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Powell |
That Christmas: (John Powell) Absolutely saturated
with English sensibilities, the 2024 Netflix animated film
That
Christmas is a wholesome tale of a seaside town that confronts a
series of weather and character-related challenges to ultimately bring
its people together in harmony. It has elements of teen angst and coming
of age balanced with more serious parental issues and a somewhat clumsy
but vital Santa Claus and plenty of associated magical charm. The story
follows several sets of characters, mostly youngsters, as a massive
snowstorm around Christmastime compounds all of their relational
problems, leaving adults stranded on the roads, turkeys threatened with
mass slaughter, and the cancellation of the town's normal holiday
celebrations. The project marked the major directorial debut of a lead
animator from
How to Train Your Dragon, and the style of the
visuals is largely similar. Although audience reaction to the children's
movie was mixed, it allowed film music collectors the opportunity to
hear composer John Powell unleash a full-fledged score for the genre,
featured against an Ed Sheeran song, "Under the Tree," that is
compellingly pretty but does not lend its melody to Powell's work. For
the composer, 2024 represented a significant return to broader
production, ranging from the monumental adaptation of the songs in
Wicked to both
That Christmas and
Thelma the
Unicorn in the animated realm. Powell has a very long history with
such films, using the genre to supply some of this silliest but at times
most impressive music for decades. With
That Christmas more so
than
Thelma the Unicorn, he builds upon the increasing maturing
sound he conveyed in the prior year's
Migration. Whereas the
composer's animated assignments of the 2000's and 2010's tended to stray
towards the ridiculous at times, the influence of the
How to Train
Your Dragon trilogy has clearly marked a push, whether intentional
or not, towards a more dramatically-inclined heart in these
scores.
Not only do scores like
Migration and
That
Christmas emphasize melodrama to a greater degree, even in the
action and comedy portions, but they also offer an increasingly
technically adept handling of themes and performance inflection. The
latter is particularly successful in
That Christmas, every aspect
of the orchestral performances heightened to overemphasize emotional
reach. Whether that's inherent in the writing or the directive of the
conductor may be up for debate, but there is passion to the recording
that brings an additional appeal to an environment that often times is
adequate but stale in small screen animations from the many less
experienced composers writing such music. Also to be commended once
again is the mix of this score, the balance of the soloists and ensemble
very well handled and a satisfying amount of reverb adding to the magic
of the concept. Instrumentally, Powell provides his expected dose of
creativity but largely focuses it on Christmas-related percussion and
acoustic guitar on top of his full orchestral ensemble. There is no
significant role for synthetics or choir, though there are a few moments
of modernism with electric bass and percussion during
"Wellington-By-The-Sea" and "Officially Nice." Another singular moment
is a sideshow in
The Call of the Wild flair with banjo touches
during "Parents Leaving." Ultimately, though, it's the piano, harp, and
woodwinds that bring home the familial element with efficiently
attractive heart. The sum of these contributors is a score that is not
only universally tonal from start to finish but also frequently fun, its
demeanor inviting during soft moments and outright exhilarating in the
action portions. The latter sequences offer some of the composer's best
adventure writing outside of the
How to Train Your Dragon scores,
especially when Santa's sleigh is making its magical rounds. Expect the
thematic narrative to dominate almost every corner of the work, too. The
longest snippets of unique material outside of the themes come in the
long climax, "Searching and Finding," but otherwise Powell mostly relies
upon his many themes and motifs to drive every cue.
While Powell is no stranger to creating complex thematic
narratives for animated films, he has a tendency to combine them with
excellent results in
That Christmas. The two main themes overlap
each other in at least four moments, each quite impressive, and the
lesser motifs often exist under the two main themes as well. One of the
reasons Powell has been so successful in his thematic writing in recent
years has been due to a technique he's employing more often with great
appeal; he often conjures rather simplistic melodic structures but then
varies the chords underneath to set up both anticipation and resolution
within these alternating chord sets. It's a technique that made the main
flying theme of
How to Train Your Dragon so memorable, and this
usage is especially pronounced in
That Christmas. (Incidentally,
Kris Bowers applied the same strategy with fantastic results in
The
Wild Robot earlier in the year.) Powell infuses both his two main
themes such tonal gravity, the first of which being the film's primary
identity for Christmas and Santa. This highly versatile tune, which
shares some descending phrasing with a traditional carol, "God Rest Ye
Merry, Gentlemen," is heard right away as the town's lighthouse guides
Santa through the storm to his destination. Opening "Meet Our Heroes"
with heightened anticipation, this idea achieves full fanfare mode on
brass at 0:40 for several massive renditions with wild counterpoint as
the sleigh successfully pieces the storm. It's toned back at 1:43 for
woodwinds and strings, and a clarinet interjects into the other main
theme, that for love and the townsfolk, with this idea at 2:47. The main
Christmas theme extends out of the love theme at 0:18 into
"Wellington-By-The-Sea" and enjoys a really nice contemporary acoustic
guitar, string, and percussion moment at 1:00. (This passage also
accompanies the closing moments of the film.) It builds at 0:40 into
"Snow Arrives," turning outright vivacious and playful at 1:22, and
becomes even more accelerated with positive spirit at 2:11 with
outstanding presence. A quick explosion of humor for the idea emerges at
the end of "Doggy Prank," and the theme launches into several exuberant,
almost Western-flavored renditions of the
The Call of the Wild
flair influence in "Parents Leaving."
