Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #347
Written 12/16/98, Revised 3/16/08
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Buy it... if a Swahili choir, distinctive wood-struck percussion,
and synthetic ape sounds can compensate for an otherwise standard James
Horner action score.
Avoid it... if you expect the ethnic accents in the music for
Mighty Joe Young to feature anywhere near the same attractive
flair as those in the just previous The Mask of Zorro.
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| Horner |
Mighty Joe Young: (James Horner) The 1949 version
of Mighty Joe Young failed because it was a shameless rip-off of
the classic King Kong made by many of the same crew members. The
1998 resurrection of the concept by Disney maintains most of the
original outline of the 1949 story, though it too borrows heavily from
King Kong (but this time, the 1976 remake, from which Mighty
Joe Young also carries over some crew). The studio had originally
advertised the 1998 film as a summer monster flick, but the utter
failure of Godzilla earlier in the year caused the studio to
scale back the fright and market the film as a heartfelt Christmas
affair. Indeed, despite the inclusion of a prominent villain in the new
version, the Disney take on Mighty Joe Young better explores the
humanitarian aspect of the tale. Bill Paxton and a young Charlize Theron
are the protectors of the 2,000-pound gorilla Joe, who is offered
sanctuary from poachers but whose transfer to Los Angeles leads to the
mandatory romp through the city. Composer James Horner had been on a
romp of his own through 1998, enjoying the immense popularity of
Titanic (and the two Oscars that came with it) and writing for
the high profile films Deep Impact and The Mask of Zorro.
The latter film's score was particularly striking, earning Horner
increased respect from a soundtrack collecting crowd weary of the
composer's tendency in recent years to base most of his new scores on
his previous ones. Both The Mask of Zorro and Mighty Joe
Young are defined by their mixture of ethnically rich solo
performances with an orchestral ensemble. Horner trades in the flamenco
elements for a Swahili choir, distinctive wood-struck percussion, and
synthetic ape sounds. The resulting multicultural score from Horner
seems to pull inspiration more from John Williams' Oscar-nominated
Amistad rather than from his own career, though nothing that
Horner produces in Mighty Joe Young can compete in authenticity
or class with Amistad. Still, the ethnic accents in the Mighty
Joe Young score make it somewhat unique for Horner. While the
instrumental colors may be new, the themes and mass of action
underscore, however, are very typical to Horner's career.
The primary theme for the movie is translated into the
"Windsong" choral performance at the end of the film, though the idea
receives significant treatment before that point. Introduced on gorgeous
flute in the latter half of "Sacred Guardian of the Mountain," this
theme receives fleeting performances throughout
Mighty Joe Young
before the final ten-minute concert track devotes its entire length to
it. In terms of memorability, "Windsong" is a decent entry in Horner's
career; without the Swahili voices, the theme may suffer from some
anonymity, but with the majority of its performances highlighted by one
of the numerous soloists, it makes a positive impression. Its
progression is a clever reference to an ape call, though more people may
associate it with Tarzan. Far less convincing is the primordial theme
for the ape himself, heard immediately at the start of the score. This
forceful, three-note theme is a direct adaptation of the identical
progression from the outset and conclusion of
Willow, and not
only does it leave any Horner fan somewhat disgruntled with the
unoriginality, its layering of voices causes it to take on
characteristics from Alan Silvestri's
The Abyss. Outside of these
two themes,
Mighty Joe Young is often a muddled mess of
"Hornerisms" and bland action music. Two redeeming cues are "The Trees,"
which accompanies its soft woodwind and percussion tones with the deep
electronic sound effect of a sighing ape. Also of note is the latter
half of "The Carnival," which harmonizes the action music in a fashion
that blends
Balto with the later
The Legend of Zorro.
Otherwise, the score tends to walk an aimless path down memory lane for
Horner, with the most blatantly shameless self-rip-off taking a sequence
from
Legends of the Fall for the opening of "Our Last Chance - A
New World." Both the wailing shakuhachi flute and the crashing piano
effect were well worn by Horner at that time. The African voices are
mixed at a harsh tone that supercedes the orchestra and are, frankly,
negatively distracting in many of their contributions. The overbearing
mix of the percussion section also detracts from several cues. Overall,
Mighty Joe Young is easily the composer's weakest entry of 1998,
though the "Dedication and Windsong" cue is worthy of any Horner
compilation.
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Bias Check:
For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 108 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.23
(in 203,547 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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