Quite right!
And we have to keep in mind that "Returns" is a Tim Burton film first and a Batman film second, and the score reflects this nicely. Think of the dark, tortured tragedy of "Edward Scissorhands" combined with the propulsive energy of "Batman," and you get the "Returns" score. And by the way, Mr. Clemmenson, Elfman had "cartoony themes" because the characters were, well, kinda cartoony. Is this not a comic book movie we're talking about, and a Burton film to boot? Of course the score will be corny, it's supposed to be! Both the film and score were very different from the first movie, simply because the studio gave Burton complete control over his sequel. He wasn't ALLOWED to make it like this in 1989.