Overview

Epic Mickey features Disney's first icon, Mickey Mouse, journeying into the dark and barren world of Wasteland in his first triple A video game title. The score for this title was handled by James Dooley, an acclaimed composer of various blockbusters and long-term collaborator of Hans Zimmer, who has previously scored inFAMOUS and Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier. In this title, Dooley blends the light-hearted melodic characteristics most would associate with Mickey Mouse with dark and epic cinematic elements typical of modern day film scores. Is the resulting fusion a satisfying one?

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The centrepiece of the score is the brand new and iconic theme for Mickey. The memorable melody simultaneously reflects the light-hearted, mischievous, and ultimately endearing characteristics of Mickey Mouse. Its main rendition in "Mickey's Theme" is ideal for demonstrating the concept of the game, shifting from a modest and functional rendition featuring classically-oriented piano and light buoyant strings, into a more epic rendition dominated by triumphant brass. The climax of the theme certainly has a pastiche feel, given its adherence to the classic formula used in many cartoons, making it all the more fitting and likeable. His half-brother, Oswald, also receives an endearing characterisation at the end of the soundtrack release with another light piano melody. It's almost a mirror image of Mickey's theme, with its similarly shaped melody and orchestration. But make mistake: this is no light-hearted score otherwise.

Indeed, the score features many darker moments to represent the surprising protagonist's journey into Wasteland. "Main Titles" is a good musical depiction of a pleasant sunny day gone terrible with its contrasting arrangements of Mickey's theme. It begins with another cheerful rendition of the theme on frivolous woodwinds and bombastic brass, but takes a darker turn from 0:56 with the entrance of an epic crisis motif and more brutal orchestration. "How Micked Ended Up in Wasteland" is a full-bodied description of Mickey's journey into the darkness, taking many twists and turns during its six minute playtime. Like the score as a whole, this track has a very filmic quality, mixing typical Zimmer-esque action segments with dark mystical Elfman-esque portions, yet still retains a Disney feel during its more personal moments and thematic references. It is certainly well-produced, though some will find the dark moments are too dark, and the light moments are too light, to enable the composition to form a cohesive and satisfying whole.

One welcome feature of the score is the use of familiar Disney melodies at key points. Observant listeners will be able to notice interpretations of the popular song "It's a Small World" in "The Gremlin Village", which is appropriate given the location is made up of the remains of the Disneyland attraction. Many gamers and listeners may nevertheless find the arrangement more dark and melodramatic than was necessary for the title. Likewise, there are times when "Transition Games II" pays tribute to Mickey Mouse's first episode Steamboat Willy by using similar musical compositions and instruments, including a Rhodes organ. The result is certainly a bizarre 'trip' down memory lane. Perhaps my favourite rendition, however, is the reprise of "Mickey Mouse Club March" in "Mickeyjunk Mountain", one of the most epic and striking compositions on the score. Once again, Dooley's use of the composition offers a draw to listeners and represents the location well, without overly relying on it as a gimmick.

Beyond these compositions, there are a range of other highlights for those that enjoy the darker aspect of cinematic orchestration. They include "Tomorrow City", with its action-packed fusion of futuristic and organic elements, and "Lonesome Manor" with its slow-building melody and desolate arrangement. Moving to the climax, "The Blot Escapes" emphasises the danger faced by the hero with its extremely dramatic climax. Once again half-Zimmer, half-Elfman in characteristics, this track is so dark and cinematic that it is arguably overblown in a Disney game, even an 'epic' one. This isn't particularly problematic to me as a listener, though I wouldn't recommend the music for kids. After the giant dramatic arch established earlier in the score, "The Epic Finale" is thankfully a suitable track to end the journey and reveal the happy ending. The interplay of strings and woodwind at the end of the track particularly soaks listeners in emotion.

