Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #682
Written 6/23/03, Revised 4/1/09
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Buy it... if the sounds of birds, waterfalls, and thunderstorms seem like a
good addition to an average, synthetically-rendered children's score by Alan
Silvestri.
Avoid it... if the sickeningly positive electronic music you hear for
children's rides at amusement parks makes you want to maim a cute little stuffed
animal.
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| Silvestri |
FernGully: The Last Rainforest: (Alan Silvestri) Few films
are as blatantly motivated by politics as this piece of rhetoric masquerading as
an animated adventure in the rainforests. To be honest, FernGully: The Last
Rainforest is one of those children's films that masks itself in the
feel-good genre of filmmaking while pushing the real agenda at children, an
agenda that causes the film to actually convey a feel-bad message (that message
being: we're destroying the lungs of the Earth). Essentially, the film takes cool
characters from the rainforests and shows us how they overcome the hideous
actions of "those humans." A portion of the proceeds from the 1992 picture (and
soundtrack albums) was sent to the Smithsonian Institute to manage in favor of
causes around the world that save rain forests (and the Amazon in particular).
Perhaps it was the pseudo feel-bad message that caused the film to slip away from
the public eye after a year of hype and publicity surrounding the reasons for its
existence. The same fate was suffered by the film's serious, dramatic counterpart
of the era, Medicine Man. To the credit of the filmmakers, they did
everything right to bury their feel-bad message in a pretty package. The musical
approach was obviously one that was very strongly rooted in the psyche of
children. A series of songs by popular artists, ranging from Robin Williams to
Elton John, were littered throughout the film, as was an abundance of soothing,
happy sound effects for the location. An upbeat, flakey score by Alan Silvestri
would be a perfect addition to the mix, despite its low budget circumstances.
Familiar with composing in small studios with arrays of synthesizers, Silvestri
could create the ambience of an orchestral score electronically while also
infusing the music with some of the basic sound effects from the film. Many of
the sounds of birds, waterfalls, insects, and thunderclaps in the film are
actually part of the musical score by Silvestri, who integrates the effects into
convenient rhythms instead of using traditional orchestral instrumentation. The
same general idea would be explored by Bruno Coulais for the documentary
Winged Migration in the following decade, though obviously with a more
serious tone. If the concept of hearing a sickeningly optimistic synthetic score
dominated by forest-related sound effects seems a little weird, then you're not
alone.
But that unconventional structure represents the way the score
was intended to be. The resulting music is a crazy combination of
Free
Willy and
The Princess Bride (the former was not yet released, but
featuring a strikingly similar title theme). There really isn't any convincing
faux-orchestral presence, but rather a sampled, electronic replacement of
symphonic tones. Silvestri pulls it off better than you would think that anyone
could accomplish given the technology of 1992 studios, though by the standards of
the 2000's, the work has the distinct personality of an unfinished demo
recording. There are a few strong thematic sequences of the score, often
involving light keyboarding. Otherwise, however, some of the happy-go-lucky
sequences of bouncy electronics make you think you're stuck in the Disneyland
light parade (a truly demented sound for countless decades) or some bizarre kiddy
amusement park ride. This music evolves into a full pop song ("The Grotto Song")
of Silvestri's co-creation, perfectly summing up the sickeningly positive
environment of the whole affair. The score dances through the forest with light
feet and a sometimes annoying sense of glee. What saves the music from being a
torturous procession of good vibes is, ironically, the vast collection of sound
effects. Also an attraction is the employment of voices in the album's final
three tracks, though the penultimate entry is actually a collection of
traditional pieces adapted into a fluid suite. There are entire tracks that
consist of only the chirps, the waves, and the various animal sounds of the
forest, and when Silvestri combines these effects with minimal volumes of music,
the score is surreal in its ability to relax the listener. There is, however, a
scary, grinding, mechanical sound, followed by a falling tree effect, in
"Leveller." As was becoming the custom for record labels in the early 1990's,
music from
FernGully: The Last Rainforest was released on two albums. The
first album contained mostly the songs from the film and was generally considered
a decent product. The Silvestri score was released on its own at the same time,
clocking in at about 45 minutes of length (if you include the sound effects).
There isn't much adventure in the score for
FernGully: The Last
Rainforest, but there is an overdose of cheesy attitude and well-rendered
synthetic moments of awe that are meant to wow the minds of children. It's an
interesting study from a political standpoint and certainly a unique entry in
Silvestri's career.
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Bias Check:
For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.47
(in 43 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.33
(in 40,196 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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