Music from the Motion Picture: The Adventures of Tintin : The Secret of the Unicorn
Film score by
John Williams
Released21 October 2011 (2011-10-21)
GenreSoundtrack
Length1:05:26
LabelSony Classical
ProducerJohn Williams
John Williams chronology
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
(2008) 		Music from the Motion Picture: The Adventures of Tintin : The Secret of the Unicorn
(2011) 		War Horse
(2011)

Music from the Motion Picture: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is the soundtrack for the 2011 animated action/adventure film The Adventures of Tintin directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, based on Belgian cartoonist Hergé's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. The film score is composed by John Williams, which is the first time he had composed the score of a film since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) as well as his first score for an animated film. The score was released on 21 October 2011 by Sony Classical Records.[1][2] Williams received a nomination for Best Original Score at the 84th Academy Awards for his work in the film.[3]

Production

Most of the score was written while the animation was still in the early stages, with Williams seeking to employ "the old Disney technique of doing music first and have the animators trying to follow what the music is doing". Eventually, several cues had to be revised during the editing of the film, when the editor Michael Kahn shown the rough cut. The composer decided to employ various musical styles, with "1920s–30s European jazz" for the opening credits and "pirate music" for the battle at sea.[4][5]

Track 13, "Presenting Biance Castafiore," quotes music from The Barber of Seville, specifically the aria "Una voce poco fa."

Track list

All music is composed by John Williams

Music from the Motion Picture: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn track listing[6]
No.TitleLength
1."The Adventures of Tintin"03:04
2."Snowy's Theme"02:10
3."The Secret of the Scrolls"03:13
4."Introducing the Thompsons and Snowy’s Chase"04:08
5."Marlinspike Hall"03:59
6."Escape from the Karaboudjan"03:21
7."Sir Francis and the Unicorn"05:05
8."Captain Haddock Takes the Oars"02:07
9."Red Rackham’s Curse and the Treasure"06:10
10."Capturing Mr. Silk"02:58
11."The Flight to Bagghar"03:33
12."The Milanese Nightingale"01:20
13."Presenting Bianca Castafiore"03:28
14."The Pursuit of the Falcon"05:43
15."The Captain’s Counsel"02:10
16."The Clash of the Cranes"03:48
17."The Return to Marlinspike Hall and Finale"05:51
18."The Adventure Continues"02:58
Total length:65:26

Accolades

See also: The Adventures of Tintin (film) § Accolades
Award Category Recipients and nominees Result
Academy Awards[7] Best Original Score John Williams Nominated
Annie Award[8] Best Music in a Feature Won
BMI Film & TV Awards[9] Film Music Award Won
Grammy Awards[10] Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media Nominated
Houston Film Critics Society[11] Best Original Score Nominated
Saturn Awards[12] Best Music Nominated
World Soundtrack Academy[13] Best Original Soundtrack of the Year Nominated
Soundtrack Composer of the Year Nominated

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Empire
Film Score Reviews
Filmtracks
Limelight
Movie Wave
Soundtrack Geek8.33/10
Static Mass Emporium

James Christopher Monger of AllMusic stated that, "Williams does not exaggerate the effects for comic purposes as he does, for example, in his Indiana Jones scores. Rather, this is ear candy for a movie that is equally sweet."[14] Author Brad Kamminga wrote: "John Williams score for The Adventures of Tintin lacks the glorious and splendorous themes that defined many of Williams famous scores. Aside from that The Adventures of Tintin is an excellent score. John Williams, in his old age, proves once again that he has not lost his touch and remains to be  a truly unrivaled composer [...] If you are a huge fan of John Williams and his complex works, this is definitely a score you need to purchase, but if you only enjoy the brilliant main theme songs Williams has composed in the past, don’t expect to hear them in this score."[15]

Filmtracks.com wrote "if there is no substitute for John Williams' intellectual superiority over his peers, for even when approaching 80 years old, his comedic adventure techniques dazzle you with complexities of structure and instrumentation not heard elsewhere".[16] Writing for the Limelight (magazine), Francis Merson summarised the review as "John Williams takes on a cartoon legend".[17] Soundtrack Geek-based Jorn Tilnes wrote "John Williams is well and truly back ladies and gentlemen and you can really hear it in the score how terrific a composer he is. It's so full of energy, adventure and action and is perhaps only let down by a slight inconsistency. It doesn't sound like vintage John Williams from start to finish, but there are a lot of fun to be had and although the themes aren't as good as Williams absolute best, they represents Tintin well and some of them are easily remembered.[18]

In the review for Static Mass Emporium, Phil Blanckley summarised "The rhythmic flow of the score keeps you gripped throughout, and although it may not tug at the heartstrings as much as Williams' previous compositions, it does what it is intended to do – create the feeling of adventure. At times, it does seem like a never-ending frenzy of a musical mayhem, but it his John williams' at his best."[19]

References

  1. ^ "Sony Classical to Release John Williams' 'The Adventures of Tintin' Soundtrack". Film Music Reporter. 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  2. ^ "'The Adventures of Tintin' Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Tintin: The Score", The Adventures of Tintin DVD
  5. ^ Keegan, Rebecca (8 January 2012). "John Williams and Steven Spielberg mark 40 years of collaboration". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  6. ^ "The Adventures Of Tintin: John Williams". Amazon. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Nominees for the 84th Academy Awards". oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  8. ^ "'Tintin,' 'Puss in Boots,' 'Cars 2' among nominees for top Annie Award". Los Angeles Times. 5 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 December 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  9. ^ Gallo, Phil (17 May 2012). "Backbeat: Rolfe Kent Receives Career Achievement Honor at BMI Film and TV Awards". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  10. ^ Brooks, Brian (6 December 2012). "'The Hunger Games' And 'The Muppets' Top Grammy Awards Movie Nominees". Movieline. PMC. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  11. ^ Lodge, Guy (11 December 2011). "'The Artist' leads with 7 Houston film critics nods". HitFix. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  12. ^ Goldberg, Matt (29 February 2012). "Saturn Award Nominations Announced; HUGO and HARRY POTTER Lead with 10 Nominations Each". Collider. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  13. ^ "World Soundtrack Academy". worldsoundtrackacademy.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  14. ^ Christopher, James; Monger. "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Music from the Motion Picture) - Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  15. ^ Kamminga, Brad (9 January 2013). "The Adventures of Tintin Score Review". Film Score Reviews. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  16. ^ "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (John Williams)". Filmtracks. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  17. ^ Merson, Francis (1 June 2013). "Review: John Williams: The Adventures of Tintin (Soundtrack) - Classical Music". Limelight Magazine. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  18. ^ Tilnes, Jorn (18 May 2012). "The Adventures Of Tintin Soundtrack Review". Soundtrack Geek. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  19. ^ Blanckley, Phil. "The Adventures Of Tintin - Soundtrack (CD, 2011) Review". Static Mass Emporium. Retrieved 14 February 2022.

External links

The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
John Williams
Categories