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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Planes (Mark Mancina)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you have long awaited the return of Mark Mancina to
mainstream success, Planes representing a highly entertaining,
melodically robust comeback in the animated genre.
Avoid it... if the influence of Mancina's dated 1990's action mode and Harold Faltermeyer's Top Gun on a soundscape striving for the heart of a typical Americana entry by Randy Newman at the same time is too disparate in style for your tastes.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
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. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 53:58
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers and lyrics to each of the songs.
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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 Planes are Copyright © 2013, Walt Disney Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/24/13 (and not updated significantly since). |