The main Christmas theme in
That Christmas achieves
more monumental expressions of force as the score progresses, including
perfectly appropriate
Chicken Run rambunctiousness (with a wink
and a nod from the composer, no doubt) at 1:44 into "Turkey Heist." The
theme rambles several times in "Parents in Trouble," becoming massively
swashbuckling at 0:56 and continuing that stature at 0:17 into "Santa
Arrives" in full fanfare mode, the sea-worthy adventuresome spirit
exploding again at 0:55 before reducing to its prettier incarnations at
1:48. It overlays the magic motif early in "This Rarely Happens,"
exploring lovely variations on piano late in the cue before continuing
tentatively on solo piano at 0:25 into "The Twin's Christmas" and in
light business mode at 0:09 into "Officially Nice," building to several
good renditions and a contemporary burst of coolness at 1:43. Shifting
to sadness to open "Bernie's Our Christmas" with dramatic gravity, the
main theme is very slightly cyclical on harp at the outset of "Danny
Left Alone" and serves as counterpoint to the love theme at the end of
"Visiting Trapper," shifting to silly exuberance at 2:05. The idea lets
rip for one diversion late in "Calling Miss for Help" and is lush on
strings and fantasy chimes at 0:41 into "Hide and Seek," where it flows
directly into a counterpoint role for the love theme and segues to a
trumpet-led tribute at 2:33 that is a nearly military-like salute. In
the monumental "Searching and Finding," the Christmas theme barely
touches the first minute but launches into full action at 1:53 with new
secondary phrasing of victory, and its redemptively dramatic moment at
3:36 comes with newly expressive chord progressions. In that long cue,
the melody swaps heroic statements with the love theme at 4:43 and takes
over at 6:00. For the feared death at 6:54, overweight tragedy and gloom
occupies the theme, but that dread is fleeting, as the idea returns to
its baseline light tones at 7:31. To close the score, the theme begins
"Boxing Day" with very warm cello and piano treatment, violins taking
the idea with more volume at 0:39 before a soaring counterpoint role
against the love theme. The merging of these two main themes in
That
Christmas yields remarkable highlights in each instance, though some
of that appeal extends out of the fact that the love theme Powell
conjured for this film is among his better career identities.
The love theme in
That Christmas represents all the
character relationships beyond just the one budding romance at the heart
of the tale. Structurally, it sounds like the interlude to another
theme, perhaps not particularly surprising as it sometimes exists as a
natural one for the main theme. Not only does this theme repeat
progressions in its melody with the shifting anticipatory chords
underneath, but its lines also have something of a Broadway tune
sensibility, and it would have made for a superb part of a vocalized
song. Powell collectors will find significant similarities between this
theme's main, repeating four-note sequence and the flying theme from
Migration, but given that the flying theme from that prior score
remains something of a hidden gem in the composer's career, one cannot
complain about his redevelopment of it for continued use. (Jerry
Goldsmith certainly did this repeatedly when he found a melodic
structure he personally adored.) Whimsical but fragmented at 2:29 into
"Meet Our Heroes," the love theme continues in clearer definition at
3:43, but it really emerges in "Wellington-By-The-Sea," where it is
charming at 0:14 and overtakes the main theme at 1:19 as the two briefly
overlap with great results. This latter performance, which also closes
the picture, is a highlight of the work because of its blurting
trumpets, sleigh bells, and other sonic colors, all of which yielding
about as much good heart as anyone can muster. The theme is reduced to
very pretty guitar and strings in "Sticky Notes," lightly delicate at
1:44 into "Snow Arrives," and tentative at 0:21 into "Snow People" but
expressing more warmth as it progresses, charged with more energy for a
burst at 1:01. It embraces Powell's magic motif as its companion at the
start of "Snow People," lovely on woodwinds at 0:56 into "Snow People,"
and it dominates the gorgeous "Shop Romance" on piano, woodwinds, and
strings, a highly redemptive moment that absolutely shines. Softly
meandering on strings to open "Santa Arrives," the love theme returns to
full form at 2:26 and joins with the magic motif at 1:06 into
"Officially Nice" for a quietly optimistic moment, teasing the robust
ending to the cue. It receives heartfelt low string and horn treatment
in "Danny Left Alone" and is littered throughout "Visiting Trapper" on
piano and woodwinds, where it ends the cue in careful counterpoint
against the main theme for the thawing character.
