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“Hearkening back to
his days of crafting sometimes magical, sometimes creepy, sometimes
adventurous, melodic scores, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is solidly
entertaining.”
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The Chronicles of Hornia
Review by Christopher Coleman
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is yet another children's fantasy book turned
into a Hollywood feature film. The year of 2008 is going to be filled to
the brim with them including: NIM'S ISLAND, INKHEART, THE CHRONICLES OF
NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN, and HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. The
one thing Horner's project has going for it is that it has the jump on all
of these others - giving THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES a good opportunity of
at least sounding fresh. The 2008 film is based on a book series by Holly
Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Surprisingly, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is one
of the better adaptations of the genre (Harry Potter fans would
likely disagree). Director Mark Waters was somehow able to bring something
fresh to the table. The film has several layers of value. For the children
there are the goblins, fairies, spells and magic talismans, but for the
adults there is the story about the
difficult adjustments a family going through a divorce must suffer to
make. There's much more to THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES than the trailers
would lead you to believe. Establishing his prowess at this years ago, one
composer who can dance that line of fairy-story and adult drama is none
other than JAMES HORNER.
Hearkening back to his days of crafting sometimes magical, sometimes
creepy, sometimes adventurous, melodic scores, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
is solidly entertaining. No. The score isn't groundbreaking, which some
will inevitably find unforgivable, but for those who followed Horner's
early career, this is a score that should be received fondly. Included
within are
all the necessary ingredients for a classic-Horner-score. What he is
able to do is craft a number of emotional and entertaining themes and
more than adequately build a sense of suspense and wonder. In so doing, his music
plays a significant role in helping to bring this fantastic world to life.
What more could one ask for?
One thing I found surprising was the intensity of the film. Horner wastes
little time in introducing us to the darker and more intense elements of
the film. The ominous mystery heard in track 1, "Writing the Chronicles" is
followed by a momentary burst of intensity in track 2, "So Many New Worlds
Raveled," but by the conclusion of track 3, "Thimbletack and the Goblins"
we get a good idea for where Horner is going to take this score. But
Horner is barely getting warmed up. As we hit the mid-point of the
soundtrack, he gives us a suite of intensity. Tracks 6 through 8
provide about 11 minutes of adventurous action. Of course, Horner leaves
himself some emotional head-room and so later brings the film to a climax
in two tracks: "The Protective Circle is Broken" (12) and "Jared and Mulgarath Fight for the Chronicles (13). One negative that I must note is
the abruptness of the film's resolution. Unfortunately, there's no way the
score can be divorced from this and so the change is clearly heard at the
3:54 mark as a distinct turn from intense action to the comedic relief of
Hogsquel's theme.
Somehow, despite all of the "hornerisms," James Horner is able to arrange
and orchestrate in such a way that it all works together to form something
uniquely entertaining. Whether is the well-used motif that dates
back to CASPAR in 1995 or the Sorcerer's-Apprentice-vibe a la THE
PAGEMASTER, or even the more contemporary bits from A BEAUTIFUL MIND,
Horner is able to build a solid score with them using freshly constructed
notes as the mortar that keeps it all together. He delivers one his
single-best moments in years with "The Flight of the Griffin" (10).
Now, Mr. Horner has long been one of the best at
writing and arranging top-notch closing credits. Say "closing credits" and
immediately his end credit music for BRAVEHEART and LEGEND OF THE FALL come to
mind. For the credits of THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, he does it again.
Coming in at 8:22, it is the soundtrack's longest track and worth every
second...even if the last few are a little redundant. As any good
closing-credit music should be, this piece includes all of the thematic
highlights from the score.
Beloved composer of the 80s and early 90s, JAMES
HORNER has seen his reputation take a beating in the last 10 years
for the evidently crucifiable sin of "plagarism" and the
abominable "self-plagarism."
Yes somehow, despite the ire of some of the film music community, the man has
stayed gainly employed. Go figure. Now, when people talk "Horner,"
in the positive, they seem to reminisce about his scores from
yester-decade (myself included). The "glory days" of Horner were filled
with his works for children's movies like AN AMERICAN TALE, THE LAND
BEFORE TIME, and ONCE UPON A FOREST. It's been a while since Horner has
explored such wondrous worlds, but THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES has given the
composer the perfect excuse to return to that unique blend of symphonic
orchestra and synthesizers that he became known for over a decade ago.
Rating: 7/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Writing the
Chronicles |
3:03 |
**** |
|
2 |
So Many New
Worlds
Revealed |
5:12 |
**** |
|
3 |
Thimbletack
and the
Goblins |
5:15 |
**** |
|
4 |
Hogsquel's
Warning
of a
Bargain
with
Mulgarath |
5:16 |
*** |
|
5 |
Discovering
Spiderwick's
Secret
Workshop |
5:16 |
*** |
| 6 |
Dark Armies from the Forest Attack |
3:06 |
*** |
| 7 |
Burning the Book |
2:43 |
**** |
| 8 |
A Desperate Run Through the Tunnels |
4:47 |
**** |
| 9 |
Lucinda's Story |
6:01 |
*** |
| 10 |
The Flight of the Griffin |
6:55 |
***** |
| 11 |
Escape from the Glade |
4:44 |
**** |
| 12 |
The Protective Circle is Broken |
2:07 |
**** |
| 13 |
Jared and Mulgarath Fight for the Chronicles |
4:17 |
*** |
| 14 |
Coming Home |
6:17 |
**** |
| 15 |
Closing Credits |
8:23 |
**** |
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Total Running Time (approx) |
72 minutes |
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