Up Composed by Michael Giacchino
Walt
Disney Records (2009)
Rating:
8/10
Soundclips below provided by
AmazonMP3
“Giacchino's UP
gets a huge "thumbs up" from me. The experience of his original
score went from mediocre to marvelous with a single viewing of the
film. ”
It Crosses the Heart
Review by Christopher Coleman
Pixar's streak of critical and popular success is uncanny. With the
possible exception of CARS, no matter how much hype, they seem to deliver
one delightful film after another. After ten feature films, so lovingly
and painstakingly put together, it really shouldn't come as a surprise any
more, but somehow I find myself tickled with such surprise as I watch
their handiwork each time. In UP, we have the simple tale of a lonely,
aging man, Carl (voiced perfectly by Edward Asner), who has lost the love
of his life and a specific promise of adventure they had covenanted to
share. In a desperate act to make good on his promise to his late-wife,
Ellie, Carl constructs the most unique "mobile-home" you'll ever see. With
helium, latex, and the wind as his means, Carl is determined to bring his
home to Paradise Falls in South America, rather than let it fall into the
evil clutches of property developers. On his journey, he is befriended by
the immediately likable, Russell, who is determined to earn his final "boy
scout" merit badge by assisting an elderly person. With equal resistance,
Carl's gang is further increased by the tag-alongs: Kevin, the elusive
"snipe," Dug, the outcast from a pack of villainous pooches and, finally,
Charles F. Muntz, the one-time adventurer. What struck me about UP
is that there isn't one glaring thing that makes the film so enjoyable,
but a combination of many small elements. As with most Pixar creations,
the characters are distinct and likable, not in spite of their flaws, but
because of them. Their subtly, clever writing continues and their
attention to fine detail never sharper. Counted among Pixar's "small
elements" was the hiring of Michael Giacchino to provide the musical
character for UP.
I'll first admit that upon first listen to this score, I was not overly
impressed. The music was about what I had expected. The score felt
like an accurate musical depiction of our central character's hey-day era
of the 30s - 40s, but nothing to get overly excited about. There was one
clear theme that coursed through the entirety of the score. Solid, but
again, I wasn't stirred to cheers yet. The action sequences were en par
for Giacchino, which means that they were well crafted, but perhaps
suffering only due to his own success and listener familiarity.
Giacchino's UP simply didn't make a major impression on me. In fact, I
thought that he had invaded a little of Randy Newman's territory. Then, I
saw the film and my perception of the this score was changed considerably.
UP has it's share of laughs and entertaining action sequences, but it
arguably delivers more "heart" than any previous Pixar film. While I have
been moved to some degree in very specific moments of previous Pixar
films, UP was the most touching yet. The film hits upon some serious ideas
and issues (hence the PG rating), but emotionally this pays dividends.
Of course, it is one of the goals of the score to heighten the emotional
content of any given scene, but, as further credit to Pixar's
storytelling, the experience of all the other elements of UP (the writing,
the voice acting, etc.) greatly affected my perception and appreciation of
Giacchino's efforts. That simple title theme came to carry and emit all of
the emotional weight shown in Carl and Ellie's relationship and Carl's
determination to fulfill his promise to her. The title theme is a simple
waltz, played on piano; sometimes echoing the romance between the two but
also the loneliness of Carl after her passing. In "Married Life" we hear
the most blissful performance of the theme as muted trumpet, violin, oboe,
strings and piano take turns romancing the couple as well as us, the
audience. Moving on through the story, Giacchino takes this little melody
and tweaks, molds, and re-wraps it into a dozen or more variations - all
of them different in the vibe they create but equally enjoyable to listen
to.
As UP moves from it's emotional first act, the score takes its first turns
in tone. The shift to the adventurous begins with "Carl Goes Up" which, if
memory serves, was a piece that was replaced by a famous selection from
the opera, "Carmen." As we progress further we hear the theme reprised
many times, and ever the more heroic. Among the most dynamic performances
are those found in action/chase tracks such as "Escape from Muntz
Mountain" (13), "Memories Can Weigh You Down" (16), and "Seizing the
Spirit of Adventure" (19). Oddly enough, the exhilaration heard in these
tracks far exceeds any such feeling found in comparable action pieces from
his earlier summer-work, STAR TREK. Perhaps it is simply that UP is a
better fit for Giacchino's action style. At the film's conclusion,
with Carl having made his journey "to" and back again, MICHAEL GIACCHINO
also returns his original theme to its home. In Carl's moment of
emotional-breakthrough ("It's Just a House"), we hear the title performed
simply at first, but then with a full and bright orchestra, removing that
tinge of sadness that permeated the theme prior to. Finally, in "The Ellie
Badge" (21), we hear the piece return to the simple, innocent performance
on piano and strings and it is clear that Carl's childhood joy and love of
life has been returned to him.
Of course, UP would have been sadly one-dimensional, if it were not for
the additional motifs that Giacchino works into the story. Russell, Carl's
uninvited, boyscout-guest, and their nemesis, Charles Muntz, are given
noteworthy signatures, too. While introduced in a wrapper of latin-jazz in
tracks such as "Walkin' the House" (7) and "Kevin Beak'n" (9), Russell,
our little do-gooder, finally earns his own heroic, musical badge in "The
Small Mailman Returns" (17). And what would this story be without it's
villanous element? Giacchino introduces the adventurer, Charles F.
Muntz at the onset of the film, with a tune crafted in the iconic style of
the 1930s ("Up with Titles"), but later becomes a mysterious melody in
"The Explorer Motel" (12) and lastly a menacing anthem in "Seizing the
Spirit of Adventure" (23). It is more than a little wonderful to hear
MICHAEL GIACCHINO usage of these leading motifs; continually playing them
off one another and crafting them to fit a wide variety of events and
emotions.
Michael Giacchino's UP gets a huge "thumbs up" from me. The experience of
his original score went from mediocre to marvelous with a single viewing
of the film. While it is to be expected that hearing the music in its
proper context is going to generally have a positive effect on one's
relationship with the music on it's own, I cannot think of a recent film
and score that this was more evident in. What I find strange is that
Disney Records chose to release such an excellent effort as a
digital-download only. To their credit, the three sound-effect
tracks are relegated to the end of the soundtrack, but unlike their
release of Wall-E, they are not directly attached to any of the music
tracks. MICHAEL GIACCHINO's score, which features: a nod to the classic
cartoon scores of Carl Stalling, Milt Franklin and Raymond Scott, and his
own, easily identifiable flare for solid action scoring, is refreshing
wind that blows over a tired and dusty landscape of sameness that plagues
the studio landscape. Big "ups" to Pixar for continuing to have the
creative-guts to produce features like UP (not to mention their incredible
shorts, like Partly Cloudly, which each feature) and to Michael Giacchino
for not being afraid to return to "good, old fashioned" scoring techniques
that have made classic animation features endure the tests of time and
trend.