In the final third of
That Christmas, the love
theme ensures that its presence isn't just focused on the main boy of
the tale, Danny, but all the people he encounters in this new town he
just moved to. The idea injects brief heart at 3:02 into "Calling Miss
for Help" and overtakes the main theme at 1:04 into "Hide and Seek" to
form a highly effective duet, later continuing on its own for extended
sentimentality, including an acoustic guitar statement. It slows the
pace on strings at 2:56 into "Searching and Finding," translating into
several new guises at 4:23, included an action version. Later in that
long cue, the theme becomes overflowingly adventurous at 4:57 and
resolves the scene at 8:16 with bright, full ensemble brilliance.
Following the main theme with interlude duties at 0:28 into "Boxing
Day," the love theme bursts into the finale statement against the main
theme at 1:01. Joining this highly effective duo of main themes are
several secondary motifs that largely fill in the gaps between the main
thematic statements, sometimes overlapping them as appropriate. Because
the story is inherently rich in the magical Santa mythology of
Christmas, Powell conjures a magic motif of dancing, descending handbell
tones, perhaps rendered on xylophone or celeste as well. This figure
becomes a key to defining the spirit of the holidays. Debuting at the
start of "Snow Arrives," this magic motif is briefly plucked at 1:20
into "Snow People," opens "Snow People" under the love theme, begins
"Turkey Heist" in more fanciful forms, and is expressed with increasing
worry at 0:16 and 1:37 into "Parents in Trouble." It's heightened at
1:39 into "Santa Arrives," where it enjoys chimes as accompaniment at
2:47, and persists under the main theme on handbell tones at the start
of "This Rarely Happens." After beginning "The Twin's Christmas"
whimsically and with charm, the magic motif starts "Officially Nice"
with a more militaristically playful personality, continuing later in
the cue under the love theme and against the main theme's late outburst.
It's anxiously plucked at 0:14 and 0:54 into "Visiting Trapper," handed
to bells at 1:21 into "Calling Miss for Help," a bit nervous and
cyclical at 0:13 into "Hide and Seek," and starts "Searching and
Finding" and concludes that cue at 8:47. Powell pairs xylophone and
acoustic guitar for the motif at 1:26 into "Boxing Day" for a friendly
end, though the conclusion doesn't really resolve the score on its own
when heard on album.
Cyclically inclined to the same degree as the magic
motif in
That Christmas is the somewhat related hectic motif,
plucked descending phrases using prancing woodwinds like the dragon
romance material in
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
Representing moments of rushed movement and panic, this motif is heard
at 3:20 and in several guises later into "Meet Our Heroes," as well as
at 0:57 into "Snow Arrives." It offers humor throughout the first half
of "Doggy Prank," mingles with the magic motif late in "Snow People,"
immediately follows the love theme at 1:19 into "Snow People," and
closes "Parents Leaving" with more urgency. The hectic motif develops
out of the magic motif at "Turkey Heist" and factors until the cue's
end, recurring at 0:30 and 1:27 into "Parents in Trouble," the latter
huge in scope. It interrupts the Miss Trapper motif at 1:04 and 1:27
into "Calling Miss for Help" and absolutely explodes at 3:13 for the
full ensemble against the main theme. That motif for Miss Trapper
concentrates on the prickly, humorless side of her demeanor, a grim low
brass formality that stands apart from everything else in the score.
Previewed in spirit at the start of "Wellington-By-The-Sea," this motif
receives a long, formal expression of its entire length at 2:36 into
"Snow Arrives," interrupts the magic motif at 1:28 into "Snow People,"
barely touches at 0:40 into "This Rarely Happens," and returns to low
brass form at 0:30 and 1:11 into "Calling Miss for Help." Finally, a
motif for the Bernadette character is reminiscent of the more playful
Berk material from
How to Train Your Dragon, heard with zest at
3:06 into "Meet Our Heroes." It's more muted at 0:34 into
"Wellington-By-The-Sea" and at the outset of "Snow People." The motif's
highlights come in "Bernie's Our Christmas," where it shifts between
flutes over aggressive plucking in the middle the cue and develops its
own action mode before subsiding beautifully to a resolution. This motif
also drives a quick moment of the action at 4:36 into "Searching and
Finding" and then a somber passage of gloom at 7:12. These themes and
motifs combine to form an outstanding narrative, one that impresses with
its instrumental renderings. The score's weakness comes in the more
wayward applications in the final third and lack of connection with the
good Sheeran song. Some listeners may find the whole to be overplayed in
its intensity and thus overwhelm haphazardly on the songless album. But
That Christmas is a charming genre outing for Powell, and its
rousing action sequences for the main theme notch it above
Migration. This music represents Powell in his wheelhouse, and
it's always a pleasure to hear.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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