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Ice Age: The Meltdown
Composed by John Powell
Decca Records
Rating: 7/10
|
 The
Waterpark (287 kb)
Goodnight
Sweet Possums (283 kb)
Sid's
Sing-Along (369 kb)
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“Powell gives this score his
all--There’s over an hour of music to soak in, here, so it’s a
fantastic release that encompasses all the film’s moments, and
thankfully doesn’t sell itself short.”
|
Powell’s “Ice” is
nice…but nothing more?
Review by Steve
Townsley
There is a seemingly
inexhaustible legion
of Hans Zimmer
acolytes that are
composing today, and
there’s a good chance
that if an
high-profile animated
movie is released,
someone previously
associated with Hans
Zimmer in the past
will be scoring it.
Usually, this is a
good thing—the
melodies are charming,
the action music is
tense, and for an
animated film, it’s
usually just what the
picture needs.
Composer JOHN POWELL
has deftly provided
wonderful scores for
not merely animated
films but live action
as well, and his music
has always risen to
the subject matter at
hand. Which is why his
score for Blue Sky
studio’s sequel to
its’ smash hit “ICE
AGE” is charming and
appropriate. However,
if you’re already
familiar with composer
DAVID NEWMAN’s jaunty
and stirring score for
the original, you
might wonder why the
franchise chose to
switch composers. All
granted that 1) it is
rather a kids film,
and kids are less
likely to notice (or
care), 2) “ICE AGE:
THE MELTDOWN” is a
simple, separate
story, stands on its
own, and therefore
does not require
carryover themes, and
3) this kind of thing
goes on all the time,
and probably shouldn’t
be taken personally.
Powell, after all, did
establish a working
relationship on the
studio’s previous
film, “ROBOTS”, and
why not extend that
relationship? The
musical voice of Pixar
has become well
associated with Randy
Newman, (with a few
notable variances),
and Dreamworks
animation music has
mostly been the
territory of Hans
Zimmer and colleagues
Harry Gregson-Williams
and Steve Jablonsky.
JOHN POWELL has plenty
of experience in
animated films prior
to this, before, and
he brings all of it to
the table. Films like
“ANTZ”, “SHREK”, and
“CHICKEN RUN” have
been crafted alongside
colleague Harry
Gregson-Williams.
However, listening to
the solo effort of
“ICE AGE: THE
MELTDOWN”, one can
hear the stylistic
influence of Powell
upon those scores, and
it starts right off
with the introductory
cue, “The Waterpark”.
Those already familiar
with the brilliantly
comic score for
“CHICKEN RUN” will
feel nostalgic.
Fortunately, Powell’s
following cue,
“Vulture of Doom”
brings it down several
notches with a
haunting choral theme
and appropriately
ominous melodies. In
fact, Powell takes a
couple tracks to get
back up to full-blown
rambunctious
comedy-action.
“Goodnight Sweet
Possums” is a lovely lullabye-like cue that
redistributes the
melody heard
throughout. “Food
Glorious Food” might
be a little
cringe-inducing for
those hoping that
“Sid’s Sing-a-long”
would be the only
vocal cue…but with a
tip of the hat to
“Oliver”, the
animation cast joins
in an amusing, but
short musical number
that takes more than a
few lyrical liberties
with the original, and
also serves as a good
half-way point for
dividing the album.
I hate to say that
Powell offers little
originality with the
whole of the score. I
don’t feel that it’s
entirely true, though
more than once I was
reminded of his
earlier animated
works, and even
Powell’s score for a
non-animated comedy,
“JUST VISITING”. And
perhaps this just
means that the
prolific Powell has
built up a large
enough repertoire of
music so that
listeners like you and
I can make these
references to other
scores. Powell gives
this score his
all--There’s over an
hour of music to soak
in, here, so it’s a
fantastic release that
encompasses all the
film’s moments, and
thankfully doesn’t
sell itself short.
Because, ultimately,
there aren’t a lot of
kid-friendly songs
that make this a
children’s album. This
is an excellent
presentation for those
who would appreciate
it.
|
Track Listing and Ratings |
|
Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
The Waterpark |
2:24 |
|
|
2 |
The Vulture
of Doom |
1:19 |
|
|
3 |
Migration |
3:32 |
|
|
4 |
Call
of
the
Mammoth |
1:52 |
|
|
5 |
Sad
Manny
and
the
Possums |
1:44 |
|
| 6 |
Manny and Ellie Meet |
3:44 |
|
| 7 |
Traveling with Possums |
2:00 |
|
| 8 |
12 Ton Mammoth & A 10 Ton Possum |
1:55 |
|
| 9 |
Attack from Below the Ice |
2:04 |
|
| 10 |
Extreme Possum |
1:50 |
|
| 11 |
Who Will Join Me on the Dung Heap? |
0:44 |
|
| 12 |
Log Moving |
0:59 |
|
| 13 |
Ellie Remembers |
2:41 |
|
| 14 |
Foggy Balance |
3:53 |
|
| 15 |
Goodnight Sweet Possums |
0:48 |
|
| 16 |
Kidnapped |
0:50 |
|
| 17 |
Sid's Sing-A-Long |
2:08 |
|
| 18 |
Food Glorious Food |
1:34 |
|
| 19 |
The Boat and the Geysers |
2:40 |
|
| 20 |
The Dam Breaks |
1:54 |
|
| 21 |
Ellie Gets Trapped |
0:32 |
|
| 22 |
Manny to the Rescue |
2:08 |
|
| 23 |
Rescues All Around |
3:05 |
|
| 24 |
Scrat to the Rescue |
1:28 |
|
| 25 |
The Water Recedes |
1:52 |
|
| 26 |
Mammoths |
1:24 |
|
| 27 |
With the Herd |
0:25 |
|
| 28 |
Into the Sunset |
3:00 |
|
| 29 |
The Pearly-Gates |
1:32 |
|
| 30 |
CPR |
0:14 |
|
| 31 |
Mini-sloths Sing-A-Long |
2:13 |
|
| 32 |
The Meltdown |
4:24 |
|
| |
Total Running Time |
63:13 |
|
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