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Those seeking direct, overt connections to Oliver Wallace and Paul J. Smith's score for the 1950 Cinderella may be disappointed, but the general tone is preserved. This score, essentially, is Doyle in his natural romance voice through and through. The composer has a technique of leaving a descending phrase of notes hanging near the end before resolving it neatly, and this calling card is triumphant in this work. Extremely easy fairy tale harmonies are conveyed with seeming effortlessness in the progressions of the score's themes. More important, in many ways, is the underlying orchestration of the music, once again a specific result of Doyle's involvement in that orchestration process. To say that this score "prances" may seem like an insult to some readers, but how else would a person adequately score this film? A combination of bouncing, whimsical rhythms and fanciful, flighty melodies are the perfect combination here, and Doyle treats them with multitudes of woodwind layers, high strings, and metallic percussion. Long sequences in this score meander through celete, woodwind, and violin chops, taps, and chirps, nearly all of it hopelessly optimistic in the major key. The thematic statements do even out the listening experience nicely, especially when accompanied by the appropriately soft children's choir in traditional Disney fantasy mode (recall that Alan Menken would pull out these voices for brief moments of accents in his scores, especially in finales). The actual melodies utilized by Doyle include an original theme for Cinderella herself that meanders through the score and comes to dominate the work by the final two cues. Its most triumphant performance perhaps comes in "Who is She," clearly her most powerful moment in the entire tale. Mingling with it in that cue and appearing in several other places is the traditional English folk song, "Lavenders Blue," heard initially in "A Golden Childhood" and later returning to represent the Fairy Godmother's magical influence on the proceedings. Don't expect either of these themes to really blast you out of your seat the way James Newton Howard's equivalents stood apart in Maleficent; Doyle's ideas instead feature a demeanor (and indeed progressions) very similar to a Joel McNeely Tinker Bell work, especially with the lofty children's vocals accompanying the violin performances of themes with brass in counterpoint. Just as McNeely's themes can seem vague, Doyle's may have difficulty staying in memory, leaving the listener with a better impression of the work as formed by the underlying orchestrations and sweeping, exuberant references to ascending phrases from Much Ado About Nothing (as in the latter half of "Chose That One").

There is more than just the straight forward romance work on display in Doyle's score for Cinderella, however. He was tasked with writing the classical waltzes and polkas actually danced to on screen for the ball scenes, and he accomplished this prior to recording the rest of the score. Remarkably, he worked in his eventual theme for Cinderella into these pieces, however, and apart from the fact that they may irritate the crap out of some listeners (can film music get any different from Remote Control stock libraries?), Doyle collectors will likely appreciate them. The comedy element in "La Polka de Minuit" is particularly well-written. The other side of Cinderella that needs addressed is Doyle's interludes into the action and suspense realm, both of which yield arguably the best material in this score. The first real taste of this merging of the composer's romance and Marvel universe action comes in "The Stag," the resulting orchestral flurry, complete with rambling piano lines from La Ligne Droite (which also appear in "Choose That One") and snare-ripping, cello chopping, and timpani-pounding rhythms, is fabulous. You briefly hear this material reprised in "Pumpkins and Mice" prior to the ball and in "Pumpkin Pursuit" afterwards. The hyperactive string lines and ballsy brass presence are appropriately weighted still towards the treble in this context, Doyle avoiding the nuisances of a deeply resounding bass region as required in his modern blockbuster scores. The chimes of the later cue, on top of harpsichord and what sound like hand bells, add an appropriate sense of finality to the chase. Great trombone lines in both cues lend it force akin to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is some Carl Stalling style of comedic flair to these and other portions, so don't expect anything with the brute force of Howard's Maleficent. Doyle is more content taking his ideas towards the loftier royal tones of noble trumpet and tambourine as heard during the brightly optimistic "Searching the Kingdom." There's little depth of suspense in this or most of the rest of the score, as the outcome is predetermined, so why not let those woodwinds fly in shamelessly bright expressions of innocence? This fanciful tone is pure Doyle and you have to love it, but one can see this score failing to connect with some listeners given that it doesn't ever really attempt deeper fantasy tones in its orchestrations. Even the final, extended note of "Courage and Kindness" at the end is totally lacking resolution in the bass region. Likewise, the song "Strong," which would be quite good if the clapping effects were dropped, uses a stylish extension of the Cinderella theme that should have been applied to a greater extent by Doyle in the score proper. The two tribute songs to the 1950 film are extremely well handled. The overall package is unadulterated and glorious Doyle whimsy, for better or for worse.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Patrick Doyle reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.83 (in 29 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.48 (in 21,963 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 78:20