The film marked Howard's first live-action film from Disney, as he previously scored for the Disney animation films Dinosaur (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Treasure Planet (2002). The score album was released by Walt Disney Records on May 26, 2014. It includes 22 tracks from Howard's score, and a cover version of the song "Once Upon a Dream" performed by Lana Del Rey. The track was earlier released as a single on January 26, 2014, to coincide the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and also released for free digital download on Google Play. The score received positive reviews from critics.
Background
James Newton Howard was announced to compose the film score in October 2012.[1][2] Robert Stromberg had added that he wanted him to score for the film, in the very first place and had tracked the pre-visuals of the director's cut with his music from other films. When Howard was officially onboard, Stromberg felt that "he emotionally heightened the Maleficent with what felt like a classic film score".[3] The recording was held at the Abbey Road Studios in London.
Apart from Howard's score, the album also featured a cover version of the track "Once Upon a Dream" performed by Lana Del Rey.[4][5] The track is originally composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and written by Jack Lawrence and Sammy Fain from the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, and features as the title song for Maleficent.[6] Del Rey performed the cover version of the track on stage at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014,[7][8] where the song was also released for free digital download during its first week of availability by the Google Play Store,[9][10] and by February 4, the song was made available for purchase.[11]
The score received positive critical response. Jonathan Broxton wrote in his review, stating "Stylistically, you can look to scores like Waterworld, King Kong, Lady in the Water and The Last Airbender for comparisons, but Maleficent is still has a sense of individual flair, and is distinct enough to stand on its own."[14] James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "Maleficent is big and bold, featuring memorable themes and emotional development. There isn't a hint of the malaise which seems to have overcome its composer in recent years and it is a truly impressive return to form, easily his finest score since Lady in the Water and perhaps even further back than that."[15]Mfiles.com wrote "an enjoyably old-fashioned film score experience, one perhaps lacking a defining identity, but a beautiful return to form for the composer nonetheless".[16]
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "the swell and bombast of James Newton Howard's score comes on strong in the early sequences before finding a groove".[17] Mark Hughes was more critical about the film in his review for Forbes, but praised Howard's score.[18] Heather Phares of Allmusic called the score as "foreboding yet witty" and praised Del Rey's cover of "Once Upon a Dream" calling it as "eerie and alluring" and added that it "... serves as a reminder as to why she's become one of the most in-demand soundtrack contributors of the 2010s".[19]
Andrew Barker of Variety wrote "James Newton Howard's sweeping score locates a nice sweet spot somewhere between Erich Korngold and Danny Elfman, and Lana Del Rey's gothy take on the "Sleeping Beauty" showstopper "Once Upon a Dream" makes for a fitting closer".[20] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune, in a mixed review, called the score as "sloshy and pushy".[21]Filmtracks.com wrote " Perhaps the most brilliant move that Howard made with this score was one that many listeners won't even notice, and that's because it's an intentional absence of theme that is key to the plot. Howard seemingly intended not to provide him with a theme, instead content to write meaninglessly fluffy underscore for his scenes [...] There are few downsides to the soundtrack for Maleficent on the whole. One of them is Howard's seeming inability to really clarify his themes with the obvious delineation you typically hear in massive fantasy scores. In other words, some listeners will have difficulty placing the themes and instead content themselves by soaking in the whole. It is not as taut a thematic narrative as Lady in the Water, but few scores will be. Still, you rarely find fantasy scores of this caliber in the 2010's, such spectacular orchestral majesty a truly rare commodity."[22]
Orchestration – Jeff Atmajian, John Ashton Thomas, Jon Kull, Marcus Trumpp, Peter Bateman
Orchestra conductor – Pete Anthony
Orchestra contractor – Isobel Griffiths, Jo Changer
Orchestra leader – Thomas Bowes
Instrumentation:
Bass – Allen Walley, Andy Pask, Leon Bosch, Mary Scully, Paddy Lannigan, Paul Kimber, Roger Linley, Steve Williams*, Steve Mair
Bassoon – Dominic Morgan, Rachel Simms, Richard Skinner, Stephen Maw
Celesta – Dave Hartley
Cello – Caroline Dearnley, Chris Worsey, Dave Daniels, Frank Schaefer, Ian Burdge, Joely Koos, Jonathan Williams, Martin Loveday, Nick Cooper, Paul Kegg, Tim Gill, Anthony Lewis, Tony Woollard, Josephine Knight
Clarinet – Robert Plane, Anthony Pike, David Fuest
Contrabass – Anthony Pike, David Fuest
Fiddle – Sonia Slany
Flute – Anna Noakes, Helen Keen, Karen Jones, Nina Robertson
Harp – Camilla Pay, Helen Tunstall, Skaila Kanga
Horn – Corinne Bailey, David Pyatt, John Thurgood, Laurence Davies, Martin Owen, Mike Thompson, Mike Kidd, Nick Korth, Nigel Black, Phillip Eastop, Richard Berry, Richard Watkins, Roger Montgomery
Oboe – David Theodore, Jane Marshall, Leila Ward
Percussion – Chris Baron, Frank Ricotti, Gary Kettel, Paul Clarvis, Sam Walton, Stephen Henderson, Bill Lockhart
Piano – Simon Chamberlain
Trombone – Andy Wood, Darren Smith, Dudley Bright, Edward Tarrant, Emma Hodgson, Mark Nightingale, Martin Kelly, Paul Milner, Peter Davies, Roger Argente
Trumpet – Alistair Mackie, Kate Moore, Paul Mayes, Philip Cobb
Tuba – Nick Hitchens, Owen Slade
Viola – Andy Parker, Bob Smissen, Bruce White, Clair Finnimore, Edward Vanderspar, Fiona Bonds, Garfield Jackson, Helen Kamminga, Julia Knight, Martin Humbey, Max Baillee, Paul Cassidy, Peter Lale, Rachel Bolt, Rachel Roberts, Reiad Chibah, Steve Wright, Vicci Wardman
Violin – Boguslaw Kostecki, Cathy Thompson, Chris Tombling, Debbie Preece, Debbie Widdup, Emlyn Singleton, Everton Nelson, Gaby Lester, Ian Humphries, Jackie Hartley, John Bradbury, Jonathan Evans-Jones, Jonathan Rees, Julian Leaper, Kathy Gowers, Lorraine McAslan, Maciej Rakowski, Mark Berrow, Martin Burgess, Natalia Bonner, Patrick Kiernan, Paul Willey, Perry Montague-Mason, Philippa Ibbotson, Philippe Honoré, Ralph De Souza, Rita Manning, Roger Garland, Steve Morris, Tom Pigott-Smith, Warren Zelinski, Sonia Slany, Thomas Bowes
Alto vocals – Alexandra Gibson, Claire Henry, Clara Sanabras, Clememtine Franks, Deryn Edwards, Freya Jacklin, Helen Brooks, Judith Rees, Martha McLorinan
Bass vocals – Adrian Peacock, Benjamin Bevan, Lawrence Wallington, Mark Williams, Michael Dore, Neil Bellingham, Nicholas Ashby, Nicholas Garrett
Soprano vocals – Alison Hill, Ann De Renais, Cheryl Enever, Grace Davidson, Ildiko Allen, Jacqueline Barron, Joanna Forbes Lestrange, Juliet Schiemann, Kate Ashby, Kate Trethewey, Philippa Murray, Ruth Kerr
Tenor vocals – Benedict Hymas, Gareth Morris, Harvey Brough, Henry Moss, Norbert Meyn, Peter Wilman, Philip Sheffield, Richard Edgar Wilson, Richard Eteson, Simon Haynes