Summary

Handling a project that is associated with many memories can be a very fragile and delicate job and, if not done right, can be messy. Thankfully, James Dooley has generally done a good job in depicting the journey of an iconic Disney character through the world of Wasteland, mixing light and dark elements in his orchestrations throughout. However, his approach is very dramatic in nature and parts of the score are potentially overstated in context, and furthermore his streamlined approach generally favours functionality to artistry. Indeed, those looking for a more simple and understated approach to a Disney crossover will find themselves having more affinity to Yoko Shimomura's Kingdom Hearts score. However, those looking for a more elaborate and epic approach will find themselves enjoying the well-presented score for Epic Mickey on this digital soundtrack release.

Overview

ivine Divinity is a single-player fantasy computer role-playing game created by Larian Studios and released in 2002. The gameplay to this game is really classic and has started a cult following of RPG fans. The music to this game has been written by the well trained and educated composer Kirill Pokrovsky, who had a goal to create a soft and dreamy soundtrack for the game that was adaptive. MAIN BODY The most amazing aspect of this soundtrack is that it really sounds unique and distinct; the melodies are definitely not what we are used to hearing nowadays. Most RPGs tend to go all orchestral with a lot of suspense but this definitely does not apply to Divine divinity as it not only changes the meaning of suspense but uses a wide variety of instruments ranging from simple woodwind to electric guitars. The majority of tracks are ambient type music that are slow and sound relaxingly dreamy. Vocals are one of the major aspect of the soundtrack, there are both female and male. Some sound grim and opera like in tracks such as “An Avenue of Lost Tales” while some sound soft and beautiful in tracks like “Warrior”. The beginning track “Warrior” is absolutely breathtaking and the use of vocals is absolutely spot on. The vocal melodies are very enjoyable and beautiful. The variety of melodies in this single track is also great, as it does not sound repetitive at all. All soundtracks are basically like tracks “Scorching winds” and “Dwarven Clockwork”, they all are very ambient based, slow and steady with soft and lush sounding tunes. In some of these tracks you are bound to hear playful type of melodies, like those heard in “Dwarven clockwork”, which sound very ominous. Ominous is basically the keyword in almost all the sad themed tracks due to the unsettling sounds and ambience, especially in tracks like “Forsaken by Gods” which use a mixture of organs and grim vocals. Although few, there are also bright natured tracks such as “The song of wind”, which use either light acoustics or soft samplers that sound really relaxing and dreamy without any kind of ominous factor. One of the noticeable bright track is “Drunk with Dwarven Mirth”. Dwarves love to enjoy themselves, tracks like “Drunk with Dwarven Mirth” play on odd sounding melodies to touch that aspect and the melody of the lyrics sound very classically Indian in a sense. Another type of style you can hear in tracks like “A Sense of Disorientation” is Middle Eastern, due to suiting melodies and acoustic instruments, another perfect example of the Middle Eastern element is “Warring Winds and Crimson Tides”, which sounds very classic and takes us back to the Egyptian time of prophet and pharaohs. For most soundtracks the backbone for action and thriller composition is Suspense, well not so for this one as the suspense scoring in the game, isn’t the regular kind of suspense you hear with loud brass and unsettling melodies instead its quiet and ominous, using soft vocals with a mix of rhythmic percussion that is bound to leave you a bit uncomfortable, some tracks like “Those who roam the sewers” even sound very silent hill like. Good example of suspense is “Tangible Suspense”, as said before it does not use loud noises and unsettling melodies to tense the player but instead lets the silent mixture of ominous background vocals and desperate woodwind or percussion to overcome the feeling of the listener, hypnotizing them, forcing them to pay attention. The effects of these tracks are effectively doubled when heard in a stereo set up like earphones, as the whispering vocal sounds move around your head from left to right, not only vocals but in tracks like “Lies and Chaos” the instrumental hits also move around making for a very unique and enjoyable listen. SUMMARY The talented composer Kirill Pokrovsky focused on making the soundtrack slow, relaxing and dreamy, and has done exactly that. This soundtrack is definitely unique and very distinct as it is definitely not something you are used to hearing. The melodies do their job well in the game and are really adaptive to the situations. The vocals are superb and definitely breathtaking Even I, who am an avid Action soundtrack listener and non-rpg gamer, can appreciate the talent of the composer and the compositions of the soundtrack. This soundtrack will suit anyone who loves slow but deep sounding and relaxing music.