| Ice Age |
| Composed by David Newman |
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Conducted by David Newman Additional Music by Dmitri Kabalevsky Orchestrated by Gregory Jamrok, Rebecca R. Liddle, and David Newman Performed by Hollywood Studio Symphony Produced by David Newman and Robert Townson Release Date: 2002 |
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David Newman is quickly proving his ability to score fun comedic scores. His score to Dreamworks' delightful Galaxy Quest, perfectly captured the essence of the style of music needed to complete the film as a loving spoof of the Star Trek franchise. Now he comes back again with another comedy score, this one to the CG-animated film, Ice Age. I have to admit to not catching this film so far as I find my time to be quiet precious and I tend to choose the movies I see with care (especially when it comes to having to go to the local cinema to catch it). I haven’t even bothered to check out any reviews, and the trailers only mildly affected by interest. That said, Newman’s score does what all good film scores should do, namely interest me enough through the music to cause me to desire to see the film. So as soon as I get enough time, I will. Ice Age comes off as an eclectic mixture of many different musical styles. From outrageously orchestrated Looney Tunes moments, to more somber pieces filled with a soaring chorus, this score runs quite a musical gamut. It can be a little distracting at first, and at first I found myself wishing this score would make up its mind as to what it wanted to be. The more I listened to it, however, the more I found that each style is composed quite well, and it’s probably just a symptom of the kind of story that the film demands being composed to. Still, comparisons will undoubtedly be drawn between this score and the work that John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams have done for other CG-animated films. I feel that Ice Age stands up well against those, though it never reaches the heights obtained by Chicken Run, if for no other reason than Chicken Run remained a firmly tongue-in-cheek score while Ice Age tends to get rather serious with some of its cues. There is no doubt that this score takes “mickey-mousing” to the limits that are rarely heard, especially in modern films, animated or otherwise. There are plenty of moments where the brass section seems to go completely wild. The only way I can describe it is as an insanity that only John Sousa could possess. It’s great stuff. Of course, that type of scoring won’t appeal to everyone, but I found those moments to contain some of the best stuff from the score. Though if you still aren't convinced, there are only a couple of tracks that really get into it. There are plenty of other tracks that take a more conventional route, including a composition from Dmitri Kabalevsky, The Comedians (which is the cue entitled Walking Through). The quieter moments may take a little getting used to in relation to the rest of the score, but they work quite well. Newman continues with his impressive chorus work as well. Further enhancing the effect of this score is Newman’s use of quirky instruments. It gives the music an otherworldly feel that I’m sure compliments the visuals quite well. In addition to the standard musical flourishes that are often found in the likes of Warner Bros. cartoons from the past, Newman has a few themes thrown in for good measure as well. He doesn’t quote from them too often however, and when he does they are rarely quoted fully. The score as it appears on the album reaches just short of thirty-five minutes in length and a lot of the more enjoyable cues seem to suffer because of it. Until the last two tracks, the cues are quite short. This can be seen as a positive thing simply given the intensity of this score, as a fifty minute or longer running time could have possibly worn out the music’s welcome. As I haven’t seen the film, I can’t comment on whether there are any good cues left off the CD, but it would seem likely given what I’ve experienced of the score already. Ice Age is a really fun and frolicking comedy score, and for those who’ve enjoyed David Newman’s past comedy scores would do well to give this disc a spin. Fans of John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams work for Dreamworks should also be pleased with this one. **** |
| Track Listing - Total Running Time: 34:21 | |
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