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Newman |
Cars 3: (Randy Newman) Though considered the ugly
step-child of the Pixar properties for more than a decade, the
Cars franchise continues to dazzle young boys with its
anthropomorphic vehicles, proving, perhaps, that it's actually the
spin-off
Planes franchise that deserves the greater scorn. Only
the third film in the series since the 2006 original,
Cars 3
returns almost all the original voice cast back for another encore
(unused recordings of Paul Newman were even resurrected for the
occasion), largely bypassing the events of the second, 2011 film, and
wrapping up the Radiator Springs/Lightning McQueen ascendance storyline.
McQueen, having been the triumphant new kid on the track in the first
film, is nearing forced retirement due to a more technologically adept
younger generation of racers. He inevitably transitions his role from
champion to coach over the course of the film, seeking to leave the
track a winner and inspire other cars in more ways than the usual,
demeaning endorsement deals. The film performed reasonably well,
baffling critics with its staying power, and some of its renewed charm
compared to
Cars 2 is no doubt owed to composer Randy Newman, the
original musical voice of Pixar animation who is in his 70's and
semi-retired in the 2010's. The famed songwriter and performer was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, and
Monsters
University from that year represents his only major foray into film
music in the decade. His return for
Cars 3 is as vital to the
Pixar universe as John Williams is to
Star Wars; as much as
Michael Giacchino attempted to step in competently for
Cars 2, he
was the wrong match for this franchise and listeners shrugged off that
score as a misguided substitute. Newman's compositional voice is almost
as memorable as his actual one, and while most of his Pixar-related
music is generally described as "the
Toy Story sound," it does
explore different facets of the composer's Americana sensibilities in
each distinct franchise. One of the more intriguing aspects of the
>Cars concept for Newman is his continuing decision not to employ
representations of vehicle sounds into his music.
For
Cars 3, Newman employed an orchestral
ensemble of 110 players and enjoyed a return by orchestrator and
composer Don Davis (who was also concurrently scoring his first feature
in a long time) to produce exactly the score you expect to hear from
him. Absolutely no surprises await the listener in
Cars 3,
Newman's blend of brightly optimistic, major-key action and wistfully
sorrowful passages of lamentation returning the franchise to its core
musical identities despite once again battling song placements
throughout. The
Cars franchise of film scores has never enjoyed
an overwhelming set of melodic identities; Newman's most memorable
scores are often paired with the melodies of popular songs that
accompany them, and such singing from Newman was absent in
Cars.
After Giacchino totally ignored Newman's material for the sequel,
Cars 3 refreshingly reprises several recurring motifs from the
original, though non-fans of the concept may miss them and instead latch
onto the plainly obvious overall tone of similarity that Newman brings
back to the table. Such casual listeners may (justifiably) hear as many
references to
Toy Story as
Cars in this work, the parody
applications of Western or luau personality, along with the requisite
moments of tenderness, really not differing from that more acclaimed
franchise's music very much. Newman retains his ability to take even the
most melancholy of cues and maintain their major-key optimism, and
Car 3 certainly utilizes an excess of these contemplative moments
for McQueen. Genres are bent at will, light waltzes never seemingly far
from Newman's mind. Thematically, the franchise still lacks a primary
thematic identity, leaving the whole as something that perpetually
reminds you of something else, whether it's the equivalent personality
of
Cars, the heroics of Williams' racing pageantry in
Star
Wars: The Phantom Menace (this returns wholesale from the first
score), the twist of melodic romanticism from Alan Silvestri's
Back
to the Future, or the occasional James Horner-like orchestrations in
"Temple of Rust-Eze" and "The Fabulous Lightning McQueen" (certainly the
Davis influence). That latter infusion is particularly interesting,
especially in that it tends to provide a more robust bass region that
Newman otherwise applies.
For concept enthusiasts, Newman supplies new themes for
Cars 3 built around old ones and reprises some favorites in full
fashion. In the second half of "Doc's Painful Demise" and opening of
"Flashback & Pit Stop," you hear a generational theme (the
aforementioned
Back to the Future derivative) that is expanded
upon in "A Career on a Wall" before the two variants of that same idea
merge appropriately in "If This Track Could Talk," the most poignant
dramatic cue in
Cars 3 (though it ends badly as needed for
comedic purposes). The most obvious returning thematic element from
Cars is the victory theme from its finale, reprised shortly late
in "Flashback & Pit Stop" before expressing itself in full several times
at the end of "Victory Lane." This latter cue is the most satisfying
bookending of the franchise's score music anyone could have expected,
surrounding the victory identity with both the pageantry and
generational themes in glorious fashion. The score concludes with a much
tighter narrative than it begins, the quality of Newman's emotional
connections improving as the work progresses. One has to remember that
this music is all so familiar to veteran film score listeners that it
may be difficult to become excited about its merely functional passages.
An appreciation of Newman's continued mastery of his domain is required
even if this music continues to seem like innocuous, inconsequential
fluff. That said, this recording is extremely shallow, taking the 110
players and making them sound one-dimensional and distractingly dull,
especially in prancing proclamations like "Smokey Starts Training/A
Blaze of Glory." There is poor separation, for instance, between
specialty layers like the percussion highlights, and the ensemble as a
whole, the spread of instruments through the soundscape poorly assigned
in the channels. As a result, this score deserves to sound much better
than it does, the lack of vivaciously dynamic spread really damaging its
allure. Someone needs to introduce Debbie Wiseman's recording team
(think
Wilde) to Newman so that the personality of his scores can
excel both in warmth and breadth. Overall,
Cars 3 is an
affectionate return by Newman to his undeniably attractive and unique
comfort zone. It may not be a stellar score by most measures, especially
in its recording, but you simply cannot discount how delightful it is to
continue hearing Newman grace the Pixar universe with his trademark
style.
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Bias Check: |
For Randy Newman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 20 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.11
(in 22,930 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.