Wunderkind (song)

Last updated
"Wunderkind"
Single by Alanis Morissette
from the album The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (soundtrack)
ReleasedDecember 13, 2005
Recorded2005
Genre Pop rock
Length5:19
Label Walt Disney Records
Songwriter(s) Alanis Morissette
Harry Gregson-Williams
Producer(s) Mike Elizondo

"Wunderkind" is a song written and recorded by Alanis Morissette and produced by Mike Elizondo for the soundtrack of the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .

Contents

Background

Morissette was inspired to write the song after watching a rough cut of the film; according to her, the song seemed to flow from her and "really touches me deeply". She wrote it on a Friday, recorded it on Saturday, and handed it in on Sunday. [1] After the release of "Wunderkind", Morissette enlisted producer Mike Elizondo to co-produce her tenth album. [2] The protagonist of the song, which is written from the point of view of the character of Lucy Pevensie, [3] describes herself as "a magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment", "a wunderkind" and "a princess on the way to [her] throne" during the chorus. The string arrangements were in charge of Harry Gregson-Williams, the movie's composer.

Release and reception

IGN Music wrote that it was "equally captivating" as Imogen Heap's soundtrack contribution "Can't Take It In", with Morissette "letting her warble drip delicately over a piano driven lament. It's one of the best things she's done in a long time." [4] Sci Fi Weekly also described it as "captivating", writing "Morissette delivers [it] with a depth of feeling that makes one sit up and take notice." [5] Movie Music UK called the song "wholly unremarkable ... it doesn't help that Alanis Morissette can't pronounce the word 'wunderkind' properly - it comes out as "wander" (as in walk around aimlessly) and "kind" (as in being nice to someone)." [6] Similarly, Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks.com wrote "wait until you hear Alanis Morissette belt out her classless pronunciation of '[w]underkind'", and compared it to Annie Lennox's "Into the West", a song on the soundtrack for the 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . [7]

"Wunderkind" was nominated for the 2006 Golden Globe for "Best Original Song" (see 63rd Golden Globe Awards nominees). After the nominations were announced, Morissette's home was inundated with phone calls, leading her to assume that "something must be wrong, somebody must be hurt"; she later said she was "excited that some light is being shone on [the song]." [1]

The song was premiered on AOL Music on November 18, 2005 (see 2005 in music), [8] ahead of the December release of the film and of the soundtrack album The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , on which it is featured. It was subsequently released as a radio single in some parts of Asia in early 2006 (see 2006 in music).

On February 28, 2010, Morissette performed the song at the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Because of that, the song charted at #4 on iTunes Canada.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i> Series of childrens fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted for radio, television, the stage, film and computer games. The series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals. It narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the Narnian world. Except in The Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world who are magically transported to Narnia, where they are sometimes called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia from evil. The books span the entire history of Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The Last Battle.

Alanis Morissette Canadian-American singer-songwriter

Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two mildly successful dance-pop albums. Afterward, as part of a recording deal, she moved to Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. In 1995, she released Jagged Little Pill, a more rock-oriented album which sold more than 33 million copies globally and is her most critically acclaimed work to date. This was made into a rock musical of the same name in 2017, which earned 15 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. Her more experimental follow-up album, electronic-infused Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998.

Lucy Pevensie

Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan. Also, of all the humans who have visited Narnia, Lucy is perhaps the one that believes in Narnia the most. She is ultimately crowned Queen Lucy the Valiant, co-ruler of Narnia along with her two brothers and her sister. Lucy is the central character of the four siblings in the novels. Lucy is a principal character in three of the seven books, and a minor character in two others.

Harry Gregson-Williams British composer

Harry David Gregson-Williams is an English composer, conductor, orchestrator, and music producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the Metal Gear series, Spy Game, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Déjà Vu, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Martian, Antz, Chicken Run, the Shrek franchise, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas, Early Man, and Catch-22. He is the older brother of composer Rupert Gregson-Williams.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> 2005 feature film directed by Andrew Adamson, adaptation of the 1950 childrens fantasy novel

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 fantasy film co-written and directed by Andrew Adamson, based on the 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It was co-produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures. William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley play Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, four British children evacuated during the Blitz to the countryside, who find a wardrobe that leads to the fantasy world of Narnia. There they ally with the lion Aslan against the forces of Jadis, the White Witch.

