Customer Reviews

Once Upon a Forest

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I haven't actually listened to the soundtrack. However I do own the movie and the music is beatiful. If you don't like instrumental music then this is not for you. I do not really like the song where Cornelious sings Please Wake Up, but that is just because I prefer instruments over singing. All in all you should get this cd... if not you should at least buy the movie. It is a great childrens movie about a group of furlings (young animals) that must journey to another meadow to find herbs that will save their friends life(a truck carrying poison gas ran off the road and poisoned their meadow and friend). I put this movie in for my friend's four year old sister and she could not tear her eyes away from it until it was over.

Film composer James Horner (Braveheart, Titanic, Rocketeer) wrote a wonderful symphonic score for this movie. I haven't seen the movie so I cannot judge how it works in the film, but on album it is well presented and a wonderful example of musical storytelling. There are some basic thematic elements which form the backbone of this score, and James Horner is good in writing those. What really stands out are the rich orchestrations by John Williams' orchestrator John Neufeld - this album is a must for orchestration fans. Also the songs are really nice and show actually what Horner does best: writing effective movie songs.

The score has some musically weaker moments but overall the album is quite satisfying and contains some of the best original tracks Horner has written (The Forest, Flying). There is no such thing as self-plagiarism (what Horner is occasionally accused of) to find in this score. Although I am generally not a huge Horner fan, I regard this score worth a solid 4 stars.

4 1/2 stars is unavailable, so I will round up.

Once Upon a Forest embolizes the best of Horner's child-like musical scores in a way I never would have imagined for such a pathetic film. The movie, overly political for a children's film, is actually really terrible. But Horner's effort nearly saves the Director from all-out scrutiny. I mean, he did choose the right composer for his film.

There are several tracks with lyrics and singing, the best being track 6. Michael Crawford (the original Phantom of the Opera) does what he does best and sings with heart. However, track 8 is a gospel song that is so out of place on the album that the whole listening experience is nearly ruined. But, like Horner does well, he avoids total embarrassment with a strong finish.

Once Upon a Forest will remain a hidden gem, and unfortunately the simplicity of the main theme leaves me not only wanting more, but makes me feel like - despite the great music - something is missing, and that missing piece is a little more pomp. But it's a must buy for collector's, even at $30 used. However, most casual listeners may want to steer more towards An American Tail because it is not only better, but usually about $25 cheaper!