That lack of engagement in A Far Off Place reflects challenges similar to those heard in Clear and Present Danger and The Pelican Brief, works both related to this one in their suspense and action roots. All of them are restrained by the composer's seemingly lazy inability to kick his music into a higher gear and provide the kind of originality that was heard from him before and after this period. While its primary theme is more unique than many during this time, A Far Off Place continues many of the same orchestral ideas that Horner has relied upon time and time again to produce a merely sufficient and functional score for his assigned films. This particular theme, divided into two equally attractive parts, is lyrical and romantic, appropriate for the setting, and containing the kind of deep string-based heart that suits a children's film well. Its appearances in the opening and closing cues, as well as "The Elephants" and "Gemsbock Gift," are easy highlights of the work. In the score's slower adaptations of this theme for broad strings and woodwinds, Horner takes no instrumental chances. To represent the landscape, Horner throws in the shakuhachi flute (which is unrelated to this locale, of course), some African drums and rattles, and other light percussion. In this department, Horner misses the target, wasting an opportunity to extend beyond his usual collection of sounds to produce something as vivid as, for instance, Jerry Goldsmith's The Ghost and the Darkness. The instrumental creativity of a score like Vibes is completely absent. Moments of fright and action revert to familiar snare rhythms and the crashing of piano and chimes. The rumbling piano is joined by harsh brass and generic drum rhythms in cues such as "Attacked from the Air," and in this and many of the other action sequences, A Far Off Place suffers from an inability to maintain a mood for any great length of time. This is a shame, because as he does in many of his animated children's film scores, Horner introduces many intriguing ideas; in this project, though, he fails to deliver extended development of any of his concepts outside of the primary theme. Like the film, there's a slightly schizophrenic aspect to the score in that you can enjoy a truly uplifting string rhythm in "Gemsbock Gift" and then be struck down by the opening clangs of the following cue, "The Swamp," which ends on a huge, discordant chord for the entire orchestra. Either album from Intrada Records will suffice, though the 2014 edition can be difficult to endure at its greater length. Ultimately, only a very strong main theme with an extended performance in the final cue raises A Far Off Place to average status.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download