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| Jablonsky |
DC League of Super-Pets: (Steve Jablonsky) As
studios seek to pilfer any possible angle to their comic book superhero
properties, it's no surprise that Warner Brothers sought to adapt the
"Legion of Super-Pets" concept from page to screen. Partly a parody of
its own DC Comics superheroes and owing much to the movies of
The
Secret Life of Pets, the 2022 animated venture
DC League of
Super-Pets tells of the exploits of the pets of major DC characters.
The movie is partly an origins story for Krypto the Superdog, the
Labrador owned by Clark Kent, and an explanation for how a variety of
other animals come into contact with kryptonite and achieve their own
superpowers. These lucky animals come from an animal shelter and are
adopted by the heroes accordingly, helping them thwart evil. In this
case, that villain is a guinea pig associated with Lex Luthor, who is
largely responsible for the accidental existence of all the super
animals. But
DC League of Super-Pets earns its charm as Krypto
the Superdog is shown leaving Krypton with Kal-El and discovering his
own place in a family that inevitably will involve Lois Lane, much to
Krypto's consternation. Writer and director Jared Stern had made his
name with
The Lego Batman Movie, so you can expect the same level
of humor aimed within. That tact was music to the ears of composer Steve
Jablonsky, who was tasked with providing a score for
DC League of
Super-Pets that was destined to compete with an absolutely enormous
variety of song placements. Not only was Jablonsky encouraged to write
over-the-top animation music of immense size, but he was allowed to
reference the full range of DC-related themes from the past. Much of the
press about the resulting score is about the insertion of vintage themes
from the 1970's and 1980's into this context, but Jablonsky's music
actually relies on these ideas very sparingly. His tone and thematic
narrative is largely his own throughout
DC League of Super-Pets,
with the themes by John Williams, Danny Elfman, and others thrown in as
an occasional pinch of spice now and then. In something of a relief, the
album release for Jablonsky's score doesn't shy away from offering cues
that contain these references.
The general quality of Jablonsky's writing for
DC
League of Super-Pets builds upon the composer's impressive outing
for
Red Notice, showing significant maturation and more than
enough intelligence to compete favorably with the best parody animation
scores. The scope of the work is massive, encompassing a resounding
symphonic ensemble, a variety of choral shades, and the expected
contemporary electronic accents to accompany the espionage element of
the action. There is top notch bloating of instrumental applications in
almost every facet, with countless comedic action techniques plundered
and nearly everything overblown in tone throughout. While some listeners
may be turned off by the immense volume of much of this score, there are
aspects of the mix that do shine despite the walls of noise sometimes
thrown at the story. There is fantastic use of percussion throughout the
score, these performers offered in a great variety and mix. Solo viola
in lamentation mode sometimes joins a theremin for melodrama. The mock
theremin effects are a bit tired but serve their purpose. The choral
usage is all over the place in the score, though it sometimes excels,
such as in the chanting late in "Squeezy Bruce," an excellent parody of
fantasy suspense. Jablonsky's handling of themes is extensive in
DC
League of Super-Pets, dominated by his two primary ideas of good and
evil that aren't afraid to do sonic battle in several cues, most notably
"A Hunk of Jarlsberg." Likewise, the composer's merging of original and
vintage themes is well handled, "Leaving Krypton" in particular a great
combination of old and new identities. Among the purely new ideas,
Jablonsky concentrates on his ideas for Krypto, Superman's dog, and
Lulu, the evil guinea pig. The development of these themes is extensive
and constant throughout the work, nearly every cue making use of at
least portions of one of these two themes. The primary idea for Krypto
is definitely informed by harmonies and progressions from Williams'
Superman, but with secondary phrases remind of Alan Silvestri's
main
Night at the Museum theme and performance inflection that
suggests Benjamin Wallfisch's
Shazam! at times. He doesn't lose
the modern edge to DC scores generally, either, this main idea expressed
in power anthem methodology when needed.
The lead Krypto theme in
DC League of Super-Pets
debuts at the outset of "Leaving Krypton" on woodwinds with light whimsy
and is explored in its entirety in that cue. It returns immediately at
the start of "Squeezy Bruce" in exuberant, stuttering phrases, and that
cue closes with soft hints of the idea. It provides solo trumpet mystery
at 1:09 into "100% Orange Kryptonite" before going massive in minor-key
mode at 1:31 with electronic embellishments and wild flutes. Krypto's
theme extends to tortured suspense in the middle of "Crazy Good Plan"
with Elfman-like zaniness and struggles to re-assert itself late with
electric guitar coolness, phrases then attempting to comfort in "A Hunk
of Jarlsberg" but without success. It simmers in light fantasy mode
early in "It is I, Dog-El," turning to a secondary piano motif in that
cue and merely teased in the first minute of "Super Dork." The theme
interjects over the Lulu material at 1:37 into "Super Team Stats,"
struggles to complete in the first half of "La Puerca Sin Pelo Esta
Loca" and the midsection of "Whiskers," and rediscoveres some heroic
optimism in the middle of "Finally Reunited." Sensitive fragments open
"No Justice Without Truth" and later congeal into full fanfare, trying
to fight back at 0:58 and thereafter in "All Billionaires Have
Rocketships" and late in "Kneel Before Lulu." With electronic vocal
effects, the Krypto theme becomes mystical at 0:27 into "The Solar Paw
Punch," the orchestra taking the theme's fragments on a frenetic ride
before a huge, heroic ending. It becomes sensitive on keyboards and
woodwinds at the beginning of "Super Family," transitioning to
inspirational militaristic mode and allowing secondary sections of the
theme to expand nicely. A determined minor mode for the theme opens "I
Ate the FedEx Guy." Jablonsky's suite-like format for the theme occupies
"Krypto the Superdog," its melody teased at 0:19 in partial phrasing and
consolidating slowly with increasing percussive force, including chimes,
until the formal march format ensues at 2:50. The extroverted rendition
at 3:25 into "Krypto the Superdog" embodies the closest the score comes
to its outright
Shazam! references, though a great interlude at
3:50 into the track is reminiscent of Mark Mancina's
Twister
instead. The application and mix of the vibrant percussion layers is
all-around outstanding in this cue.
