On a technical level, Horner's composition here is more impressive than in any of his other animation scores. There are marvelous sequences of slapstick comedy that, when combined with the superior abilities of the ensemble, merit a listen simply for study alone. If you recall the most active and dense sections of The Pagemaster and Balto, imagine that demeanor cranked up another notch in intensity. One of Horner's few truly slapstick efforts, We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story rips and snorts through countless thematic motifs and rhythms that will make your head spin. An appropriately cute title theme opens and closes the score, although it is the soaring secondary theme heard in "Flying Forward in Time" that draws broad strokes from The Land Before Time and offers its lush strings over brass support that will remind of John Barry's romantic style. The dominating spirit in the score is established in "Grand Slam Demons," however, when Horner lifts several elements from Danny Elfman's title sequence for Beetlejuice and begins to overlay the London Symphony Orchestra with his various specialty instruments, eventually including kazoos, a barrel organ, vibraphone, whistle, and a series of sound effects not limited to car horns, sirens, and duck calls. This creativity on a massive level extends to "Circus" and "Grand Demon Parade," and each of these explosions of sound is led by brass themes that play on famous classical and older film music melodies (including everything from The Godfather to The Phantom of the Opera); for people driven nuts by Horner's habit of ripping off his own material, be content in knowing that he quotes others' works far more than his own this time (though his standard four-note motif of evil does make a brief appearance). The most important aspect of We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is that all the musicians, whether they play the muted trumpets or the inspiring percussion, embrace Horner's playfulness and respond with a sense of zeal that you rarely hear from studio performers. In "Grand Demon Parade," you even encounter a brass section intentionally playing the wrong notes. A customary, cooing female choir fills out the magical moments of a more sincere heart, highlighted by the first two minutes of "Flying Forward in Time." On the whole, as with most slapstick music, the score requires a very specific mood in order to fully enjoy it. Two variations on the "Roll Back the Rock" song co-authored by Horner don't help the package, the John Goodman performance in the first rendition functioning like a musical number. The album (a somewhat rare DAD recording) went out-of-print not long after its debut and will likely provide more smirks for a Horner collector than lasting enjoyment.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download