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Written 8/8/14
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Buy it... if you have that acquired taste for John Powell's
animation music and appreciated the infusion of Brazilian tones into his
own mannerisms in the preceding score.
Avoid it... if you demand ultra-hyperactive interludes of frantic
comedic action in your Powell scores, because Rio 2 concentrates
on the romantic and adventure genres far more often, a positive
development for many other listeners.
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| Powell |
Rio 2: (John Powell) Sometimes national pride
manifests itself in odd ways, and for Brazil, the Rio franchise
has crept into the long list of defining cultural representations of the
country, especially after the promotion of Rio 2 in conjunction
with the 2014 new year's and World Cup celebrations. The sequel to the
Blue Sky Studios hit from 2011 was not received with the same generous
critical response, but audiences rewarded it with higher box office
grosses nevertheless. The primary cast members from Rio return to
guide the macaws from that film (along with the family they have
produced in the interim) into a mystery in the Amazon rain forest,
replacing the bird-out-of-place comedic elements of Rio with some
more traditional action fare in Rio 2. For the filmmakers, the
project also allows for a gratuitous amount of advancement of a
political agenda, once again teaching younglings around the world about
the evils of deforestation. The humor and colors of the concept continue
to inspire composer John Powell just as much as director Carlos
Saldanha, Powell being a Brit for whom the delving into the Latin and,
more specifically, Brazilian tones for Rio proved to be a
rewarding personal journey. Despite his plethora of work and stylistic
influence in the action and thriller genres, the veteran has emerged as
a dominant force in the realm of animation scoring. It's interesting to
compare the major players in the genre over the decades prior to this
franchise, because composers can become hopelessly stuck in the
animation rut if they are not careful. For those like John Debney in the
1990's and Danny Elfman more currently, the genre can become tiring very
fast. For James Horner in the 1990's and Powell now, there are those
workmanlike endeavors in the genre but also a few outstanding triumphs.
Typically, all of these scores receive some variation of a three-star
review, but at least with Powell, there are glimpses of solid four-star
moments littered throughout these works, Rio 2 included. For him
specifically, there are always comparisons to Chicken Run ready
to be made, and there's even a moment early in Rio 2 with one
such moment to reminisce about. Ultimately, these Rio scores are
a lot of cultural flash and not much substance, however, leaving his
collectors scrambling back to the easily superior How to Train Your
Dragon scores.
For those die-hard Powell enthusiasts, at least
Rio
2 represented a return to work by the composer after a voluntary
break from the industry in 2013, and those listeners will be pleased by
how easily he slips back into his formula for success. Many of the same
basic elements from
Rio return, but not with the same
applications. Whereas the previous score had more emphasis on truly wild
and wacky cartoonish personalities,
Rio 2 forces a similar
ensemble of sounds into more of an adventure genre journey. The
continued collaboration with Brazilian musicians is easy to appreciate,
and their contributions merge without issue into the performances by the
Los Angeles orchestral group. Occasional vocal accents are typically
fleeting until the romantic tones of "Lollipops are Bad for Your Teeth."
Crazed whistling is held to a minimum and the outright deviations into
1960's lounging style are restrained as well. A light, high range choir
makes itself heard at a few points of wonder. The addition of the UAKTI
percussion group is a notable feature, a cue like "Battle for the Heart
of the Forest" especially mixing their contributions in a dynamic
fashion. A harpsichord is afforded to the sinister moments, likely for
the heavy of the tale. The thematic base is strong enough to sustain the
score but not really remarkable. The main theme for the franchise still
steals a healthy portion of its beginning from Marc Shaiman's
City
Slickers (only two cues in this score allow the theme full ensemble
performances), and a new love theme introduced for this film is a bit
heavy on the sappy John Barry characteristics. The best material in
Rio 2 is located in its midsection, the long "Escorted to the
Clan" belonging in any collection of Powell's best cues for the genre
despite being a bit more serious than surrounding material. Parts of
"River Boat to the Loggers" are similar in tone, but listen for some
amusing interplay between whistlers and woodwinds. It should be
mentioned that Powell's score once again shares melodic structures with
the original songs, some of which cast ensemble pieces that Powell
contributed to. Those songs are not included on the score-only album for
Rio 2, which does, though, open with a samba rendition of the
20th Century Fox theme certain to keep Alfred Newman turning over in his
grave. The score album features fewer of these truly intolerable comedic
moments, making
Rio 2 a more palatable overall experience apart
from the film. Don't expect too much from the music in this franchise,
however, especially if you're anything near Alfred Newman's generation.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For John Powell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 51 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.16
(in 52,894 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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