Soundtrack Review: Wall-E (2008)

Posted by Jorn Tillnes

July 17, 2008

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070508-1827-soundtrackr1 Soundtrack Review: Wall-E (2008) This is a review of the motion picture score for Wall-E by Thomas Newman.

“There is enough music on this score to satisfy both Disney and Thomas Newman fans”

Disney and Pixar are back again with their latest 3D animated motion picture. It’s not Randy Newman doing the soundtrack this time but Thomas Newman. At least they keep it in the family. Thomas Newman also composed for Finding Nemo in 2003. He doesn’t do too many animated movies and mostly stick to drama movies. Wall-E is about a lonely waste allocation robot, who’s left alone on earth after all humans left the planet. Wall*E begins on a journey following a robot named EVE. Sounds like a cool concept and the trailers and teasers look great! Another bonus is that Peter Gabriel is features on this soundtrack. This is the track list of Wall-E:

Track List

Put On Your Sunday Clothes (by Michael Crawford)
2815 A.D.
Wall-E
The Spaceship
Eve (Featuring Peter Gabriel)
Thrust
Bubble Wrap
La Vie En Rose (By Louis Armstrong)
Eye Surgery
Worry Wait
First Date
Eve Retrieve
The Axiom
BNL (Featuring Bill Bernstein)
Foreign Contaminant
Repair Ward
72 Degrees And Sunny
Typing Bot
Septuacentennial
Gopher
Wall-E’s Pod Adventure
Define Dancing (Featuring Peter Gabriel)
No Splashing No Diving
All That Love’s About
M-O
Directive A-113
Mutiny!
Fixing Wall-E
Rogue Robots
March Of The Gels
Tilt
The Holo-Detector
Hyperjump
Desperate Eve
Static
It Only Takes A Moment (By Michael Crawford)
Down To Earth (By Peter Gabriel)
Horizon 12.2

Light And Humorous

There is enough music on this score to satisfy both Disney and Thomas Newman fans. When I listen to it, I hear a little of both, perhaps 60/40 in Disney’s favor. The soundtrack itself is very spacey, dreamy even at times. It is clear that this is the direction Disney wanted and it certainly is not a fast paced soundtrack. The music is very light, some humorous, some serious songs, but it all adds up into a nice little soundtrack. In a way I am little disappointed because I expected more of Thomas Newman, but I can’t really fault the quality of this soundtrack. It really makes me want to go see the movie which I’m sure has benefited a lot from Thomas Newman’s guidance. I must add that the Peter Gabriel song on here called “Down To Earth” must have been produced by Thomas Newman or something, because the background music there is quite similar to Thomas Newman’s score. Either way, a very good soundtrack to listen to wherever you are. Listen to Wall-E by Thomas Newman below: