 |
| Zimmer |
 |
| Powell |
Kung Fu Panda: (Hans Zimmer/John Powell) Marking
the first animated film by Dreamworks to be produced in 2.35:1
widescreen format,
Kung Fu Panda has a more weighty dramatic
storyline than you might expect. While the images of a cute panda
engaged in kung fu comedy will entertain the kids, the film also places
an emphasis on the value of perseverance, self-respect, and confidence.
In an Eastern kingdom of only talking animals, Po the Panda is the
unlikely candidate selected by the top martial arts master of the land
to become "Dragon Warrior" and defend the land against a powerful,
escaped villain. The panda, a huge fan of martial arts despite his
clunky and awkward personal stature, has hidden talents that expose
themselves beyond his fanboy enthusiasm (and thus much of the comedy of
the film) for other, more famous animals successful in the martial arts.
The collaboration between Dreamworks and veteran composer Hans Zimmer
continues with
Kung Fu Panda. In a year of accelerated activity
in film scoring (including sequels to
Batman Begins and
Madagascar), Zimmer plans to clear his compositional obligations
to embark on a world tour of his music. Although Zimmer was originally
reported as the sole composer for
Kung Fu Panda, Dreamworks
announced late in the production (at test screenings, interestingly)
that former Zimmer pupil and now very successful composer John Powell
had contributed music to the film. This collaboration, while significant
in the 1990's, had not been revisited since Powell's marginal work on
2000's
The Road to El Dorado. Powell himself has matured into a
career among the most active of any composer working in Hollywood, with
an astonishing level of production in 2008 alone.
Kung Fu Panda
directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson enthusiastically embraced the
two composers and their distinct contributions to the film. Their intent
with the soundtrack was to avoid pop songs and elements of animated
musicals, instead opting for a score of epic proportions that would
respect the history of the martial arts and address the culture of the
East.
Given the need for a unique musical identity for the
title character, the splitting of duties between Zimmer and Powell was
natural enough to function while also allowing noticeable traits of both
composers' styles to exist in the same score. Ultimately, it was Zimmer
who wrote the more fluid and epic thematic material for the concept of
the Dragon Warrior while Powell addressed the individual, quirky
character of the panda with his greater expertise in cartoonish rhythmic
and instrumental creativity. Dividing the duties this way makes perfect
sense when you ponder the careers of the two men and the areas and
styles in which they excel. While there are indeed parts that will
strike an avid film music collector as being a definite "Zimmer moment"
or "Powell moment," the composers' merging of the material into one
cohesive score is accomplished well. Listeners familiar with Powell's
more vibrant, hyperactive style of animation scoring will appreciate the
humor and spirited movement of his dynamic ideas for Po. More compelling
on album is the grandiose, respectful harmonic material by Zimmer, which
often uses the same expansive orchestral sound (with his usual mixing
techniques contributing to a harsh edge at times), broad chord
progressions, and choral accompaniment heard extensively in his career.
At no time are the roles of the two composers more clearly defined than
in the final cues in the film, summarized by the three very strong
tracks that conclude the score portion of the album. Powell's bouncing
theme for Po is delightfully rendered in "Panda Po," eventually
combining its Eastern instrumentation with flowing progressions that
remind of Zimmer's score for
Toys. The following cue, "Oogway
Ascends," counters with the epic theme of respect for the martial arts
that Zimmer fans will greatly appreciate. When concentrating solely on
serious expressions of either of these themes,
Kung Fu Panda is
an impressive work. Zimmer and Powell can't resist, however, delving
into territory that Lalo Schifrin traversed in his
Rush Hour
scores, with parts of the opening "Hero" cue imitating the hip 70's
style of jazz as explosive interludes to otherwise respectful cultural
introductions.
The usual tones of Eastern culture saturate
Kung Fu
Panda, with the erhu leading a collection of percussion that conveys
the region so overwhelmingly that it almost becomes tiresome. In ways,
it seems that Zimmer and Powell may have (likely unintentionally) been
trying to find the same balance between Eastern and Western
instrumentation that Jerry Goldsmith so effectively achieved in Disney's
Mulan. Ultimately, the layers are brushed on a bit heavily on the
canvas in
Kung Fu Panda, though the usage certainly gives the
score a unique identity. In sum, what Zimmer and Powell have
accomplished with
Kung Fu Panda is admirable, and there are
certainly portions on the album's presentation that will solicit repeat
listens. There are weak points, including the outright comedy
("Impersonating Shifu") and moments of training or fights that feature
mostly the ethnic percussion by itself ("Training Po"). But with some
editing, there is enough material of beauty and scope (spread between
both Powell's and Zimmer's themes) to merit attention from those
composers' collectors. The lengthy cue "Sacred Pool of Tears" is a good
place to start in terms of surveying all of the thematic ideas in the
score. The album release by Dreamworks interestingly neglects to
advertise what the promotional materials for the score indicate was a
recording of at least some of the material by the China National
Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Xincao Li. According to the album,
Gavin Greenaway conducts a standard London ensemble. The lack of clear
credits on the product are curious given that the studio/label should
want to advertise the recording's unusual location (despite the fact
that it really doesn't make much of a difference in terms of
performance). The album concludes with a Cee-Lo Green and Jack Black
cover version of the song "Kung Fu Fighting," which, surprisingly, is
actually more listenable than the original. The score by Zimmer and
Powell achieves everything necessary for the film, and as for its
translation onto album, only the inconsistency of the comedy and actual
fight material in the middle of the product, as well as the few moments
of outward cross-cultural flair, restrain it from a fourth star.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Hans Zimmer reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 121 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.96
(in 298,134 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert includes extensive credits, but no extra information about the score or film.
