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Review of Bee Movie (Rupert Gregson-Williams)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you have appreciated the frenetic orchestral action music by John Powell and Harry-Gregson-Williams for films like Antz and Chicken Run and seek an extension of that sound.

Avoid it... if hyperactive animation scores with both brassy action and jazzy character provide only fluff and no substance for your tastes.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Bee Movie: (Rupert Gregson-Williams, Various) Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has maintained for years that he wanted to make an animated children's film, and Bee Movie is the culmination of his efforts to that end. As a producer, writer, and lead voice, the film is an extension of his own humor, with writing credits shared by those who used to contribute to his hit television show. The story shifts the subject of the talking animal concept to the world of bees, with Seinfeld's primary character deciding that the highly scripted, routine life of a bee is not for his wandering soul. He breaks fundamental bee-world rules by befriending and talking to a human, and in his journey to discover how bees and humans typically interact on the planet, he decides that it's time to sue humanity for its ills towards his species. Despite what you might think, the film has little overarching morality, and critics have been particularly harsh towards a script that seems tailored specifically to be populated by typical Seinfeld one-liners. The jokes, while funny at times, are not surprisingly saturated with the comedian's usual dry humor, making Bee Movie an odd film that might have difficulty keeping the attention of both adults, who have heard that humor in better contexts, and children, for whom little attempt is made to give them satisfying action. Being a Dreamworks animated project, it's also no surprise that Hans Zimmer became involved in the project. While the composer would not write any music for Bee Movie, he would oversee the assignment of Rupert Gregson-Williams and six other composers to the project. With the ever-controversial Zimmer as the executive producer of the music for the film, the score inherits some of the characteristics that fans and detractors have come to expect from projects he helms.

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.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 44:14

• 1. Graduation (3:15) • 2. Honex (2:50) • 3. The Pollen Jocks (1:32) • 4. Barry Flies Out (5:35) • 5. Vanessa Intervenes (2:03) • 6. Sugar Sugar - performed by The Archies (2:47) • 7. Assault on Honey Farms (2:35) • 8. Ken (2:29) • 9. Barry Turns the Screws (3:13) • 10. Monty Slanders and Adam Stings (2:14) • 11. Hearts, Flowers and Hive Closures (2:36) • 12. Honey Round Up (1:40) • 13. Rooftop Consequences (1:52) • 14. Land That Plane (6:41) • 15. Here Comes the Sun - performed by Sheryl Crow (3:00)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes no extra information about the score or film. Likely due to the fact that the name of Rupert Gregson-Williams isn't highly marketable, the packaging makes little attempt on its outer sections to indicate that the album contains mostly a score by that composer.

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