: (James Newton Howard) For
the second time in a year, Walt Disney Studios looked to Asia for its
heroine, finding a pseudo-princess in a mythical realm with dragons and
monsters for the pandemic-delayed
. The
2021 animated picture tells of land in which humans and dragons together
fight monsters called the Druun which turn the inhabitants to stone
because, well, they're pissed off about something. The dragons sacrifice
themselves in the process of creating a magical orb that can protect the
humans from these monsters. The bipeds, however, are predictably jealous
and stupid, and distrust between the five peoples of the realm causes a
battle over the orb that destroys it, allowing the Druun to do their
thing once again. Raya, the future leader of the Heart tribe, must find
a lone surviving dragon (a cute one perfect for plush dolls, of
course... one must not forget the merchandise) and collect the shattered
pieces of the orb from the other, hostile tribes to fend off the bigger
baddies. Not surprisingly, the film teaches about trust, and a happily
ever after ending is destined to test credibility. The film received
surprisingly consistent praise and became one of the year's top-grossing
entries in its hybrid theatre and streaming debut. The occasion is of
particular importance to film music collectors, as it marks a long
overdue return of composer James Newton Howard to the Disney feature
scene. The composer had a three-picture deal with the studio two decades
earlier that yielded respected scores for
. While these films were
not that successful, they represented the bulk of Howard's work for
animation, his career only rarely delving into the genre thereafter.
Several magnificent fantasy scores from Howard since those years primed
collectors to expect a dynamically magical return of the composer to
Disney for
. The score's creation was
marred by practical issues related to the 2020 pandemic, forcing
shortcuts in the recording process. Along with a significantly enhanced
role for electronics in the work, listeners should expect the unexpected
with the unconventional result. They should also ignore the auto-tuned
disaster of a pop song unrelated to the score.
In very general terms, the music for
Raya and the Last
Dragon is an intentional hybrid of James Horner's
Avatar and
Howard's own
Waterworld. These inspirations are joined by a heavy
influence of techno-electronica layers, the score's action sequences
sometimes sounding more appropriate for an urban thriller if not for the
extreme exoticism of the supporting instruments. Howard threw all sorts
of ethnic accents at this work, not all of them Southeastern Asian by
descent, and his vocal layers strive for the high pitched
Avatar
effect when possible. The orchestra is there, but its dynamic range is
lacking, perhaps due to the fact that the score had to be recorded with
half the number of usual players, the editors overdubbing their
performances to make them sound artificially bigger. The electronics
steal the show in this work, however, from the watery, percussion-aided
tones from
Waterworld's swimming sequence to the jabbing
rhythm-setters and obnoxious sound effects that overwhelm many of the
action sequences. Some of these passages are either unlistenable, as in
the entirety of "Plans of Attack," or humorously ridiculous, as in the
opening 40 seconds of "Return" that would serve well as the intro for a
rock power anthem. These synthetic layers sometimes merge with
percussion for mind-bogglingly awful comedy chases, as in "Noi and the
Ongis." The mix of the percussion and electronics is too far forward in
many cues, "Fleeing From Tail" one of many moments that makes you wonder
if these characters are stuck in a
Tron movie. The brass section
is dissatisfyingly under-utilized in the score, rarely conveying a truly
adventuresome spirit. Howard is among those who believe now that
electronics can function well in any context, but unlike Jerry
Goldsmith, he hasn't yet really mastered how to make his synthetics
sound like an "orchestrated" fifth section of his ensemble. The layering
of the mix in this effort is frustrating in most cues, the percussive
diversity of passages like "Captain Boun" and "Being People is Hard"
also suffering from elements too abrasively pushed in the mix. On the
other hand, when Howard is literally emulating that swimming sequence
from
Waterworld and the romantic Na'vi material from
Avatar, this score shifts suddenly into highly attractive
material.
