Charlotte's Web

Orchestrated Steve Bartek, Edgardo Simone, David Slonaker,

and Marc Mann

Conducted by Pete Anthony

Produced by Danny Elfman

Released by Sony Classical Records on December 5, 2006

Track Listing

01 - Main Title (2:12

02 - The Introduction (1:27)

03 - Lullaby* / Escape (4:05)

*Performed by Dakota Fanning

04 - Introducing Charlotte (5:53)

05 - In the Mud (1:00)
06 - Templeton (2:29)

07 - The Plan Begins (2:58)

08 - "Some Pig" (1:30)

09 - The Word Spreads (2:56)

10 - The Fall Montage (0:49)

11 - The Dump (1:50)

12 - "Radiant" (1:44)

13 - The Big Day (0:54)

14 - "Humble" (2:52)

15 - "Terrific" (1:24)

16 - Farewell Charlotte (1:11)

17 - Wilbur's Homecoming (8:59)

18 - Ordinary Miracle (3:04)

Performed by Sarah McLachlan

Album Running Time: 47:09

It's good to see Danny Elfman dip into the same pool of musical talent that was responsible for such titles as Black Beauty, Sommersby, Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. While he's had varied experience over the years, the 2000s have seen him tackling a slew of Marvel superhero movies, intergalactic comedies, and the occasional Tim Burton vehicle. While not the best of circumstances, a spat with Sam Raimi over the scoring process for Spider-Man 2 ultimately led Elfman in the direction of Charlotte's Web. Where Spider-Man 3 will be sorely missing his touch, we might have never have otherwise been treated to this wonderful score. For everything that's film score fans have enjoyed about Elfman's work over the years, this culminates his "family-oriented" optimistic side of things, something that we have rarely heard in recent years.

Since Charlotte's Web is a film about talking animals, a certain element of fantasy is a foregone conclusion, and Elfman provides a good balance between it and the more realistic portions. The fantasy is adequately captured through Elfman's impressive use of chorus, tinkling percussion, and sweeping string moments. The guitar sections and quieter, flowing string passages keep everything from going to far in the fantasy direction. While Charlotte's Web is not a Christmas movie per se, the score has the "when life was simple and good" type feel that is so often a staple of that genre. It is the heart of small town Americana that Elfman manages to capture, and originally being from such an area myself, I can attest to just how many memories Elfman's score was able to elicit.

Theme-wise, the score does a decent job, but they are very subtle and sometimes hard to pick out. The whole score is a lesson is beautiful score writing and sometimes things tend to get lost within the individual melodies. It's the opposite of an atmospheric score, with each section providing something interesting to listen to, but at the same time relying on individual cues as opposed to an overall thematic arc. The chorus, guitar, and building string moments do more for providing a cohesive whole than the themes. Elfman even brings each of these elements into a crescendo for "Wilbur's Homecoming" as opposed to letting some built-up theme provide the emotional climax of the music. The fact that such a process still works just as well is a testament to how well this score was written.

There are two songs on the album, though one is more tightly integrated with the score. The "Lullaby" is adequately performed by Dakota Fanning and while it's not intended as an actual song, it fits with the rest of the score and doesn't detract. Her voice isn't bad, but the orchestra is mixed in at a level that tends to drown out a lot and the voice itself is tweaked to a point where it sounds "ghostly". The Sarah McLachlan song, thankfully held until the end of the album, surprisingly fits the basic style of Elfman's score, though it would have been great had the song actually been constructed from Elfman's work. It's close, but a tighter integration with the rest of the score would have been different and better.

Who could have predicted that the score to Charlotte's Web would have allowed 2006 to go out with a bang? Certainly not I, but such is the case. If you've been a Scrooge this season and need your spirits lifted, or you simply love this side of Elfman's film scoring, this is one album you should be sure to check out.

Reviewed on December 19, 2006