As I mentioned earlier, one of my four "J"s of movie soundtracks is James Horner, the composer of soundtracks for "Titanic" "Braveheart" and "Avatar". But in my mind, James Horner was at his absolute peak back in 1988, the year he composed the scores for two movies: "Willow" and "The Land Before Time". "The Land Before Time" is a very short film - only 69 minutes - but the movie is filled almost entirely with music. It's an animated movie, directed at fairly young children, but like its cousins "Bambi" or "Finding Nemo" there's some pretty tragic stuff going on. The music doesn't talk down to the audience. It treats children's emotions - their understanding of loss and pain - just as seriously as it would adults'. I've often found that animated movies have some of the best scores. Since they can't rely on the visual subtleties of a live actor's performance, the music needs to transmit more feeling than in other films. Some might think this means the music is manipulative. I don't think that's true. Animated scores are just often richer and more melodic than live action scores, and therefore more satisfying. This song, "The Great Migration" (the first one in the soundtrack) establishes the world and characters, as well as their search for a new home. The entire soundtrack, including the pop song by Diana Ross, is wonderful and worth seeking out. Keep an ear open for the shiver-inducing violins at 6:15.
Album info: http://www.amazon.com/Land-Before-Time-James-Horner/dp/B000002O5Q
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