Sprinkled amongst the hybrid techno-exoticism of
Raya and the Last Dragon are several cues from Howard that
present the composer at his most lyrically appealing. These passages
most often convey the score's two major themes and a collection of
mostly singular secondary motifs. The composer chose to structure his
ideas in highly cyclical formations, perhaps recognition of the common
bond destined for all the characters in the story. The main idea,
representing both Raya and the film as a whole is a buoyant, four-note
phrase repeated to form the score's sense of optimism and triumph at the
end. It debuts on pretty woodwinds at 0:41 into "Young Raya and Namaari"
and returns briefly with bubbly, percussive flair at 0:32 into "Enter
the Dragon." The theme really congeals at 1:00 into "Running on
Raindrops," watery percussion and light choir providing the comparisons
to the aforementioned scores. A short, anticipatory crescendo embodies
the theme at 3:36 into "Brothers and Sisters," and slight fragments of
the melody are twisted to suspense at 0:49 into "The Meeting." Secondary
phrasing turns quietly noble at 1:06 into "Return," the identity turning
celebratory at 2:54, first in the same fragments and then with the full
theme at 3:15. That cue concludes with a lovely woodwind, string, and
choral rendition of this idea. The obligatory fanfare closing is
afforded the identity at 1:52 into "The New World," presenting a
fleeting explosion of great brass layers but the overall effect not
rivalling the equivalent exit to
Maleficent. The other major
recurring theme in
Raya and the Last Dragon represents the
concept of trust, as conveyed by the lone surviving dragon to Raya to
convince her to unite the human tribes as necessary to defeat the
monsters. Fragmented phrasing for the idea figures at 4:20 into
"Prologue" but makes its poignant debut in full at 1:29 into "Betrayed,"
where soft, melancholy choral shades for the idea are interrupted by the
darkness to come. The theme dominates two later, largely symphonic cues
in the score, starting with the deep choral treatment at 0:56 into
"Brothers and Sisters" as the dragon laments her lost siblings. From
0:26 to the end of "The Druun Close In," Howard presents his fullest
development of this theme in solemn reverence, eventually taking on the
personality of the dragon's earlier swimming instrumentation. It's the
score's redemptive highlight in many ways.
The two major themes of
Raya and the Last Dragon
offer Howard romanticism at its best, though they alone struggle to
carry the narrative of the whole score. The composer struggles in his
secondary identities, causing the work to meander aimlessly for long
stretches of time. One might assume that Howard graces Sisu, the dragon,
with a theme at the outset of "Sisu Swims," the female vocal layers in
the cue vaguely new age in character. But outside of some very slight
connections to this melody early in "Return," Howard doesn't develop it
further. The closing "The New World" cue offers a minute highlighted by
solo piano that would suggest a hope theme of sorts, but it, too, is not
clearly developed earlier in the score. A chase motif of repeated
descending notes at 0:33 into "Fleeing From Tail" is scarcely applied,
and a victory motif with the work's brassiest, most adventuresome
identity at 3:27 into "Storming Fang" is disconnected from the rest of
the work as well. Despite the competent resolution in the final cues,
Raya and the Last Dragon is therefore a score with few narrative
markers, especially with the composer opting not to tie together the
five tribes (or, conversely, distinguish them clearly) in any meaningful
musical way. The lack of evident motific development during the action
material is particularly discouraging, Howard seemingly content with
thrusting the exotic but sometimes bizarre instrumental tone at the
listener without bothering to tie it to a larger meaning. It's an
occasion in which glitz doesn't cut it, sadly, the rambling electronic
and percussive weirdness of the work betraying the mysticism of the
topic. That said,
Raya and the Last Dragon still offers the
Howard collector some automatic highlights. Between "Young Raya and
Namaari," "Sisu Swims," "Running on Raindrops," "Brothers and Sisters,"
"Return," and "The New World," there is 20 to 25 minutes of superb
melodic exploration in the work. Some of the music is of the five-star
variety, an extension of the romance of
Waterworld long sought by
the composer's fans. But the rest of
Raya and the Last Dragon
ranges from forgettable to outright obnoxious, the middle third of the
score especially adept at annoying the Howard fantasy enthusiast. Aside
from the composer's eclectic, worldly instrumental mish-mash, the mix of
the score remains perhaps its biggest detriment, its soundscape sounding
small in its orchestral portions and the synthetics punching you in the
nose. Artistic risks were definitely taken here, and the rewards for the
listener are frustratingly brief.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For James Newton Howard reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.4
(in 65 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.42
(in 78,409 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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