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| Elfman |
Dolittle: (Danny Elfman) Lead actor Robert Downey,
Jr. was reportedly paid tens of millions of dollars to step out of his
Iron Man suit and adopt a terrible Welsh accent for Universal's
stunningly awful adaptation of Hugh Lofting's second Doctor Dolittle
book, 1922's "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle." With advancements in the
technology of bringing talking animals to life, 2020's
Dolittle
would have seemed primed to supplant the prior two major incarnations on
screen, but the computer generation of the animals was little better
than Downey Jr.'s own performance. A wretched script proved unfunny and
even incomprehensible to test audiences, prompting extensive reshooting
with replacement writers and directors in a failed effort to salvage the
film. The plot follows Doctor Dolittle's journey from English shores in
search of a medicinal remedy for an ailing queen, and his herd of
cartoonish animals naturally accompanies him. The high seas adventure in
the movie didn't help the studio recover its bloated budget for
Dolittle, with losses upwards of $100 million. Composer Danny
Elfman was brought on board the project by a production team had partly
carried over from the
Alice in Wonderland films and
Oz the
Great and Powerful, the concept likely appealing to his fantasy
children's concept sensibilities. There has been a fair amount of
criticism of Elfman in the previous fifteen years for supplying his
equivalent of an anonymous, workmanlike John Powell score for several
children's movies, though Elfman collectors will recognize that there
are distinct tiers in the general quality of his writing in this genre.
With each of these entries, film music collectors hope they receive a
product as memorable as
Alice in Wonderland only to be
disappointed more often than not by the other works' comparative lack of
distinction. With
Dolittle, despite the poor quality of the film,
listeners receive one of Elfman's most accomplished efforts in this
genre, easily surpassing the previous year's
Dumbo in thematic
development and generally superior orchestrations. It is, simply put,
among the more substantial surprises from Elfman for any children's
film.
Regardless of commentary you encounter about
Dolittle being an underachieving and anonymous score, it is
actually anchored by three extensively explored themes. But these
identities are not the only highlight of the work; Elfman excels at
providing compelling fantasy and action material beyond his usual
production for the genre, the swashbuckling spirit for the middle
portion of the score especially unique in its expansion of similar
highlights from
Alice Through the Looking Glass. The application
of woodwinds and percussion are particularly impressive in the
soundscape, with flutes, bassoons, chimes, and xylophone all reminiscent
of the composer's 1980's zeal, and brass counterpoint during the main
theme's stately performances even recalls the buoyant portions of
Sommersby. A light choral touch offers the quintessential Elfman
fantasy mode a la
Edward Scissorhands, the cadence of the
composer's techniques seemingly more genuine during the various
emotional modulations of
Dolittle. The work is almost entirely
tonal and occasionally quite lovely, mostly avoiding slapstick silliness
(aside from the bagpipes in "Dragon Indigestion") and remaining an
attractive listening experience throughout, even if you don't embrace
the three themes. Those ideas may not be showstoppers individually, but
they each provide several alluring moments to the score and are really
well adapted in nearly every cue. The main idea represents Dolittle's
quirky mannerisms and group of ridiculous, talking animals. Heard first
at 0:49 into "Opening" (the cue opens with secondary phrases of the
theme), the idea is optimistic and playful here and at the outset of
"Lunchtime" before taking a celebratory stance at 0:45 into "He's Back."
The main phrases of the idea feature prominently at 3:32 into "Onward"
(with trademark Elfman puffing vocals), the beginning of "We Belong
Together," and throughout "Victory" in light humor to conclude the
score. This theme's secondary phrases litter the score; in fact, Elfman
seems just as comfortable stating the latter portions of the theme alone
along with specific little motifs for a few of the animal characters, as
in "Chess Match." On the whole, if the score is expressing charm and
good cheer at a particular moment, you're most likely hearing phrasing
from this main theme.
As the score for
Dolittle extends its narrative
to the titular character's past and later the high seas, Elfman kicks in
with two arguably more memorable themes. The most obvious represents
swashbuckling adventure, and this idea of rising, three or four-note
phrases has a touch of Richard Wagner flair to its brass muscularity.
Introduced at 0:33 into the fantastic "Betsy Chase" cue, it is formally
announced at 1:04 into "The Voyage Begins" and leads the action at 0:55
into "The Getaway." Brazen performances of the theme abound throughout
"Monteverde" and eventually merge in duties with the main theme by late
in "Onward." Though somewhat derivative in structure, this adventure
theme enjoys bold brass performances that help easily distinguish it
from the remainder of the score. Listeners may be more attracted to
Lily's theme, representing Dolittle's deceased wife whose own journey
figures into this narrative. This idea is a true winner in Elfman's
collection of bittersweet melodies, opening "Revelry" and making a cameo
at 1:12 into "He's Back" before occupying a magical minute in
"Remembering Lily" that, although brief, stands as one of the most
touching moments in the composer's career. Both the whistling and
woodwind performances in this cue deserve special recognition. After a
brief interlude at 4:28 into "Monteverde," Lily's theme opens "Pep Talk"
and is adopted by the dragon with choral lament by "The Dragon." The
choir offers one last memory of theme at 1:08 into "We Belong Together."
The "Pep Talk" cue nicely builds from Lily's theme to both the main and
adventure themes with even a snippet of John Williams'
Star Wars: The
Last Jedi thrown in at 0:42 for good measure. Overall, these themes
of
Dolittle hold it together sufficiently, though don't expect
them to conclude the narrative well in the final cues; the score lacks
any true climax or resolution of satisfaction. The Sia song for the end
credits of the movie, "Original," is hardly that, its rather mundane and
harmless personality unrelated to the score. Some film music collectors
will write off
Dolittle as yet another predictably affable but
frustratingly anonymous entry in the composer's children's score
repertoire. But it's a better entry than that, the themes quite decent
and many of the cues surprisingly attractive. Between "Betsy Chase" and
"Monteverde," there is excellent swashbuckling action material, too,
making
Dolittle a worthy recommendation that well overachieves
its film.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Danny Elfman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.16
(in 89 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.27
(in 153,886 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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