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Review of The Adventures of Pinocchio (Rachel Portman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you want to hear one of Rachel Portman's more creative
collaborative efforts alongside a few fantastic musical numbers
featuring Lee Holdridge's orchestral arrangements.
Avoid it... if only twenty minutes of Portman's pretty, but predictable score isn't worth an album that is also cluttered with a fair number of obnoxious songs.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Adventures of Pinocchio: (Rachel Portman/Lee
Holdridge/Stevie Wonder) Several attempts have been made to market the
Pinocchio story to young children over the years, and The Adventures
of Pinocchio was a live-action, animated, and digital combination
that adapted the tale in 1996. Very obviously aimed at small children,
this rendition failed to muster even minimal support among adults, with
its confusing array of fairy-tale and modern day elements too illogical
to comprehend. A colorful and overwhelming collection of mattes,
miniatures, and digitized wonders conveyed the Pinocchio story with a
modern angle of low humor, pop-musical songs, and off-hand topics. Its
only redeeming factor may have been an outstanding performance from
Martin Landau as Geppetto, starring opposite insufferable child-star
Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the title character. Infused at the center of
the music for the film is a cluster of songs by Stevie Wonder, which
further confused the era and feel of the story. Also causing a blatant
lack of consistency was the choice to make the film a pseudo-musical,
with a variety of songs ranging from the pop variety to a full-blown
opera libretto that steals the show. It's hard to wonder what the
filmmakers were thinking with this one, though they did manage to hire
some top notch talent for the project, and each song and cue (in their
own) is interesting, if not memorably enjoyable. It's when you try to
put the project together as a whole that it doesn't work. On album, the
songs and score suffer a similar fate, begging for a few tracks to be
transferred onto a compilation while others need to be shunned
completely. The opening song, "Il Colosso" is a magnificent opera piece
written and arranged by Brian May and Lee Holdridge. Adapting pieces of
famous tunes into a powerful, orchestrally backed opera explosion of
character, the song erupts with creativity and begs multiple listens if
only because of its outstanding vocal edits and crystal clear recording.
Its lead performances by Jerry Hadley and (a pre-Titanic) Sissel
produce the highlight of the entire production, rendering the remainder
of the soundtrack somewhat of a disappointment.
Several of the songs that follow the imaginative "Il Colosso" are also the product of Holdridge's arranged orchestral accompaniment, and most are noteworthy because of their instrumental depth (with Wonder offering a vibrant harmonica piece after the presentation of the score material on the album). On the other hand, the songs out of place because of their modern pop arrangements (appearing near the end of the product) push the limits of tolerability. While rising composer Rachel Portman had only a minimal hand in the production of background material for the songs, her score stands out as a unique item in the landscape of The Adventures of Pinocchio. Her lovely, soft touch doesn't immediately mesh with the more lush and active orchestral arrangements of Holdridge's song accompaniment, nor does it fit at all with the contemporary Stevie Wonder sound. And yet, on its own, Portman's score offers all the sensitivity of Marvin's Room and Only You with the playfulness of The Road to Wellville and Addicted to Love. It has several moments of score remarkably similar in theme and performance to Addicted to Love, which would be produced the following year. Her title theme, sharing progressions with her best known romance works, is predictably gorgeous in "Theme from Pinocchio" and "Pinocchio Becomes a Real Boy," benefiting from an especially broad recording of resounding depth. Going hand in hand with Portman's trademark string and woodwind theme is a darker idea for "Lorenzini," a rare melodramatic venture into the menacing minor key for the composer that eventually explodes in "Terra Magica" with a barrage of brass and percussion worthy of the most roaring workshop activity. This cue in particular not only presents several train-related sound effects in its mix, but also culminates in a snare-ripping, rhythmic eruption in its final minute that exhibits some of her wildest use of trumpet counterpoint. In the end, however, the twenty minutes of Portman's score on the album is still overshadowed by the "Il Colosso" song and perhaps a handful of others. The album as a whole is just as garbled as the film, and you have to be able to pick your way through the conflicting styles to enjoy the better half. Out of print but still readily available on the market, this album is still a worthy item for children's film enthusiasts. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 64:38
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes extensive credits and lyrics for the songs.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Adventures of Pinocchio are Copyright © 1996, Decca/London Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/4/03 and last updated 3/29/09. |
