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Review of Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (Joel McNeely)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you have long sought to expand your collection of Joel
McNeely's lesser known, quality film music, because Squanto: A
Warrior's Tale is an early but solid orchestral score in his
career.
Avoid it... if easily digestible lyricism and predictable instrumentation for the topic are not alone worth the cost of the limited album given that the music may be perceived by some as anonymous in its wholesome approach.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale: (Joel McNeely) Among the
better virtues of Walt Disney was his interest in promoting
multiculturalism, a trait that manifested itself in the production of
several Native American-related films in the 1990's during the aftermath
of Last of the Mohicans and Dances With Wolves. While
Pocahontas remains the best known of these endeavors, Disney made
a live-action feature film about the famous Native American Squanto in
1994. The studio did manage to butcher the history of the figure in the
process of condensing his life story into a palatable movie, but the
basic facts remain intact, including the important documented role that
he had in bringing Native American culture together with the Pilgrims to
inspire the Thanksgiving holiday. Before that pinnacle, however, he was
hauled across the world by the European superpowers of the time,
escaping and eventually finding his way back to the Americas only to
discover that his tribe had been exterminated. He nevertheless attempted
to preach peace to both sides, hence his role as the subject of
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. The movie bombed at the box office,
however, and this squandering of a $20 million budget was in part
responsible for the fact that Joel McNeely's score for the film never
received an album release at the time. McNeely's career has always
involved writing music for lower budget Disney productions, sometimes
for direct to video offerings. In the early 1990's, this association
gave him the opportunity to branch into increasingly robust orchestral
assignments. After his Emmy-recognized success for "The Young Indiana
Jones Chronicles" in 1993, he began receiving offers to write music for
feature films, and the first among them was Squanto: A Warrior's
Tale. His musical style was often associated with that of John
Williams, likely a byproduct of his work on franchises previously
associated with the maestro, and throughout the 1990's, he struggled to
develop his own compositional trademarks amongst a series of films that
were less than successful. Not surprisingly, his collaboration with
Disney endured in the 2000's, leading to multiple outstanding scores for
the Tinker Bell franchise. While not groundbreaking in any
particular regard, his music for most of these obscure children's films
is typically of high quality, usually featuring highly satisfying
lyricism at its core. In its adherence to McNeely's intelligent and
usually overachieving handling of such assignments, Squanto: A
Warrior's Tale is a clear example of such effort.
There is practically nothing new to hear stylistically in this score, the standard orchestral ensemble predictably augmented by overdubbed ethnic woodwinds and percussion, though McNeely's execution of the formula is top notch as usual, making for an entertaining score even if it is a bit anonymous in the larger scheme. Among these players, the woodwind solos are the obvious highlight, elegant performances layered upon the ensemble extremely well in a fair number of the cues. Full ensemble ruckus led by brass is occasionally afforded during the presentations of the title theme ("Horse Ride" among the best of these moments) and a secondary theme for the religious aspect of the film receives easily flowing strings. The most impressive aspect of Squanto: A Warrior's Tale is its surprisingly deep tapestry of themes, with five or six ideas supplemented by shorter motifs that together keep the easy harmonies of the score continuously digestible and tell the tale clearly outside of context. The main theme for the film as a whole and Squanto's heroic moments is heard in full during the appropriate title cues and during the aforementioned "Horse Ride," as well as toned back expressions of warmth in "Montage" and "Thanksgiving." A romance theme associating the titular character with his homeland and people is heard in a couple of heartbreaking moments on flute, including the opening of "Kidnapped" and in "Lonely Brave" before shifting to strings as he brings offerings of peace in the last ten minutes of the score. The religious theme to coincide with Squanto's friendship with the monks he encounters in England is expressed at the end of "Squanto Escapes" and, more pleasurably, in "Squanto Found." Of particular note is an outstanding woodwind rendition of this idea in "End Titles." Motifs for both the English and the panic that they bring also recur in the score, the latter a prominent force in the second half of "Kidnapped." Scenes involving captivity and the primary villain of the story also receive unique motifs. The only downside of these richly textured themes is their occasional tendency to remind of Williams scores that had already been released at the time. The middle of "Horse Race" emulates Far and Away, the conclusion to "Main Title" reflects the dignity of JFK, and the singular motif for the English in "Arrival in Plymouth" is treated to a substantial temp track influence from Hook. Only the last instance is truly distracting, though, and McNeely's score is otherwise as wholesome an orchestral drama and adventure entry as one could find in the vaults. Sound quality is outstanding and the presentation on the very limited 2011 Intrada CD is without flaw. McNeely's unheralded talents once again grace a solid album. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 64:56
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes detailed notes about the score and film.
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