On the flip side of the coin in the score for
DC
League of Super-Pets is the theme for Lulu the villain, and it's
here that Jablonsky overplays his hand. This idea is distinguished by
two five-note phrases of pure menace, though the third note is sometimes
dropped. Too often, the theme is conveyed simplistically at high
volumes, its character not enjoying much of an arc in the music. Lulu's
theme is hinted first at 0:41 into "100% Orange Kryptonite" but develops
further at the start of "Crazy Good Plan" in suspense with choir and
groaning metal, shifting to mock theremin against the Lex Luthor theme
and revealing its full fanfare mode at 3:06 with choir and slamming
percussion. It pounds at the start of "A Hunk of Jarlsberg," defining
the massive suspense thereafter, and becomes threatening on brass at
0:15 into "Terrifying Villains, Deadly Assassins" before accelerating
with choir and brass at 1:12 against Elfman's
Batman theme and
consolidating to a massively bloated fanfare mode again at the end.
Reminders of phrases of the Lulu theme extend on chanted choir and muted
trumpets at 0:28 into "Super Team Stats" and fend off the Krypto theme
to prevail in "La Puerca Sin Pelo Esta Loca." It's playful early in
"Whiskers," becoming fully evil and pounding by the end of the cue, and
it comes to dominate "Finally Reunited" by the end with
Independence
Day-inspired, mega-menace size. The idea stomps near the start of
"All Billionaires Have Rocketships," provides brass bravado over
theremin at 0:27 into "Kneel Before Lulu" (shifting to even larger tones
as a choir joins), and obnoxiously thrashes at the start of "The Solar
Paw Punch" without much variance. This theme's suite-like form comes in
"Lulu, Daughter of Cinnamon," muted trumpets conveying the melody at
0:30 and the idea increasing its volume to horns at 0:55 and slower
tempos with choir at 1:48. Ancillary to the Lulu theme is that of Lex
Luthor, opening with hypnotic rhythmic phrasing with ample synthetics
and theremin. It dances lightly at 1:10 into "Crazy Good Plan" but is
supplanted by Lulu's theme, meanders through the middle of "Terrifying
Villains, Deadly Assassins," taunts in the middle of "Finally Reunited,"
and is best heard throughout its own suite in "Lex Luthor," especially
in full brass mode at 1:14. This idea is really marginalized by the Lulu
material, however, which itself sometimes utilizes the same hypnotic
rhythmic figures, and some listeners may overlook the Luthor theme
entirely if not for its separate suite at the end of the album.
The fourth and final significant new theme in
DC
League of Super-Pets belongs to the Kent farm and the sense of
family associated with it. Signaled by ascending two-note phrases at its
start, this idea offers a touch off Jerry Goldsmith in its sensitivity
and is a welcome diversion whenever it occurs in this score. Previewed
at 0:06 into "Super Dork," the theme develops at 2:44 into "All
Billionaires Have Rocketships" with greater nobility but is cut off
prematurely. Redemption finally comes in its massive performance at 2:46
into "Super Family," eventually achieving a brief fanfare mode at 4:10
after ruminating on extended new family-oriented material. The suite
track, "The Farm," opens with the theme at 0:14 and allows the melody to
be explored in full by woodwinds, an acoustic guitar a nice additional
touch. The only other new motif of interest in
DC League of
Super-Pets belongs to the sideshow villain feline in "Whiskers,"
opening that cue on celeste and persisting throughout. Listeners seeking
the vintage DC themes will appreciate Jablonsky's attention to Williams'
Superman themes, the fanfare previewed at 1:12 into "Leaving
Krypton" and the full Krypton theme following at 1:57 on brass layers,
using much of Williams' famous crescendo; that Krypton theme is reprised
in minor mode for brass at 2:50. A brief snippet of the fanfare exists
at 1:30 into "A Hunk of Jarlsberg" while shades provide counterpoint to
the soft mystery of "It is I, Dog-El" and a quick fanfare reference at
1:21 into "Super Dork" mingles with the Krypto theme. Elfman's
Batman theme is brief but well interpolated in full action mode
at 1:23 into "Terrifying Villains, Deadly Assassins," and the composer's
general style is emulated in the morbid low strings in middle of
"Finally Reunited." More humorous is the 1970's "Wonder Woman"
television theme by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel in a nice statement at
2:27 in "Terrifying Villains, Deadly Assassins." In the end, these
references are few and brief, only "Leaving Krypton" paying lengthy
homage to the past, and the usage works well. Overall, Jablonsky
continues to impress, as
DC League of Super-Pets is a superbly
accomplished animated parody score for much of its length, its
percussion and general mix outstanding and its only detriment being the
composer's inability to refrain from overstating the stomping tone of
Lulu's theme whenever adversity occurs. The long album includes the
song, "Count On Me" by Jeremy Silver and performed by Jac Ross, a
romantically sweet buddy tune that is attractive but should have been
moved to the end of the album. The inclusion of the four thematic suites
at the end of that product are a treat and may suffice for listeners not
interested in the wild mayhem that occupies the rest of the score.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Steve Jablonsky reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.2
(in 15 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.47
(in 11,924 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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There exists no official packaging for this album.
