 |
Mancina |
Planes: (Mark Mancina) First, there were talking
racing cars. Then there were talking racing planes. Next? Talking racing
tunnel boring machines! The excitement never stops in the brain of Walt
Disney and Pixar animated movie veteran John Lasseter, who helmed most
of the
Toy Story and
Cars films and produced many of the
genre's best hits over that time. Inspired by the world of
Cars
and its sequel comes 2013's
Planes, a similarly kid-friendly tale
of competition with a conscience. A simple, American crop-dusting plane
aspires to become a racer and manages through a fair dose of luck to
enter into a worldwide race against exotic adversaries who both help and
hinder him. The simpleton is coached by an aging military aircraft and
beats the odds to survive the journey. While the premise actually
sounds, at least in some ways, more interesting than that of
Cars, the team at Disney somehow managed to screw
Planes
into the ground, yielding widespread flames from critics and air
sickness from parents who failed to generate the hundreds of millions of
dollars in revenue expected from the flight. Even so, the studio has
seemingly remained interested in its planned trilogy of movies for the
concept, set to pump out the first sequel in just one year. The
soundtrack for
Planes follows the mould established by that of
Cars, sprinkling a feel-good score in between several songs
spanning various popular genres. While the movie traverses the globe and
contains a few cultural deviations from center,
Planes typically
aims for the comfortable cruising speed of American rock, both the most
notable songs and score following the plan on auto pilot. For composer
Mark Mancina,
Planes represented an opportunity to return his
seat to the upright position and re-emerge in the mainstream of American
cinema, a welcome return to the spotlight that he cut short due,
reportedly, to his own disillusionment with the Hollywood scoring
process. The progressive rock artist has remained involved with various
projects on the periphery of film and television since his remarkable
popularity as an early partner with Hans Zimmer (most famously on
The
Lion King) led him to sculpt the initial development of the Media
Ventures "sound" in
Speed,
Bad Boys, and
Twister.
His work for Disney continued with
Tarzan and
Brother
Bear, competent but not particularly spectacular orchestral
efforts.
It should come as no surprise that the score for
Planes sounds like a cross between Harold Faltermeyer's
Top
Gun, Randy Newman's
Cars, and Mancina's own mid-1990's action
fare. The predictability of this combination is countered by very
competent execution by Mancina, who shed his rather tepid animated style
from a decade prior and has embraced the over-the-top fun that a film
like
Planes requires. There will be grumbling from veteran film
score collectors who hear too much of the 1990's in this soundscape,
whether it's the dated drum pads or the electric guitar placements. It's
highly likely that this sound was resurrected for more reasons than
convenience, the
Top Gun connections hard to miss. Even some of
the echoing Faltermeyer sound effects are inserted ("Start Your
Engines") for good measure. But Mancina's usual knack for strong
melodies and ability to transition into heartwarming Americana spirit
for strings, woodwinds, and acoustic guitar will recall the best of
Newman's past. There are a number of additional assets to Mancina's
approach to this topic, starting with his outstanding sense of pacing.
The feeling of anticipation, with lines of action from various parts of
the orchestra and rock elements expertly phasing in and out to match
changes in meter. The ethnic element is decently handled as well, the
composer content to interrupt his all-out American spirit, whether
bad-ass or saccharine, for a few East Indian and Mexican diversions. For
all the complaining some listeners may launch into because of the
electric guitars and drum pads, it has to be argued that their placement
in the mix is really quite well balanced. Conversely, enthusiasts of
orchestral purity may nitpick Mancina's usage of flute figures to
embellish the sense of flight, among other overly common instrumental
employment for the sky. At times, there's a James Bond-like feel to the
score, and more than a few momentary references to vintage David Arnold
techniques are tapped. The pulsating electric bass tones are well
integrated into the score, reflecting Andrew Lockington's concurrent
applications of the same general idea with satisfying results. In the
process of ensuring that
Planes is an orchestral score with an
effective lacing of rock elements, Mancina succeeds in drawing upon the
best of both worlds, even if that sound, by necessity, is dominated by
pop enthusiasm in parts. The tuba line and muted trumpets in "1st
Place," the judicious addition of choir in just a handful of poignant
places, and the open solo trumpet introduction to the score in "Planes"
are all the kinds of superior touches that elevate this work beyond,
frankly, what Newman typically yields for these Pixar/Disney-styled
films.
For Mancina enthusiasts lamenting his absence from the
big screen over the years, a cue such as "Honorary Jolly Wrench"
(despite those aforementioned flute lines) will be a tremendously
nostalgic treat. Also a positive outcome for these fans is the
composer's continued mastery of melody,
Planes featuring three
notable themes, each of them highly entertaining. The main theme is very
hard to miss, and its constant referencing by Mancina gives the score an
easy, lasting identity. Heard on noble trumpet at the outset, the idea
informs nearly every cue thereafter, both in pleasant representations of
the main character in the heartland of America and, more raucously, as a
much accelerated backbone of the action sequences. Both applications
function well, too, the melody well adapted even if some might argue
that it is tiresome and stereotypical. A second theme represents the
character of Skipper, the old Korean War-era fighter whose past is a
notable secondary line in the plot. For this plane, Mancina supplies the
score's most dramatic identity, that which most often requires the
solemn accompaniment of deep choral tones. The final theme of
significance comes in the score's most enigmatic cue, "Dusty & Ishani."
While Mancina offers some token Mexican elements for that leg of the
journey, he goes much further for the East Indian influence in that one
cue (and briefly in "You're a Racer"). This "love theme" of sorts is the
fairly typical Bollywood romance that you would expect from A.R. Rahman
or a host of others, but with the parody element causing the underlying
progressions to, intriguingly, recall vintage Hans Zimmer work. While
those who had no tolerance for Mychael Danna's
Life of Pi will
roll their eyes at this cue, the layered male and female vocals in
overlapping counterpoint are very elegantly conceived. Overall,
Planes is a highly entertaining score that will delight Mancina
collectors and those seeking superior animation works. The composer's
ability to throw so much of
Top Gun into his equation is an added
bonus, though make sure you are aware of the fact that these retro rock
elements will cause the work to sound dated, possibly irreparably so,
for some listeners. The album presentation condenses Mancina's score
into the product's midsection, this 41-minute block a solid amount of
music that plays with a strong narrative. The downside of this score, of
course, is its rather predictable overall personality (outside of "Dusty
& Ishani," no doubt) that wears all its emotions on its sleeves. For
those seeking nuance, this score is not for you. Instead, it is
unadulterated fun, and let us hope that Mancina will return for this
film's sequels should Disney for some reason decide to actually sink
money into them. A rousing comeback effort all around.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check: |
For Mark Mancina reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 13 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.14
(in 9,500 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert includes a list of performers and lyrics to each of the songs.