Director: Tim Hill
Official site: http://www.garfieldmovie.com
Garfield : A tail of two kitties (aka. Garfield 2) (2006)
Director: Tim Hill
Official site: http://www.garfieldmovie.com
Score soundtrack released 2006.7 as Bulletproof BPF 1005
THE FILM
Banking on the questionable romanticism of London (is there a rose-tinted lense?) and the perennial (and sometimes downright disturbingly characatured) view of the British as a nation of raised-nosed castle dwellers and butlers (just as Steve Martin had to have stripey socks for The Pink Panther), Garfield 2's new director Tim Hill works in a fun if rather overused spin on the Prince and the Pauper story, allowing the slob cat, whose master is on a mission to propose to his comparatively less daft girlfriend, to indulge his fantasies whilst masquerading as royalty. What this really entails is similar slapstick in more opulent surroundings, surrounded by a panoply of affordable British supporting cast.
THE SCORE
Christophe Beck keeps continuity between films by reintroducing (albeit more creatively) the 4-note principal motif that was the most recognizable ingredient of the first film. Tail of Two Kitties, however, swaps some of the more chaotic cartoonish cues for more lyricism and thematicism, both in the depiction of the film's contrasting setting and in the more relaxed mood the plotting brings. He also has a less of the pop intrusion to write round, so both underscore and scene-setting are given more space to breathe. Important! Beck's success in the film is largely in the matching of music to fun action - which he does well in both films, but the score on disc is superior in the sequal because of this fuller cue coverage and tunefulness; there is also greater variety of moods covered and styles swiped (contrast 'The lonely housecat' with 'Mirror dance' and then with the groovy 'London crawling') which brings more pleasure to the listening experience away from the film - perhaps not to the extent of The Pink Panther (which after all had magic thematic material), but certainly worth the price of a disc to fans of film music. Lighthearted, but not necessarily lightweight.
THE SOUNDTRACK
Garfield: The Movie
01. Garfield's theme [ex1]
02. Arf, arf, arf, quickly! [clip]
03. Stupid gone wild
04. Dogs run away
05. Move Pinky move
06. Shock collar
07. Bucket trap
08. Jon and Liz [ex2]
09. Animal control
10. Plate of courage
11. Are we there yet?
12. Lost and found
13. A really big train set
14. Home again
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
15. Carlyle Castle [ex3]
16. One pampered prince
17. Catnapped
18. Chasing tail
19. Heir to the throne
20. Stowaways
21. Fat cat waltz
22. Destiny calls
23. The lonely housecat [clip]
24. Room wrecker
25. Mirror dance [clip]
26. G-cat
27. Cat got your bum
28. Taunting Dargis
29. A hero and a gentleman
30. London crawling [clip]
Themes to watch out for: ex1 appears in various guises through both scores; ex2 is the dappy Jon and Liz love theme which is best heard on tracks 8 and 29; ex3 is a noble theme for the second film, heard on track 15. Other themes covering the more mischievious and chaotic aspects of the score would no doubt come from a more indepth analysis..
Soundtrack credits (combined for both films): Composed and produced by Christophe Beck; recorded and mixed by Casey Stone; orchestrations by Kevin Kliesch; arrangements by Thomas Blau; orchestration of track 23 by Adam Blau; conducted by Mike Nowak, Pete Anthony, Jeff Schindler; recorded as The Newman Stage, Twentieth Century Fox. IMdb.com lists Thomas Bergersen as orchestrator and arranger for Garfield 2; Pete Anthony as conductor for Gartfield 2, and Jerry Giles as conductor for Garfield 1.. but not that sort of conductor!!
Review in Intrada: Original soundtracks from initial two Garfield movies with spotlight on second. Christophe Beck tackles first movie (GARFIELD: THE MOVIE) with energetic score for orchestra, delivers non-stop parade of motifs, ideas. Full orchestra plays but timbre remains clear, light-ish in touch. Not silly by any means, busy music bristles with energy. Second score (GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES) brings slightly regal tone to otherwise similar timbre. Beck allows more room for melody, pop-ish flavors, wider array of material. This time composer does put tongue-in-cheek. Two scores contrast well while dealing with similar subject matter - an animated cat with attitude!
