment seemed like a lost attempt to infuse some more kiddie
atmosphere into the picture. Hans Zimmer wrote a handful of cues for
White Fang as well, with his more blatantly synthetic constructs
and own themes not sharing any continuity with Poledouris' work (and
sounding remarkably out of place for the setting as well). The entirety
of scoring duties on White Fang 2 would be tackled by John
Debney, a composer who has made a career off of unabashedly
overachieving music for such ridiculous Walt Disney profit vehicles of
dubious quality through the years. Debney would, as usual, approach the
project with enthusiasm and provide a rousing score perhaps not
necessary for the quality of the film, though it makes for fine
listening on its own.
Debney's finished product for
White Fang 2
wouldn't explicitly utilize Poledouris' or Zimmer's themes, but
substantial early portions of the score would exhibit traits very
similar to the folksy writing of Poledouris heard in all his Westerns.
Whether this was intentional or not remains unknown, though Debney even
throws in a few synthetic rhythms samples from his library that will be
awfully familiar to Poledouris collectors. The score would eventually
take on more of the characteristics that Debney was using to define his
action and adventure writing at the time. His own work on
Hocus
Pocus had impressed Disney so much that a mutual relationship would
be forged on
White Fang 2 and several subsequent projects that
Debney used to fine-tune his children's film sound to mastery. With
several themes ranging from the bold to the exotic, Debney's
surprisingly enjoyable score has a very mature, adult appeal. The title
theme is more relaxing and less militaristic compared to
In Pursuit
of Honor, relying on the occasional rumbling of timpani that serves
as a reminder that the film takes place in the wild outdoors. As with
Not Since Casanova, Debney showed a hint of his admiration for
the styles of John Barry and James Horner. The Horner influences exist
throughout much of the score (including
The Rocketeer once
again), while the Barry influence can best be heard as a tribute to the
style of
Dances With Wolves in the harmonica-led "Noble Heart."
Even with these slight observances, Debney's own budding style appears
in his character development. The "A Happy Ending" cue captures the
woodsy, fiddle dancing with ease, and the heartfelt woodwind themes in
"Lily and Henry" introduce themes and orchestral accompaniment that
would define much of the sound of Debney's future. Both "The River" and
"Dangerous Forest" feature heavily dramatic tones that hint at the raw
power that Debney would develop further in
CutThroat Island the
next year. As with many of Debney's scores of the era,
White Fang
2 was released only in promotional form on CD. In fact, this was
technically the first in a series of numbered promos (with
In Pursuit
of Honor being the second). Despite a pressing of only about 1,000
copies,
White Fang 2 was available for many years at soundtrack
specialty outlets before selling out, a surprise given its rousing and
adventurous orchestral spirit.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check:
For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.33
(in 56 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.1
(in 49,960 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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