Soundtrack Review: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Posted by Jon Blough

August 13, 2009

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Ice Age- Dawn Of The Dinosaurs-front This is a review of the motion picture score Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs by John Powell.

“Arguably Powell’s finest animation score since Chicken Run”

Another year, another John Powell animation score, right? Over the 2000s he has averaged one score a year. There is no denying that his slapstick approach is successful as well as a good match for all the films he has scored, but on album the occasional gaps in musical consistency do make for a scattered listen, even for a score as outlandish as Horton Hears a Who. In my opinion, Ice Age: The Meltdown escaped that criticism by being such a consistently fun package, only briefly veering off into absurd silliness necessitated by the film. With Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs being one of the composer’s only two scores on the year, I looked forward to Powell returning to the same level of finger-snapping joy, this time backed up by a T-Rex sized ruckus.

Not a Continuation

However, DOTD’s score is not a continuation of Meltdown’s slap-happy spirit, rather spending most of its time developing the threequel’s adventure moments. I suppose some of that is necessitated by the shift in the scope of the film, but the sole performance of Meltdown’s peppy main theme in “Playground” leaves something to be desired. The group theme does feature a few enjoyable performances, the best being the introduction in “Code Blue” and the heroic brass performance early in “Rescues”. You’d think given the expansion of the mammoth family Meltdown’s mammoth theme would have popped up more than once, but surprisingly the theme for Sid is the sole dominant extension. It’s thankfully absent its squirrel chorus and, as with most slightly comedic ideas for Powell scores, is pleasant in every performance, but with the only standout performance being the guitar-plucking ruckus to close “Egg Roll” it feels a bit pedestrian in its useage.

Despite that disappointment, I can’t deny Powell’s new creations are strong across the board. The new familial theme introduced in “Leaving the Herd” is warm and accepting throughout the score. It seems to serve the same function as the group theme, but while I’m puzzled at this dichotomy I’m in no position to complain since I thoroughly enjoy both themes. Familiar friends aside, it’s the world of the dinosaurs that defines this score by thankfully avoiding tongue-in-cheek pounding and instead producing some of the composer’s grandest fare material yet. “Momma” is an absolute jolt, introducing a five-note dino adventure motif amidst a flurry of thwacking percussion and bells. The dino motif is actually one of the score’s better creations, morphing from its brutal chase moments in the aforementioned into moments of choral bliss in “Dinosaur Vista”.

Buck

Helping atone for that minor bummer is the theme for Buck. Powell smartly picks up on the character’s Captain Ahab tendencies and gives him a lengthy sea-faring tune to accompany him on his mad quest. I encourage those who don’t like charging victoriously in front of company to play something else around them. Regardless of what part of the extensive theme plays (rare to find a heroic theme with four segments in it these days), it is always recognizable and a ton of fun, especially in the action cues that represent Powell’s best collection since X-Men: The Last Stand. The grand but all-too-brief choral statements of the theme in “Campfire Stories” and “To The Portal” suggest that the action could have broke from the typical Powellian ruckus and achieved the outlandish grandeur of that superhero score (albeit without the mildly overwhelming traits of that work), but tracks like “Battles” are so energetic and propulsive that most listeners won’t care.

Conclusion

There are a few moments that may drive some listeners batty. The variations on “You’ll Never Find A Love Like Mine” are hilarious but perhaps out of place with the rest of the album, though in retrospect they are far more appropriate for continuity than this score’s “Alone Again” or Meltdown’s “Food Glorious Food”. But outside those moments the score is quite consistent throughout, maintaining a good balance between the meaty adventure material and the lighter moments of comedy and family time. I do wish the score had done a few more things; in addition to the points registered above, there are almost too many secondary motifs to follow, and more focus could have produced more performances of the sensationally soaring theme that kicks off the equally sensational “End Credits” and recalls the opening of Holst’s Jupiter. Yet in spite of those complaints I enjoyed the score more than any recent Powell animation entry, and it’s arguably his finest for the medium since Chicken Run. The man composes a ton of animation scores (he has “How To Train Your Dragon” on his plate for next year) and his style is getting very familiar, but as long as he produces albums of such strength I’ll keep coming back for more.

1. Code Blue (01:44)
2. Pregnant (01:56)
3. Leaving the Herd (01:50)
4. The Cavern (00:33)
5. Magic Eggs (00:13)
6. Egg Roll (02:08)
7. The Cliff (00:19)
8. Sid’s Kids (01:36)
9. Nest (01:22)
10. Playground (01:34)
11. Scrat Finds Furry Love (00:41)
12. Momma (03:38)
13. Entry to Lost World (01:36)
14. Dinosaur Vista (00:34)
15. Meet Buck (02:59)
16. Flower of Death (02:49)
17. Nose Job (01:35)
18. Trek (01:00)
19. Chasm of Death (00:22)
20. Big Smelly Crack (03:10)
21. We Shall Raise Them Vegetarian (02:20)
22. Campfire Stories (01:19)
23. Flashback (00:59)
24. Nite Nite (00:45)
25. You’ll Never Tango (00:48)
26. Herd Crossing (00:37)
27. Plates of Woe (03:58)
28. Battle Cry (00:16)
29. Buck’s Theme (00:38)
30. Battles (04:05)
31. Over the Falls (00:13)
32. Rescues (03:33)
33. Alone Again (01:54)
34. To the Portal (00:54)
35. Rudy Fight (02:12)
36. Farewell (01:42)
37. Out of This World (00:33)
38. Buck Returns (01:08)
39. Welcome to the Ice Age (01:58)
40. At Home with the Scrats (00:26)
41. The Call of the Siren Acorn (00:16)
42. True Love for Our Hero (00:23)
43. End Credits (07:00)
44. You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (04:26)