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Review of Muppet Treasure Island (Hans Zimmer)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you want to hear Hans Zimmer actually write some material that, unlike his work for the Pirates of the Caribbean scores, embodies a marginal swashbuckling spirit.

Avoid it... if you are deterred by the composer's predictable 1990's style of bass-heavy electronic and choral masculinity accompanied by quickly-paced, staccato rhythms.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Muppet Treasure Island: (Hans Zimmer) How far we have progressed in our entertainment industry? Well, try to imagine how Robert Louis Stevenson would react if he saw his classic story mangled considerably for the purpose of adapting singing Muppets to the big screen. The Muppets have always been a hit or miss species of entertainment, either capturing you with their lovable personalities or causing you to seek out the nearest stuffed doll for destruction. The film and score for Muppet Treasure Island, one of several Muppet-related films to follow in the following decade, will probably divide people along the same lines. There is unquestionably some truly hideous material to be found here. And yet, for collectors of Hans Zimmer's film music, there might be some reward in it. Zimmer was a year off of his Academy Award win for The Lion King and the same crude equation would be put to work for Muppet Treasure Island, though with Barry Mann composing the songs this time. Zimmer's role in the project wasn't too demanding, with only a minimal amount of score required for the picture (he would, however, dedicate the score to his young child). Although the songs by Mann vary from creative to dismal, Zimmer's score is very consistent in style. Over 25 minutes of score material appears in one section on the soundtrack album, and resembles the readily recognizable brassy and synthesized style that fans will recall from Crimson Tide and The Peacemaker. When you combine this sound with quirky and jaunty pirate-inspired rhythms, the resulting score is the love child you'd get if you combined Crimson Tide's popular sound with Pirates of the Caribbean and Kermit the Frog. Even though it can exhibit too much of a carnival atmosphere in parts, it retains many of the electronic and (male) choral elements that fans will recognize as the stylistic norm from Zimmer in the mid-1990's. With the exception of the parts of the Muppet Treasure Island that overtly convey a swashbuckling sense of humor, a significant amount of this score could be easily interchangeable with other Zimmer works. The composer does, thankfully, avoid the parody styles that haunted future Muppet-related film scores (which on occasion have served as little more than field studies for veteran collectors to identify the sources of each reference).

The most interesting long-term point of interest regarding this music is how Zimmer, for some reason, managed to insert more convincing swashbuckling style into Muppet Treasure Island than he would in his (contractually uncredited) sound for Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, which offered little to no relevance in the genre at all. Still, the general purpose of Zimmer's score is to pour on a heavy bass and avoid significant thematic development. It's the kind of constant and predictable action music that will keep you alert all night if need be. The themes that Zimmer does present are very simple stereotypes of the genre, which doesn't make them any less enjoyable on album, but also reminds of the general stupidity of the film. The tone is slightly more sensitive than Zimmer's most militaristic efforts, and the composer even provides a few tender moments. The lengthy action piece heard in "Rescue," exhibits a wide range of Zimmer's typical mannerisms, reprising the beginning of the Crimson Tide theme in a sort of Muppet mockery (many of the chord progressions are exactly the same). Contrasting the score on the album are nine ensemble and pop song variants. Of the seven character tracks, only two are really listenable: "Shiver My Timbers" (which comes directly following Zimmer's stirring prologue music) and "A Professional Pirate" (which begs a full, orchestral performance of this theme in place of Tim Curry's lazy vocals). The other songs represent some of the very worst Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy vocals ever heard in public performance (which is saying something, given the existence of the absolutely dreadful Kermit the Frog/John Denver Christmas duet special that continues to compete for the designation of "worst recording ever"). The two pop songs at the end are stale, and on the whole, all the songs lack the magical touch of those in The Lion King (which, perhaps, is no surprise given that Mann is no Elton John). Zimmer's score will be a rewarding listening experience for those fans who enjoy his bass-heavy electronic and choral scores with quickly-paced, staccato rhythms. It doesn't have any moments of pure harmonic delight, such as the opening of The Rock or the pulsating themes of The Peacemaker, but it rivals the best of the filler music in those scores (along with its use of a muscular mix of orchestral power and synthetic elements). The Zimmer material will indeed please his fans, but will somebody please end our misery and shoot the pig and the frog?  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 51:33

• 1. Treasure Island (1:07) • 2. Shiver My Timbers - performed by Muppets cast (2:24) • 3. Something Better - performed by Muppets cast (2:59) • 4. Sailing for Adventure - performed by Muppets cast (2:59) • 5. Cabin Fever - performed by Muppets cast (2:18) • 6. A Professional Pirate - performed by Muppets cast (3:14) • 7. Boom Shakalaka - performed by Muppets cast (1:21) • 8. Love Led Us Here - performed by Muppets cast (2:22) • 9. The Map (4:35) • 10. Captain Smollet (2:03) • 11. Land Ho (2:39) • 12. Compass (1:07) • 13. Long John (3:57) • 14. Rescue (7:00) • 15. Honest Brave and True (3:54) • 16. Love Power - performed by Ziggy Marley (3:42) • 17. Love Led Us Here - performed by John Berry and Helen Darling (3:44)

NOTES & QUOTES:

Full lyrics and extensive credits are included on the insert poster.

Personnel for the songs include: John Berry, Helen Darling, Ziggy Marley, Steve Marley (vocals); Aubrey Haynie (fiddle, mandolin); Earl China Smith (guitar); Michael Spriggs (acoustic guitar); Chris Leuzinger (electric guitar); Steve Nathan, Carol "Bowie" McLaughlin (keyboards); Glen Browne, Mike Brignardello (bass); Lonnie Wilson (drums); Sticky (percussion); Sly Dunbar (drum programming); Sharon Pendergast, Cedella Marley, Erica Newell (background vocals); Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Kevin Clash, Bill Barretta, Barry Mann, Frank Oz, Kevin Bishop, Tim Curry, Mak Wilson (character vocals).

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Muppet Treasure Island are Copyright © 1996, Angel Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/17/98 and last updated 9/19/08.