Hans Zimmer has high praise for Rupert Gregson-Williams, brother of the already-established Harry Gregson-Williams and another veteran of the Media Ventures glory years. Always enthusiastic about the talent he employs at his now-renamed Remote Control, Zimmer would afford Gregson-Williams primary credit while receiving assistance from other "usual suspects" that you find attached to several Zimmer scores of late, including The Simpsons Movie. Also typical of a project from the hive of Zimmer's busy little bees, fans can get stung when trying to figure out exactly which composers wrote what material. Assuming that Gregson-Williams coordinated all the themes and styles for Bee Movie and merged them into a cohesive whole, considerable credit should be given to him. The score is highly entertaining for much of its length, echoing the styles of his brother and John Powell far more than those of Zimmer himself. As such, the score leans towards Antz and Chicken Run for inspiration, and with these parody scores amongst the stronger to be spawned from the Media Ventures era, Bee Movie will be a worthy addition to the collections of the fans of those previous comedy scores. The opening cues in Bee Movie function much like the equivalents in Antz, first introducing a jazzy, upbeat character theme with a varied percussion, electric organ, and sharp orchestral counterpoint. In "Honex," the score launches into a theme for the hive, an ultra-spastic romp of productivity with mechanical rhythms leading a sunny orchestral balance of theme that makes remarkably strong use of each section. Finally, a third theme bursts forth for the ace "Pollen Jocks" that inspire Seinfeld's character to break the rules. This cue features outstanding brass layers reminiscent in progression to some of Jerry Goldsmith's most optimistic and masculine themes.

The climax of the score comes early, in "Barry Flies Out," with the theme for the jocks provided choral accompaniment in a cue that will remind listeners of the final, rambunctious cues from Chicken Run. As the humans become involved with the story, the score withdraws to a more restrained level of soft jazz rhythms and a handful of less interesting motifs for individual scenes. A parody of thriller music late in "Assault on Honey Farms" is a highlight for the chorus. A series of slapstick-oriented cues cheapen the score to a degree, especially in regards to the European romanticism on strings and guitar that's conveyed in "Hearts, Flowers, and Hive Closures," among other cues. A singular action cue in "Honey Round Up" takes some inspiration from David Arnold's James Bond music and Michael Giacchino's proven animation score techniques and rolls them into a suave rhythm and electric organ performance. One final statement of all three major themes is provided for "Land That Plane," with Gregson-Williams following the harrowing action piece with a brief return to the sleek jazzy that opened the score and, inevitably, a harmonic crescendo (with limited choral accompaniment) to close out the score. The pollenation scene over Central Park is absent of score; a cover version of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" is performed with considerable lethargy by Sheryl Crow and finishes the album as well. As for the contribution by Gregson-Williams and the six other Remote Control composers, Bee Movie is as purely a fun listening experience on album as the aforementioned Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams scores, along with Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit by Julian Nott and other Zimmer assistants more recently. The theme in "The Pollen Jocks" is among the most satisfying of the year, and with the four fantastic cues that open this album, Bee Movie is an easy recommendation. The album does slow down in its latter half, and the flow is interrupted briefly by "Sugar Sugar" by The Archies, but you can't help but admire the optimistic energy this score conveys.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download