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Review of Ferdinand (John Powell/Various)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you find pleasure in all of John Powell's predictably friendly and functionally intelligent animation scores, this one passing effortlessly along its ethnically spirited, flowery path.

Avoid it... if you expect to hear Powell at his most memorable, the themes here surprisingly anonymous and the overall musical narrative not satisfyingly transparent.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Ferdinand: (John Powell/Various) The Oscar-winning, seven-minute 1938 animated adaptation of Munro Leaf's children's book, "The Story of Ferdinand," long remained an affable favorite in the tradition of the "Silly Symphonies" cartoons. Greatly expanding the story for the same genre is 2017's feature-length alternative, Ferdinand, a 20th Century Fox production that performed reasonably well but failed to generate lasting interest outside of some protests that the movie's anti-bullying messaging was causing disrespect for bullfighting traditions. In this elongated tale, the titular bull is still a pacifist and would rather sit under a tree on the hills of Spain and smell the flowers rather than compete with other bulls to star in the arenas. But his adventure adds several other protagonists this time, including a sympathetic team of human, goat, and other bulls; ultimately, the basic tenants of the original story stay in place, as Ferdinand does end up in a humorous fight in a ring and earns his place back amongst the flowers. The details are a stretch, however, and the haphazard narrative didn't help composer John Powell to a great degree. Having collaborated with Blue Sky Studios for the Rio and Ice Age franchises for quite some time, it's no surprise that Powell returned to offer his services for Ferdinand. His output declined in the 2010's because of a family tragedy, and he preferred to stay in the animated genre almost exclusively during his more limited work during that decade. Few could argue, though, that the composer does not excel in children's films, his zany symphonic tendencies well suited for their breakneck pace. For Ferdinand, he once again found himself contending with prominent song placements in the picture. The Nick Jonas song, "Home," was the prime attraction in the soundtrack, earning awards recognition and anchoring a short song compilation album that contains no score material. While Powell didn't write this song, he did at least produce it. As for the score, Powell, having graduated long before to the level of industry prominence to merit the work of ghostwriters without front-cover credit, teams up with trio of assistant composers for this project. Though Powell does receive co-writing credit on every cue, a majority of them contain contributions by Batu Sener and Anthony Willis. And while there are reports that Powell adapted Albert Hay Malotte's 1938 score into this work, no explicit credit is afforded to it. There are indeed similarities in style between the two scores, however, most notably at the saccharine conclusion of Powell's entry.

By all measures, the score for Ferdinand is exactly what you'd expect to hear from Powell and his team for the topic: frenetic, punchy rhythms and Latin-laced instrumentation blasting from one tonally friendly burst of energy to another, slowing periodically for acoustic guitar sentimentality. Any veteran of Powell's work will have heard most of this material before, the composer sailing on autopilot through this easily accessible but ultimately anonymous entry. It's a pleasant score from start to finish, few portions of outright parody testing your tolerance for the genre. It's melodically rich but surprisingly incoherent in the application of its themes. There are three or four recurring ideas throughout the work, but after establishing the character identities in early cues, only two of the themes really have an impact. The more engaging is heard on guitar or woodwind in "Father and Son," "There's Been a Mistake," and "Ferdinand and Nina" before evolving into a slick, castanet-aided performance in the last minutes of "From Train Station to Arena." This idea receives only minimal closure in "Madrid Finale," a final track seemingly edited together from a number of shorter recordings. The other prominent theme is readily identifiable because of its resemblance to portions of Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia in "Selection Process" and "Bull Olympics" (representing the pomp element) before shifting to action in "Highway Chase" and satire in "Madrid Finale." Powell also seems to passively reference James Horner's music (and not just his Zorro-related scores) in several places, including "Escape From 'The Spa'" and "Madrid Finale" once again. A touch of Thomas Newman rhythmic string pulses in "A New Day" is easy on the ears. Other thematic connections seem to represent Ferdinand's relations with other characters, but Powell somehow manages to glide through these performances without enunciating such themes with adequate, singular purpose. A cue like "Finding Home" is a perfect example of a heartfelt character moment that doesn't actually extend any sort of lasting musical narrative. The action sequences present some highlights, including a few moments of absolute ruckus that will raise memories of similar animal endeavors in Chicken Run. In the end, though, the competent ethnic applications and outstanding recording quality cannot really compensate for a rather underwhelming musical narrative sans strong themes. A charming score-only album passes without worry and doesn't have the obnoxious interludes of the Rio scores. Casual listeners should explore the track "From Train Station to Arena" before all others. The whole will undoubtedly entertain, but this is not Powell at his most memorable in the genre.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 61:11

• 1. Bees and Bulls* (2:30) • 2. Selection Process (2:00) • 3. Father and Son* (2:06) • 4. Finding Home* (5:32) • 5. A New Day (2:52) • 6. Flower Festival (4:46) • 7. There's Been a Mistake (2:28) • 8. Lupe and Ferdinand* (2:28)

• 9. Lipizzaners and Ferraris (2:50) • 10. Ferdinand and Nina* (3:24) • 11. Bull Olympics* (3:42) • 12. Sunsets in the Training Yard (3:14) • 13. Escape From "The Spa"* (3:32) • 14. Highway Chase* (3:16) • 15. From Train Station to Arena* (5:04) • 16. Madrid Finale (12:14)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes a list of performers and a short note from the composer.

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