Bolt Soundtrack Review

Powell’s New Animation Score is Inconsistent but Lighthearted Fun

Feb 4, 2009

John Powell has been hired to score many animated films, but his latest project, "Bolt," is his first assignment for Walt Disney Pictures.

John Powell is one of those composers who can be trusted to provide a perfectly functional score for almost any project. His music can be found in a very diverse array of films, such as Happy Feet, X-Men III: The Last Stand, The Bourne Trilogy, Horton Hears a Who!, Hancock and United 93.

His scores for animated features are numerous, including (besides those mentioned above) Kung Fu Panda, Chicken Run, Shrek, Robots, and Ice Age 2. In his many years of scoring animated films, however, Powell had not scored a single film for Walt Disney Pictures until 2008’s adventure-comedy, Bolt, a story about a dog who believes himself to have super powers.

Much of Bolt is very reminiscent of previous Powell scores: especially evident are his stylish sampled rhythms and trademark orchestrations. Fans of the composer will find little (if anything) new from Powell in this score, but it remains a very entertaining score.

His themes are attractive and malleable, and he makes good use of the opportunity to craft cunning musical parodies of various genre sterotypes shown in the film: “Meet Mittens” is a delightful send-up of the music from “The Godfather,” while “Bolt Transforms” is a thrilling, pulsing (and enjoyably over-earnest) montage cue which raises memories of the scores to Spider-Man and X-Men, among others.

The main theme is introduced in a very warm and lovable fashion in “Meet Bolt.” Dazzling chimes, ultra-light rhythms and a lovely bed of strings state give way to a solo piano variation which captivates with its easy progressions and tender performance. The theme is restated with a fair degree of frequency, such as “A Friend in Need” and, most obviously, in “Rescuing Penny,” a massively heroic rendition which recalls Powell’s other recent superhero score, Hancock.

Score Consistency

Outside of the main theme, the score maintains very little continuity throughout its runtime. Some delightfully jaunty Copland-esque Americana shines through in “The RV Park” and “House on Wheels,” two of the more unashamedly positive cues on the album.

The blistering action theme from “Scooter Chase” recurs in “A Fast Train,” “Saving Mittens,” “Unbelievable TV,” and, with considerably more levity, in “Sing-Along Rhino.” Along with the quiet reflection of “Las Vegas,” the swinging jazz style of “New York,” the uber-noble anthem in “Where Were You on St. Rhino’s Day?” and the light country elements heard on occasion, all these ingredients add up to a thoroughly enjoyable but remarkably inconsistent score.

Pop Songs by Miley Cyrus and Jenny Lewis

Cursory mention must be made of the two songs which appear on the soundtrack album, “Barking at the Moon” performed by Jenny Lewis and “I Thought I Lost You” performed by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta. Both are distinctly light-country in nature and are mostly inoffensive, if nothing special.

The irony with the album is that, as so often happens, the songs are likely to be the main selling point with most buyers, instead of the vastly more enjoyable score (which amounts to a little over half an hour on the album, with all the notable cues from the film presented).

With any luck, those who purchase the album will be pleased to discover the music of John Powell, a capable and admirable composer. His score here is all over the map, somewhat predictable and not very long in duration, but nevertheless thoroughly enjoyable , and a fitting close to Powell’s busy schedule in 2008. Recommended.

The copyright of the article Bolt Soundtrack Review in Pop Music is owned by David Abraham Dueck. Permission to republish Bolt Soundtrack Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.