: (Jerry Goldsmith) Back in 1988,
the idea of having animated characters share the screen with live actors and sets
for an entire film was introduced with much fanfare and mainstream buzz in
. Due to studio quarrels and ongoing technical
difficulties, however, the marketability of that concept of live and animated
action interacting in major films faded from the popular spotlight. With the
technical aspects of the prospect easy to render in the 2000's, Warner Brothers
resurrected the idea and pushed it to the forefront in full force with 2003's
. Directed by Joe Dante, the film follows the
plot outline of
's backlot studio infighting between
our favorite animated characters, but it also takes an adventure around the world
with their live action counterparts (Brandan Frasier and Jenna Elfman) in search
for the mythical "Blue Monkey Diamond," which hopefully had nothing to do with the
real-life blue diamond pills that men all over the world are taking these days to
satisfy their women. Dante is well rehearsed in making films such as this one, with
a long list of comedies going back to the middle of the 1980's and alternating
between positively funny and grossly dumb projects. One staple of these projects
was the music of composer Jerry Goldsmith, who scored such Dante entries as the
. His contribution for
would truly test his ability
to generate slapstick, shtick action at an extremely energizing pace of movement.
Despite increasing problems with sickness due to his advancing age and an
ever-continuing demand for his services, Goldsmith managed to produce just that: an
exercise in gag reflexes and genre references that moves at the speed of light
through stereotypical statements of theme and instrumentation. The score serves as
a surprisingly thorough culmination of all the cartoon elements that he had
employed over the second half of his career.
Unfortunately, time did eventually catch up with the composer.
Goldsmith didn't have time to finish the score for
Looney Tunes due to
countless late edits to the end of the picture, and John Debney (likewise versatile
in this particular genre and a master of imitating the style of other composers)
was hired to use Goldsmith's ideas to formulate an additional 16 minutes of
material. This score could only be suitable for a cartoon, and classic slapstick
composers for orchestra in this genre, including Carl Stalling and Raymond Scott,
would be proud of this piece of work. At the very least, it showed that Goldsmith's
mental talents were still firing on all cylinders to the very end. The amount of
orchestral energy unleashed through the rhythms, instrumentation, and tempo of
Looney Tunes is staggering. It's a score that needs to be appreciated even
if it can't be enjoyed because of its rapid pace of directional changes. Being for
a cartoon, the score inherently has a construction of short cues, often with
unrelated genres in each sudden succession, and the tone is therefore difficult to
tolerate unless you know exactly what you're getting into. The references to other
scores and genres alone, however, will keep a film music collector interested for a
few listens. The title theme for
Looney Tunes is suspiciously similar to one
of the plethora of pleasant themes for
The 'Burbs, and it is stated enough
times to establish itself well in the score. A loungey electric guitar-led motif
also exists throughout the work, representing the studio settings. At times, the
guitar explodes into rhythms that mirror those heard in Edward Shearmur's parody
style for
Johnny English earlier in 2003. Goldsmith utilizes a variation on
a famous Western theme to represent "The Bad Guys" in the score. When the setting
turns to "Area 52," Goldsmith reprises that eerie, distant vocal from
The
'Burbs and brackets it in between violin slashes from Bernard Herrmann's
Psycho. And whenever being "In Style" is mentioned, a lofty, classical solo
violin of pretentious attitude is offered. For scenes of ritualistic action, such
as in "Blue Monkey," Goldsmith revisits snare-led martial ideas from
Small
Soldiers.
As the setting changes to Paris, Goldsmith pours on the
stereotypical accordion, and when we meet the jungle setting, a variety of drums
greets with primitive intentions. There are a few cues of unrestrained bombast for
brass, timpani, and electronic rhythm-setters, such as "Dead Duck Walking" and
"Free Fall," although most of the faster action pieces rely on Goldsmith's creative
use of percussion to provide their attractive accompaniment for the quirky
characters. As Carl Stalling did in the classic cartoons, every conceivable piece
of percussion was pulled out for this score, from the basic ramblings on the piano
to whistles, rattles, triangles, and joke-accenting noisemakers. Goldsmith even
incorporated a harp into the proceedings, which was a rare event for him (his
hatred of the instrument was well known). Goldsmith's sense of humor was
unwavering, as usual, with a full reprise of his
Gremlins theme when an
appropriately named vehicle is whipped up in "Out of the Bag." The flighty tone is
a characteristic of
Looney Tunes that you have to be prepared for in order
to enjoy the score on album. There's certainly a large contingent of film music
collectors who have no affinity for Stallings' style (or even Goldsmith's comedy
material for Dante films), and for these folks, this score was a disquieting way
for Goldsmith to exit the stage. None of Debney's last-minute material appears on
the 37-minute album, though his music does have a habit of readily spreading around
the secondary market. Overall, Goldsmith's slapstick material here is well
developed, but not as concise and enjoyable as own standard of classic parody,
The 'Burbs (nor does it have the same electronic creativity). That's likely
due, once again, to the speed at which the scenes and moods in
Looney Tunes
change. It's a specific sound for a specific mood, and it should best be left for
the marvel of its own construction rather than expectations of a coherent listening
experience. With the rejection of Goldsmith's score for the underachieving
Timeline earlier in the year, this was his only entry in 2003, and when he
succumbed the following summer,
Looney Tunes became an arguably
unceremonious conclusion to a great career.
@Amazon.com: CD or
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- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: ***
- Overall: ****
| Bias Check: |
For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.3
(in 113 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.32
(in 144,818 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
