Customer Reviews

The Incredibles

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The composer for this score is Michael Giacchino, composer of the hit TV shows "Alias" and "Lost." This is his very first score for a feature film, and unless his career takes a different trajectory, my guess is that he is going to be around as a major Hollywood composer for quite some time.

The score is reminiscent -- for reasons made clear in director Brad Bird's CD liner notes -- of '60s-era spy music in general, and of John Barry's classic James Bond scores in particular. Giacchino isn't just ripping off that sound, however; he's actually composed a score that sounds like it could have been from that era. It's a better Barry pastiche even than David Arnold's work on "Tomorrow Never Dies," and count my vote for Giacchino scoring the next 007 flick.

The entire album is good, but the highlight is undoubtedly the final track, "The Incredits," a seven-minute summation of the score's major themes. It was hardly an obvious choice to turn to '60s nostalgia for a modern superhero score, but the choice seems obvious in retrospect. It certainly works like a charm in the movie.

A final note: the score was performed live, meaning that all the musicians were together in the studio and playing at the same time. There is no overlaying of sounds thanks to digital technology, and that acoustic sort of quality may be a large factor in the immense charm of this album.

Highly recommended.

"The Incredibles" is far and away Pixar's most exciting dfeature, and this first-class score follows suit. Director Brad Bird is obviously a major fan of '50s and '60s sci-fi/spy/caper movies, and brought in a most impressive talent for the musical chores. Michael Giacchino is a new name to me, but the South Jersey native has scored both quirky TV adventures ("Lost",
"Alias") and military-themed video games ("Medal of Honor"). This is his first major movie score, and it's a killer. From the horn-heavy main theme, which conjures up Lalo Schifrin's brassy, high-energy music from "Mission: Impossible" and "Mannix", to a nifty bit of Mancini-esque lounge jazz heard as we watch Bob Parr work out, Giacchino blends the styles of at least half a dozen classic movie composers- John Barry's obvious, but there just might be a little Bernstein (Leonard and Elmer) too- into his own. I think he deserved an Oscar nomination- given the low-key winner in this category ("Finding Neverland"), he just might have won it.
The production, too, is fantastic, especially considering that this was an animated movie. With an orchestrator/conductor from the Seattle Symphony, a full 50-to-60-piece orchestra in
"all-live" mode (no synths here, and he's proud of it), and even a 70-something engineer who used '60s-style, reel-to-reel equipment- you can see how it was done on "The Incredibles" DVD-
this score has the brightness and immediacy that really makes it work. Giacchino may be young, but he looks and sounds tickled to death that he was able to create and oversee a score recorded, in his words, "the right way- the way I heard all that great movie music as a kid."
I've watched the movie several times over and always note how great, and distinctive, the score is. It should be great to hear on its own as well- I, for one, would love to check out that Mancini-style track as well as the powerhouse horns on the opening and from sequences like Dash-in-the-jungle.
"The Incredibles" is not only a true animated masterpiece- and a damned good superhero caper- but marks the arrival of Michael Giacchino as, just maybe, the best young movie/TV composer of the new decade. Highly recommended.

The composer of this soundtrack, Michael Giacchino, has stated that he wanted a score reminiscent of the spy genre during the sixties. He's done an an amazing job, harkening much of the score to John Barry's atmospheric, thrilling music for the Sean Connery-era James Bond series. Giacchino is also, evidently, a fan of Lalo Schiffrin and others who scored music for such films and TV series as "Our Man Flint", "The Avengers", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "Mission Impossible", "The Persueders", "Amos Burke, Secret Agent" and the Matt Helm movies. Well done!

I have about a zillion soundtracks in my collection. Recently, I bought two more: Star Wars Episode 3 and The Incredibles. I have played both soundtracks almost constantly since I got them -- Star Wars is of course brilliant -- but as time goes on, I'm playing The Incredibles more. It's more big band than classical, it's bouncy, and it makes me a little happier each time I listen to it.

Another reviewer said Michael Giacchino sounded like John Barry. For some reason, he reminds me more of Henry Mancini at the top of his game. Either way, I'm impatiently awaiting his next soundtrack.

I just have to say I love this soundtrack. As a musician I value fun enjoyable music as a way to relax, movie soundtracks being a favorite. The composer matched the fun, "we can do anything", feel of the movie. I particulary enjoyed the part where dash is running on water for the first time, the music perfectly matched the thrill expressed on his face. This wonderful use of music to express the emotions of the characters was prevelent throughout the film. What can I say, I'm a sucker for this movie and it's soundtrack....

In 2004, Pixar released its *sixth* smash-hit movie, The Incredibles. When making the movie, writer-director Brad Bird found his dream composer in the form of Michael Giacchino, a film composer who could make the big jazzy music that the story demanded. This CD contains the soundtrack of the movie that Bird created and Giacchino brought to life.

OK, sound like hyperbole? Well, once you get a chance to listen to this soundtrack, you will realize just how much the music brought the story to life. And I'll go beyond that, this soundtrack is great to listen to on its own. Some soundtracks are all variations on the same theme, and quite boring, but this soundtrack is really great to listen to, swinging between smoky quiets to screaming crescendos.

Yep, I loved the movie The Incredibles, and I loved this soundtrack. If you love good jazz, then this CD is for you. I highly recommend it!

The music matches the movie perfectly. It has an older sound to it, like a 70s sitcom, but it's also adventurous and jazzy. The music evokes the same emotions that the movie does, which is difficult to do. Michael Giacchino is a talented composer. I'm sure we'll hear much more from him in the future.

The Incredibles is another great Disney/Pixar collaberation, but its' the first movie scored by Michael Giacchino, and if this score is any indication, then Giacchino has a great career ahead of him. Not your typical super hero score, Giacchino channels John Barry in ways that haven't been done since David Arnold's first Bond score. He captures perfectly the tone of the movie from the sense of fun to the undercover action to the very real peril the Incredibles find themselves in. I rate this score very highly and it's probably my favorite of the Pixar/Disney films.

This score functions extremely well both in and out of the film. As an underscore it serves its purpose in accenting what happens on the screen, and listening to it on its own is also an enjoyable experience. Michael Giachinno, who has provided spectacular scores for the Medal of Honor video game series makes his first venture into feature films. All the tracks were composed by him (except for the final track "The Incredits," which is an arrangement of many themes from the movie done by Gordon Goodwin.) The studio musicians who recorded this were all in one room together when this was recorded, and the engineers used recording techniques that were used to record the original James Bond scores in the 60's to give the score a more accurate sound for the time period it represents in film music. Giachinno will most likely now be a mainstay in the feature film scoring industry, and I could see him becoming another Alan Silvestri, doing adventure driven movies with powerful and resonant themes. This score is an enjoyable listen and I guarantee it will stay in your CD player for a long time after you buy it.

This soundtrack is an absolute joy to listen to. With music that uncannily evokes John Barry's early James Bond scores (especially Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice), Michael Giacchino has created a musical time tunnel capable of transporting listeners to the early nineteen sixties and the heyday of various action adventure series like Peter Gunn, Jonny Quest, the Man From Uncle and Secret Agent/Danger Man. The thought and craft behind each track is evident in the fact that you can remember exactly what part of the movie you were watching and the emotions you experienced when you first heard it. That kind of alchemy between screen action and score is a true rarity. A must have for fans of the wonderful Brad Bird movie.