Critical reception
The score received positive reviews from music critics. "Throughout the soundtrack,Giacchino keeps things fresh with his engaging melodies and variations,and Up succeeds as an old-fashioned score that doesn’t shy away from emotion or catchy tunes.",was the positive review from iTunes. [7] Christopher Coleman,from tracksounds.com,gave the score 8 out of 10 stars,commenting:"The experience of his [Giacchino's] original score went from mediocre to marvelous with a single viewing of the film". [6]
Danny Graydon,Empire writer,declared "Giacchino's primary theme moves from the jaunty jazz flourish of the opening titles" ... "The score's emotional content is further fuelled by two similarly flexible (albeit more subtle) themes". [3] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com awarded the score a four star rating out of five,but wrote a mixed review:"In general,the vintage jazz and Waltz combination is effective in raising the spirit of adventure specifically from the perspective of an elderly man,but this material could potentially sound geriatric to some listeners seeking only loftier fantasy elements". Regarding Disney's initial decision to not release the score on compact disc,Clemmensen went on to say "Unfortunately,with a score as dynamic in instrumental range as Up,hearing it in compressed MP3 form is simply unacceptable. This format may work for headphones,but the recording sounds dull and flat on any sizable stereo system." [4]
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, and Elizabeth Peña. Set in a fictitious version of the 1960s, the film follows Bob and Helen Parr, a couple of superheroes, known as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, who hide their powers in accordance with a government mandate, and attempt to live a quiet suburban life with their three children. Bob's desire to help people draws the entire family into a confrontation with a vengeful fan-turned-foe.
Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the third installment in the Toy Story series and the sequel to Toy Story 2 (1999). It was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor of the first two films and the co-director of Toy Story 2, written by Michael Arndt, while Unkrich wrote the story along with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, respectively, director and co-writer of the first two films.
Michael Giacchino is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. He has also served as a director for film and television. He has received many awards, including an Oscar, an Emmy, and three Grammys.
The Little Mermaid: Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1989 Disney animated feature film, The Little Mermaid. It contains the songs from the film written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as the film's score composed by Alan Menken. The score was orchestrated by Thomas Pasatieri. The album has achieved multi-platinum sales and won the Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children. The album includes recordings of the music that won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, the Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Bob Peterson, and produced by Jonas Rivera. Docter and Peterson also wrote the film’s screenplay and story, with Tom McCarthy co-writing the latter. The film stars the voices of Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai, and Peterson. The film centers on elderly widower Carl Fredricksen (Asner) and Wilderness Explorer Russell (Nagai), who go on a journey to South America in order to fulfill a promise that Carl made to his late wife Ellie. Along the way, they meet a talking dog named Dug (Peterson), and encounter a giant bird named Kevin, who is being hunted by the explorer Charles Muntz (Plummer).
WALL·E is the soundtrack album to the 2008 Disney-Pixar film of the same name composed and conducted by Thomas Newman. WALL·E is the second Pixar film to be scored by Thomas Newman after Finding Nemo (2003). It was also the second Pixar film not to be scored by Randy Newman or Michael Giacchino. Released by Walt Disney Records on June 24, 2008, it was mainly composed by Thomas Newman and orchestration is credited to Carl Johnson, JAC Redford, Thomas Pasatieri, and Gary K. Thomas. Newman previously scored Finding Nemo and most of all other Pixar films have been scored by either Newman's cousin Randy, Michael Giacchino or Patrick Doyle.
Toy Story 2: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to Toy Story 2. The score for the film is composed by Randy Newman, who previously composed for its predecessor, Toy Story. It was released by Walt Disney Records on November 9, 1999. Although out of print in the U.S., the CD is available in the U.S. as an import and all but one song is available digitally.
Ratatouille is the soundtrack album to the computer-animated comedy film of the same name from the production of Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures, directed by Brad Bird and featured musical score composed by Michael Giacchino. The film marked Giacchino's second Pixar film after The Incredibles, which was also directed by Bird and also the second Pixar film not to be scored by Randy Newman or Thomas Newman. The album features original score cues, with an original song "Le Festin" written by Giacchino and performed by Camile, and was released by Walt Disney Records on June 26, 2007.
