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Review of Ice Age: Collision Course (John Debney)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you can admire John Debney's mindful interpolation of a few David Newman and John Powell themes from the franchise's past, spread amongst his better space-faring parody material for this tale.

Avoid it... if even the better-executed variety of this genre's predictable sound from Debney cannot maintain your interest apart from the film, despite the lack of any truly obnoxious portions here.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Ice Age: Collision Course: (John Debney) It's franchises like "Ice Age" that contribute to the ultimate "dumbing down" of the movie industry in the age of senseless sequels aimed solely at squeezing dollars out of parents eager to throw their kids in front of a screen. There's really no reason for 2016's Ice Age: Collision Course to exist otherwise, critics widely recognizing that the concept has long past its prime. So asinine has the "Ice Age" franchise become that this fifth film actually takes the story into outer space and postulates that the idiotic pre-historic characters of the tale could not only cause asteroids to hurl towards their planet but actually alter the trajectory of those asteroids upon learning of their imminent demise. It's really stupid stuff, folks, but 20th Century Fox seems pleased enough with the box office results to allow the pondering of a sixth feature film in the series. Aside from the ridiculous space element in Ice Age: Collision Course, there's the expected continuation of the interpersonal development of the main animals in "The Herd," the unlikely gang that has persisted through these films joined by a range of auxiliary characters each providing their comedy relief. At the heart of the story is Scrat the squirrel and his endless chase of the ever-elusive acorn, which, in this case, sends him to Mars aboard a spaceship. Not much more needs said about the plot. The music for the series, after kicking off the concept with David Newman, has largely been the domain of John Powell since, and these energetic children's comedy scores have often resided in the safely competent "3-star" range of quality. The same "safely competent 3-star range" descriptor could be applied to the majority of composer John Debney's ventures into the genre as well, and his journey to the "Ice Age" realm (which, incidentally, he claims to have always admired through the years) will likely receive much of the same response from soundtrack enthusiasts. Debney, whose career continues to be defined by obscure dramas, pointless horror flicks, and silly comedies, has actually enjoyed a fantastic 2016 to this point, with both The Young Messiah and The Jungle Book being solid scores that intelligently interpolate existing thematic ideas into engaging new packages. The same is true of Ice Age: Collision Course, and it's good to hear the veteran composer infuse ideas from the franchise's past amongst his own parody sensibilities. The result is a score that will for many still be a predictable, workmanlike 3-star bore. But there's enough going on in this non-offensive experience to recommend another examination.

The demeanor of the music for Ice Age: Collision Course is less guided by Carl Stalling's "Mickey Mousing" than you'd expect, though that element certainly exists throughout. Rather, due to the space setting and deeper familial character exploration, Debney responds with a greater dose of outright fantasy and dramatic heft. Along with the sometimes zany and bluegrass comedy elements, you receive a score whose closest relative, perhaps, is My Favorite Martian. The ensemble is nicely handled; Debney certainly knows how to balance the standard orchestra with a variety of specialty instruments and electronic effects to produce the right atmosphere. The highlights of the work come in the thematic and outright parody portions, not surprisingly. He does offer recurring melodies of his own for this tale, and he maintains enough instrumental consistency in their references to keep them viable. Perhaps most impressive is his glowing "Geotopia" motif of grandeur. His Scrat idea borrows heavily from Alan Silvestri's manic Doc Brown material from Back to the Future. Of more intrigue for a film music collector otherwise tired of children's comedy music is the care with which Debney incorporates ideas directly and indirectly from other works. His application of existing franchise themes by Newman and Powell throughout the score was an unnecessary but extremely welcome choice. He pulls Newman's very pretty family theme from "Checking Out the Cave" in Ice Age (recall the lovely performance near the end of that cue) for three notable renditions here, each of them maintaining Newman's attractive counterpoint structures and brightening up the tone to give the relationships their due deliverance. Meanwhile, the concluding fanfare from Powell's "End Credits" suite in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is reworked in two cues, particularly the start of "We Did It," though don't look for this material to be as well adapted as that from Newman. Other familiar moments abound, from the classical parody in "Magnets" to Richard Strauss' obligatory "Also Sprach Zarathustra" timpani at the end of "Wedding Preparations." Debney seems most taken by James Horner's "Star Trek" scores, however, using them as a tongue-in-cheek inspiration for Scrat's spaceside endeavors. Highlights in these portions include the second half of "Earthbound Acorn" and the end of "We Did It;" the latter humorously resurrects Horner's ubiquitous, rising crescendo from the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (after, no less, the Doc Brown/Scrat motif). Overall, Ice Age: Collision Course doesn't reinvent the wheel (except for using existing franchise themes... imagine that!), but it's a very competent, overachieving score and an easy listening experience on album.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 58:05

• 1. Ice Age: Collision Course Main Title (0:17) • 2. Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe (2:44) • 3. Earthbound Acorn (0:43) • 4. Family Bonding* (3:15) • 5. Clingy Sid (0:42) • 6. Women** (1:14) • 7. Extreme Gravity (1:23) • 8. Did You Forget? (1:35) • 9. Peaches and Julian (1:01) • 10. Meteor Shower (2:45) • 11. Ancient Temple (1:38) • 12. The Tablet (2:38) • 13. Dino Bird Plan (1:53) • 14. Magnets (1:34) • 15. Electrical Storm (2:55) • 16. Parenting (1:41) • 17. The Herd Rests (1:07) • 18. Kidnapping (2:04) • 19. Crash Site (1:44) • 20. Geotopia (2:18) • 21. The Shangri-Llama (2:57) • 22. A Good Life* (1:27) • 23. Proposal (1:47) • 24. Sealing the Volcano (2:57) • 25. Dino Birds Join the Mission (3:16) • 26. Julian's Moment (3:32) • 27. We Did It** (2:26) • 28. Wedding Preparations* (2:52) • 29. Mars (1:02) • 30. Ice Age: Collision Course End Credits (Soundtrack Edit) (0:51)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a list of performers and brief notes from both the director and composer.

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