<i>Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> 2005 soundtrack album by Various artists

Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a collection of songs by various Christian artists with the common theme of C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. The album was released in anticipation of the December 9, 2005 premiere of the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The artists are Christian music personalities, such as Bethany Dillon, Kutless, and tobyMac. By October 2005, the songs "Remembering You" by Steven Curtis Chapman and "Waiting For The World To Fall" by Jars of Clay were already being played on Contemporary Christian radio.

Georgie Henley English actress

Georgina Helen Henley is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of Lucy Pevensie throughout The Chronicles of Narnia film series.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> (soundtrack) 2005 soundtrack album by Harry Gregson-Williams

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the soundtrack of the film of the same name. Harry Gregson-Williams composed the soundtrack, which was released on December 13, 2005 by Walt Disney Records.

The Chronicles of Narnia series of films is based on The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of novels by C. S. Lewis. From the seven books, three were adapted—The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008), and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)—which collectively grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i> (video game)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an action-adventure game released in 2005 by Traveller's Tales. The game is based on the novel-adapted movie of the same name. It was released in November before the movie for most major consoles including the GameCube, PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. Also in 2005, a role-playing game, a strategy game and a chess game were released for wireless phone systems by Disney Mobile. A significant feature has William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Anna Popplewell, Georgie Henley, Elizabeth Hawthorne, and Jim Broadbent reprising their roles from the film.

<i>Flavors of Entanglement</i> 2008 studio album by Alanis Morissette

Flavors of Entanglement is the seventh studio album, fifth international release and last Maverick Records release by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. The album, which was originally set for an April release, came out on May 30, 2008, in Germany, Benelux, and Ireland, internationally on June 2, and in the United States on June 10. It was produced by Guy Sigsworth. Flavors won a Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards. The album gets its name from a lyric in the track "Moratorium".

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 1950 novel by C.S. Lewis.

<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</i> 2010 film by Michael Apted

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<i>The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</i> (soundtrack) 2010 soundtrack album by David Arnold

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. David Arnold composed the soundtrack, which was released on December 7, 2010. The soundtrack received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "There's a Place for Us" at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.

Music of <i>The Chronicles of Narnia</i> film series

The music of the Chronicles of Narnia film series was recorded and released in conjunction with the post-production and releases of each of the three corresponding films.

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages. Written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, illustrated by Pauline Baynes and published in London between October 1950 and March 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for television, radio, the stage, film, in audio books, and as video games.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Narnia:

Remembering You (song) 2005 single by Steven Curtis Chapman

"Remembering You" is a song by American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman. Written and composed by Chapman, Caleb Chapman, and David Campbell, it was released in August 2005 as the first single from the soundtrack album Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), a collection of songs recorded by contemporary Christian music artists that was released to promote the upcoming Walt Disney Pictures film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Christian audiences. A pop song with Celtic and folk influences, and a prominent string section, the song is written from the perspective of the characters in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the end of the story.

References

  1. 1 2 "Reactions to Golden Globe nominations". USA Today . Associated Press. December 13, 2005. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  2. ↑ Baltin, Steve. "Alanis Writing Memoir, Album". Rolling Stone . January 13, 2006. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  3. ↑ Brennan, Mike. "Exclusive - The Chronicles of Narnia - First Listen". SoundtrackNet. November 14, 2005. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  4. ↑ D., Spence. "The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Original Soundtrack". IGN Music. December 23, 2005. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  5. ↑ Sirois, A.L. "The Chronicles of Narnia Soundtrack". Sci Fi Weekly . January 18, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  6. ↑ "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" Archived 2007-06-08 at the Wayback Machine . Movie Music UK. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  7. ↑ "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Hear Alanis Morissette's 'Wunderkind' on AOL". NarniaWeb.com. November 18, 2005. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
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