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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Valiant (George Fenton)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you enjoy the style of British military fanfares and can
be enveloped in the pompous nature of George Fenton's constant marches for
the film.
Avoid it... if the variety and inventiveness of Fenton's themes in his recent successes is what inspires you to purchase his music.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Valiant: (George Fenton) A digitally animated British
film from Vanguard Studios, Valiant was co-produced by the producer
of Shrek and is aimed at British audiences with its all-British cast
and stubborn English humor. It's the United Kingdom's attempt to capture the
same enthusiasm (and box office) as Aardman Animation's Chicken Run
of several years ago, and there's just enough humor aimed at Americans in
Valiant to make the film viable for an international audience as
well. It's a hard stretch to say that the film is very loosely based on real
events given that the story involves a patriotic pigeon who decides to go to
war for King and country in the Royal Homing Pigeon Service during World War
II. But the British military actually gave medals for bravery to carrier
pigeons at the time, so one could conceivably say that the story is partly
based on true events. All joking aside, the film's animation is adequate,
and the voices of everyone from Ewan McGregor to John Cleese bless the
variety of pigeons and other birds on screen, although the film has failed
to generate the widespread interest of the Pixar variety. Kids will enjoy
the continuous fart, belch, and armpit jokes, although the endless
one-liners that propel the best of the genre are too few and far between in
Valiant to meet expectations. The film is Britain's first
full-fledged wide release of their own animated-CGI film, and who better to
serve the music for this inauguration than George Fenton? While Fenton's
composing career has been strong for two decades, it wasn't until his grand
score for the wildly popular television series The Blue Planet that
Fenton became a popular name in many parts of the U.K. After years of
conducting concerts of his music for The Blue Planet around the
world, his score for the movie adaptation, Deep Blue, only improved
the quality of his work for the documentary genre. With this popularity in
mind, Fenton's involvement with Valiant is not surprising, and the
composer assembles performances from three orchestral and band ensembles to
provide a massive comedy score for the film. Everything about Valiant
is British, and Fenton lathers on another layer of pomp to the film with his
score.
The first reaction of a soundtrack collector will be to compare Valiant to Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell's score for Chicken Run. The only common characteristic of the two, however, is the frenetic pace of the fully-orchestral rhythms. Whereas Chicken Run was outwardly comedic in a slapstick style, Valiant elevates its comedy to even more grandiose levels and occasionally borders on being a legitimate score for wartime action. It's a far cry from Fenton's classic Memphis Belle score for the same war, but its respect for British war marches is plainly evident. The sensibilities of the score hail from the days of Ron Goodwin's high-flying wartime action, but the power that resonates from the pulsating snare drums and deep base has a touch of David Arnold's more boldly bombastic nature for American bravado. A highly structured score, Fenton's score is almost defined by the crashing cymbals in his rhythms and snappy brass themes that will stir your heart. Several themes are introduced in the short film, including fully developed ideas for the Royal Homing Pigeon Service (a nod to Jerry Goldsmith's general themes), a woodwind love theme (for that nurse pigeon, of course), and a theme for encounters with the evil German falcon force. The two more voluminous themes are both military fanfares of the highest order, often beginning with cute whistling or woodwind performances and eventually building into heavily-layered brass and percussion affairs suitable for any more serious war film. The personality of the score is very consistent, with even low key cues such as "Von Talon and the Bastion" maintaining a deep bass string note or quivering strings in the background. The importance of these pigeons' intentions and missions is never in doubt when listening to Fenton's score, and while noble in every sense, the blind forward nature of Fenton's marches does become monotonous by the end of the recording. A performance of swing pieces by a secondary ensemble are a welcome break, as is the performance by the Central Band of the Royal Air Force, which has served a few films in the past, most notably Eric Coates' The Dambusters in the 1950's, a score that also contributes to Fenton's style in Valiant. The only major musical detraction from both the film and album is the inclusion of a R&B rendition of "Shoo Shoo Baby" at the end, a completely senseless insertion in both cases. Overall, Fenton's score for Valiant is spirited and heroic, but lacks in the variety and inventiveness that has defined his better known recent efforts. The album was only available on Fenton's own Debonair Records label in the U.K. (which releases many of his obscure works) between April and August 2005, and came at an elevated import price in America. Disney released it regularly in the latter month with identical contents and slightly different art. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Both Albums:
Total Time: 47:18
NOTES & QUOTES:
The identical inserts on both albums include notes about the film, background information
on the performing groups, and an overview of Fenton's career.
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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 Valiant are Copyright © 2005, Debonair Records, Walt Disney Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 5/14/05 and last updated 11/13/05. |
