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| Gregson-Williams |
Over the Hedge: (Rupert Gregson-Williams/Ben Folds)
Among Dreamworks' less remembered but still successful
computer-generated ventures of the 2000's is
Over the Hedge, the
studio's first collaboration with Paramount (and, incidentally, the
studio's first film not to be released on VHS tape). The 2006 movie was
inspired by the comic strip of the same name and features a
suburban-based formula of animal-related humor not much different from
the
Ice Age concept. Human idiosyncrasies are once again the
inspiration for the humor in the tale, a gang of unlikely members of the
animal kingdom battling each other and a human residential neighborhood
for its food supply. Raids of the humans' food allow the filmmakers to
poke fun at numerous cultural stereotypes in a way that's safe for the
kids, though there might be some questions about the merit of any story
that concludes victoriously when a hyperactive squirrel is given an
overdose of cola. An outstanding cast of vocal talent was secured for
Over the Hedge, including Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve
Carell, William Shatner, and Eugene Levy in major roles. The soundtrack
for the production was something of an unusual musical hybrid for
Dreamworks, who sought original songs from a single source and
accompanying score from another. The songs were the responsibility of
American alternative rock artist Ben Folds, who contributed three new
songs to
Over the Hedge while adapting a remix of one of his
previous songs and performing a cover version of another existing song.
His carefree tone was accompanied by a predictably fluffy orchestral
score by a graduate of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures/Remote Control clone
factory. Dreamworks has always sought the services of Zimmer and his
company (or former collaborators of that group) for their feature
scores, and in the case of
Over the Hedge and
Bee Movie in
consecutive years, Zimmer served as the executive producer of the
soundtrack while assigning compositional duties to Rupert
Gregson-Williams. The brother of the more famous Gregson-Williams in the
film music industry, Harry, had worked with Zimmer on a number of
previous scores and was the rising star of choice from the Media
Ventures days at that particular time. Interestingly, however, Rupert
Gregson-Williams was eventually supplanted by Henry Jackman for
Dreamworks movies not scored by Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, or John
Powell within just a matter of years, though Rupert did manage to extend
his solo career by handling several ridiculous comedies.
Much like
Bee Movie the following year,
Gregson-Williams' general style of writing and tone of presentation in
Over the Hedge will remind of equivalent scores by his brother
and Powell, though his writing doesn't have the flair that Jackman later
exhibited in the same circumstances. The orchestral foundation is pretty
typical, relying upon easy string and woodwind rhythms with occasional
bursts of frenetic brass action sequences. The "Lets Call It Steve" cue
combines some additional color in the form of ensemble choral effects
and solo operatic female voice, but the orchestrations are otherwise
fairly mundane. The demeanor is extremely predictable, using woodwinds
and dainty percussive tones prominently for the antics of the animals.
Some light rock elements encroach in "Hammy Time." Thematically,
Gregson-Williams does rotate through a common set of motifs, though none
of them is particularly memorable. Perhaps the best of these is a
"sneaking" motif that perhaps intentionally resembles Jerry Goldsmith's
idea for John Rambo's stealthy moves in
First Blood.
Gregson-Williams' main character theme in "The Family Awakens" (with
some impressive piano work unfortunately obscured in the mix) is highly
reminiscent of generic Powell identities of the past, and some listeners
will hear inferior echoes of
Chicken Run in a few of the action
passages. In sum, the score portion of
Over the Hedge handles its
duties on a moment to moment basis and, outside of a rousing crescendo
at the conclusion of "RJ Resuces His Family," doesn't develop much
cohesive narrative flow. The songs complicate matters because their
structures and tone don't really match that of the score, this despite
some orchestral backing arranged by Gregson-Williams to give depth to
Folds' standard sound. The hip, kind of lazy style of Folds'
performances are fine in and of themselves, but they are an extreme foil
for the far more exuberant score, causing the two to clash when heard
next to each other outside of context. This is especially the case with
"Heist," an odd merging of 80's rock and vintage big band and blues. His
version of "Lost in the Supermarket," written originally by The Clash,
is meant for comedic purposes but is equally discordant. The two
renditions of the tender "Still" are a bit more typical to animated
musicals, and "Family of Me" is at least best matched to the demeanor of
the story. Ultimately, however, there's simply too much distance between
the score and songs for the 49-minute soundtrack album for
Over the
Hedge to function, especially with the two halves intermingled
throughout. Score collectors specifically will hear material with no
unique characteristics, making the whole basically adequate but
forgettable.
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