Carol Thompson made her directorial debut in 1994 with her adaptation of Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel, Black Beauty.  Her intent was to remain faithful to Sewell’s approach of telling the story from the perspective of the horses through narration.  The film received good reviews and has since gained respect and a devoted following as one of the best films about horses ever made.  To craft the emotional musical core, Thompson chose Danny Elfman.  Elfman  had built a steady string of memorable scores for Tim Burton by this point in his career from quirky (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice) to the darker Batman.  It was his work on Edward Scissorhands where he had met Thompson and the two were dating when she suggested he tackle this project.

In Elfman’s oeuvre, Black Beauty certainly stands out.  The score perhaps has its roots in the equally romantic score from 1993’s Sommersby.  That score, along with Dolores Claiborne and Black Beauty marked a decided shift in Elfman’s music and demonstrated he was on his way to the A-list of Hollywood composers.  The striking thing about Black Beauty is that it has a sound that one might more associate with Rachel Portman’s Emma (still two years away).  The opening “Main Titles” and “Birth” have a somewhat minimalist arpeggio that gives way to a gorgeous, romantic theme.  The waltz-like thematic material soon gains a bit of melancholy that is one of the first personal stamps in the score and functions as a sort of love theme.  For fans of more contemporary scores, the most striking aspect about Black Beauty is that these primary thematic ideas are in practically every cue providing a host of variation and orchestral color to explore.  The second thematic idea, often heard with pennywhistle, lends the music an almost Celtic feel at times to the score.  The music may also feel reminiscent of Williams’ scoring style, but with Elfman’s own orchestral color that expands his own scoring approaches.  The more action-based and intense cues, like ‘The Rescue”, provide an opportunity for the movie to turn a bit darker and better balances the later “Wild Ride/Dream”.

La-La Land has crafted another excellent expanded score that will allow Elfman fans the chance to appreciate this music far better.  There are about 17+ minutes here of previously unreleased material including a host of bonus tracks of alternate and album tracks.    The accompanying booklet is equally beautiful with great photos, overview of each track, and discussion of the film.  Those who have the original release may still wish to hold on to it as it has its own general flow and the new release combines some of these shorter tracks in different ways to present the score in film order.  The limited release is certain to gain further respect for this beautiful score.

Epic is the latest animated Fox/Blue Sky collaboration directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots).  The promos made it feel like it was a bit of an Avatar meets Brave sort of kid flick, but it is based on the books of William Joyce.  At 102 minutes, the film’s length is certainly anything but “epic.”  The environmental, “save-the-world,” themes may have parents reflecting on their Ferngully days.  The film was released over the Memorial Day holiday weekend doing modest box office (a third of its budget) in the wake of the Fast and Furious. 

As delightful as the opening “Leafmen” is, it’s Celtic dance rhythms and Riverdance orchestral feel is a bit reminiscent of Brave.  There are a few moments in the opening “Pursuit” where hints of the classic Elfman style peak through, and some of the action writing bears his stamp equally as well.  But, much of the musical style feels very much like a Remote Control project.  Elfman’s melodic construction though is as strong as ever in this score and has a real magical lightness that even in the score’s darker moments is a telling style of the composer’s mastery.  The wordless choir may not be “la-la”-ing as much as in the past, but the effect is the same.  The comedic writing that Elfman provides (delicious in “Meet Dad”) is one of the score’s many hallmarks.  “The Selection” is another standout cue with some magical orchestral writing featuring bells, piano arpeggios, wordless chorus (also appearing ethereally in “Rings of Knowledge”—the most Elfman-esque cue of the CD), and great solo wind lines.  The following “Ambush” is another amazing action track that also features some intriguing dissonant writing as it begins.  The music also provides a rather lengthier selection of underscore that should work well with on-screen hits.  Elfman’s score covers the bases here from tinged emotional touching moments to the menacing and everything in between.  Along the way we hear flashes of his signature writing style mixed in with the latest scoring trends for better or worse.

Epic feels like a more successful animated Elfman score than some of the non-Burton projects he has worked on in the past.  Of course, this is not “epic” film music by any means either, though maybe some of those Zimmer-ish scoring sections are a nod to modern epic film music.  The thematic ideas are quite strong though and his ability to blend his own compositional voice into the rather common expected Hollywood style in some sections are a mark of just how great a composer he has become.  When all is said and done, it may very well be Elfman’s score that will remain the most memorable contribution and it is certainly a fine effort of the action-adventure fantasy.  Fans know this type of score, the one that needs to “save” a film that they will end up watching just to hear the music.