The Princess and the Frog is the soundtrack of the 2009 Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog. It was released by Walt Disney Records on November 23, 2009, just a day before the limited release of the film in New York City and Los Angeles. It contains ten original songs and seven score pieces, all but one of which were composed, arranged and conducted by composer Randy Newman, who previously worked with the film's executive producer John Lasseter on Pixar's films Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Cars. "Never Knew I Needed" was written and performed by Ne-Yo. The song had an accompanying music video which featured rotation on Disney Channel. The song was also sent to rhythmic radio on October 27, 2009. The songs are performed by various artists most of which lend their voices to characters in the film. The score features African-American-influenced styles including jazz, zydeco, blues and gospel.
Toy Story 3 is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film Toy Story 3, the third installment in the Toy Story series. The score was composed by recurrent Pixar composer Randy Newman, who also scored for the previous instalments in the franchise. The score album, featuring an original song "We Belong Together" performed by Newman, and instrumental tracks were released on June 14, 2010 by Walt Disney Records. The track "You've Got a Friend in Me" from the first instalment is also featured in the album, performed by The Gipsy Kings.
"We Belong Together" is a song written, composed and performed by Randy Newman for the 2010 film Toy Story 3. The song was nominated for several Best Original Song awards from various film society and awards committees. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 83rd Academy Awards in February 2011.
The Incredibles is the soundtrack album to the 2004 Disney-Pixar film of the same name composed by Michael Giacchino. The Incredibles is the first Pixar film to be scored by Giacchino. Director Brad Bird was looking for a specific sound as inspired by the film's design — the future as seen from the 1960s. John Barry was the first choice to do the film's score with a trailer of the film given a rerecording of Barry's theme to On Her Majesty's Secret Service. However, Barry did not wish to duplicate the sound of some of his earlier soundtracks; the assignment was instead given to Giacchino.
Zootopia is the soundtrack album to the 2016 computer-animated film of the same name, produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The film's score is composed by Michael Giacchino, marking his first feature-length project for Walt Disney Animation Studios, after composing for specials and short films produced by the company, as well as multiple Pixar films. In addition to the original score, the film features a song titled "Try Everything" performed by Shakira, apart from providing voice-over to the character Gazelle, with the song written by Sia and Stargate. The soundtrack was released digitally and through CD on March 4 and 25, 2016 by Walt Disney Records. A double-LP picture disc titled Music From Zootopia was released on May 19, 2017.
Coco is the soundtrack album to the Disney/Pixar's 2017 film of the same name. Released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2017, the album features eight original songs written by Germaine Franco, Adrian Molina, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, four alternate versions and 26 score pieces composed by Michael Giacchino.
Soul: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2020 Disney-Pixar film Soul. The soundtrack is a compilation of all 23 score pieces by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from the Soul: Original Motion Picture Score vinyl album as well as 16 original songs by Jon Batiste from the Music from and Inspired by Soul vinyl album. All three albums were released through Walt Disney Records on December 18, 2020.
John Carter is the soundtrack album to the identically-named 2012 science fiction action film directed by Andrew Stanton. The soundtrack, released by Walt Disney Records on March 6, 2012, features original score themes composed by Michael Giacchino, in his first and only collaboration with Stanton, and also replacing his norm composer Thomas Newman, whom he had previously scored for Stanton's animated films: Finding Nemo (2003) and WALL-E (2008). The score received positive critical acclaim.
Inside Out: Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2015 computer-animated film Inside Out, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Pete Docter, the film featured musical score composed by Michael Giacchino. This is the second collaboration between Giacchino and Doctor, after previously working on Up, which fetched the former, an Academy Award for Best Original Score. Giacchino termed the score as "more emotional in comparison to the score for Up" and also being "more personal" due to his experience on parenthood. The score was recorded within January and May 2015, and featured more orchestral and symphonic music accompanied by a range of instruments, from piano, guitar, drum, organ and harp.
The Good Dinosaur is the score album to the 2015 Disney Pixar animated film The Good Dinosaur. The film score is composed by Mychael Danna and his brother Jeff Danna, thus becoming the first Pixar film to be scored by two composers. The score was recorded during April and October 2015, and various instruments were used, including pre-Columbian instruments, to reflect the landscape around the characters, which was an important part of the storytelling. Walt Disney Records released the soundtrack on November 20, 2015.
