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.

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.

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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 Price Hunt: CD or Download

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For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.23 (in 49 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.01 (in 42,775 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.