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Posted: |
Oct 16, 2014 - 5:36 PM
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By: |
joan hue
(Member)
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Several times a year, I revisit J N Howard’s spectacular DINOSAUR. It is rich in themes and aurally depicts the gamut of emotions like horror, tragedy, love, exuberance, joyfulness, contentment, playfulness, and peacefulness. The action music is often intense and propulsive and really frightening. This score pounds the percussions. The themes are varied, interesting and woven throughout the fabric of the score. Also, I did make a few new discoveries.
I always wanted to skip to track 2, but in track 1, I found music that really paints a gentle, bucolic setting with a quiet theme that seems to say, “All is well in paradise.” Track two, The Egg Travels, is stunning and rather famous. A new listener will hear some “mickey-mouseing” as the egg literally travels, and all this rather “cartoony” music builds to an amazing climax featuring a full orchestra and choir. It has a wonderful theme that portrays the pinnacle of exuberance and JUBILANCE! I always want to stand up like in a stadium and do the “wave” in this track. It will reappear a bit in track 13, The Cave, and in Epilogue, track 16, as all ends well and joyously.
Until lately, I did not realize that track three, Aladar & Neera, had such a gorgeous love theme. This was my miss, and we all know J N Howard can compose wonderful love themes. He has a jaunty, rollicking track called The Courtship (4) and uses playful music once again in track 14.
Bad things happen, and the dinosaurs must travel. Track 7, Raptors/Stand Together, has furious and downright terrifying dissonant action music. (Must have scared a few kids in this Disney movie.) It eventually introduces a wonderful “Stand Together” theme that a writer for FSM Magazine once called Goldsmithian. It plays in a slow, heavy, rather ponderous style. Track 8, “Across The Desert” once again uses this theme in a faster, lighter mode perfect for this traveling montage. The theme will pop up a few more times during fight sequences. The rest of the CD is packed with action music as well as lighter, more lyrical fare.
One complaint a few people mentioned was the African-Native voice choir as people didn’t exist during dinosaur times. Didn’t bother me. Heck, I didn’t know, until I saw this movie, that dinosaurs could talk way, way back then. 
I left the theater immediately to purchase the CD. This music made J N Howard my favorite “living” composer, and I’ve purchased many of his CDs since this score, but none have brought me such enjoyment as this one. I hope someday he replicates this type of music in future scores.
If you don't know it, try to see the movie to hear this score.
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Joan Hue, you've done it again!
(You have to hear that in Jim Backus' voice as Mr. Magoo to get the full effect.)
Your posts keep making me revisit scores I apparently care about, because they're on my ipod, but haven't paid much attention to (first Lonely are the Brave, now this).
Though my daughter was a great fan of this movie when she was little, I didn't give the score much attention - probably because I was always put off by the dinosaurs talking. (From the initial preview trailer of the egg travels, I thought this was gonna be different. But I've made peace with all that since.)
I completely understand why this is such a favorite. Jon Broxton says it very well in his review: "In the past, I have been quick to criticise James Newton Howard for the general lack of emotion in many of his scores. Dinosaur redresses the balance, and then some." Heartfelt emotion in music is what brings so many of us to love film music, and this is a really strong example, done intelligently and with real attention to all the various ways music can underline and highlight emotion.
It's also a marvelously engineered score, not surprising given Howard's industry background. It plays great as an album.
And about the African chorus - I love how he uses the sound as just another element of the music - neither driving the music nor buried within. Almost like another instrumental ensemble. That's tricky to do, and he pulls it off so easily.
I've not been much of a fan of Newton Howard - enjoy his work in movies, but don't find myself wanting to spend much time with his scores, even the big ones like Wyatt Earp. But this one just keeps me wanting more. So now I've got to go to the others and try 'em all again.
Thanks a lot Joan. More assignments!
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P.S. Is it just me, or does the main theme sound like it could be for a Western? Obviously, the African flavors work against that, but I keep thinking that most scores with big, optimistic, wide-open themes sound like the qualities I most associate with Westerns.
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Yes, I was going to say the cartoon in my avatar is just me. But I think it may be all of us. 
It's from a strip called xkcd, which I was unfamiliar with until this week. http://xkcd.com/386/
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Just like TREASURE PLANET and ATLANTIS : THE LOST EMPIRE another fantastic JNH DISNEY animation score. There is a lot missing on the original album. I have an unmentionable double disc which has 85 minutes of score and it doesn`t get boring even at such a length. Now that Disney is starting to release expanded albums, maybe there is a chance for an expanded DINOSAUR.
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Oh yes, JNH's Dinosaur is a tremendous score. It's kind of ridiculous how many amazing tracks are packed into this one film, but that's James Newton Howard for you. I especially love the way tracks like "The Egg Travels" and "The Courtship" build and build toward this incredible outburst of—as you so perfectly put it—jubilation! This is the kind of music that makes me such an avid fan of film scores.
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First, western scores, Joan, and now this -- another affinity between us!
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