Wallace & Gromit – The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Music composed by Julian Nott; Rupert Gregson-Williams, James Michael Dooley, Lorne Balfe and Alastair King
Music produced by Hans Zimmer
Running Time: 48:27
Amazon UK Amazon US
Juilian Nott’s music played no small part in the success of the original three Wallace and Gromit short films. The plasticine figures in this new full length feature might be small but the music is not – the composers under the producer, Hans Zimmer, have written on a big colourful canvas for a large orchestra and choir.
The music is a rich frenetic kaleidoscope of colliding styles, a sort of conglomerate British combination of Danny Elfman and Randy Newman and Randy Edelman. The opening track, for instance combines that familiar Wallace and Gromit ‘oompah, oompah’ theme with the sort of heroic material reminiscent of many British War films, the heroism given a heavenly twist by adoring choirs, and spooky stuff à la Elfman.
You can play spot the influences, for instance I thought I could detect Bernard Herrmann’s Cape Fear theme quoted in ‘Arson Around’ and Jerry Goldsmith’s creepy Omen music was surely an influence and much western film music is alluded to in a lot of the frantic chase material. Some of the more brutal material brought Shostakovich to my mind but Eric Coates in both heroic and romantic mood is palpable in many tracks.
Ripping, racy, hilarious; never a dull moment.
Ian Lace
4
Return to Reviews Index