Music in 'Treasure Planet'

James Newton Howard composed the 2002 movie, Treasure Planet, which was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Howard is a well-accomplished composer, having worked on various popular franchises like The Hunger Games, Fantastic Beasts, and Christopher Nolan’s rendition of Batman. He’s only worked on a few Disney movies, most of them being pretty underrated, with the exception of Maleficent. He’s done a good variety of soundtracks, which shows his versatility with music.

The music during the movie seems to reflect the most prominent character at the moment, or the scene as a whole. It also seems to be very constant throughout the whole movie. There aren't many moments without music. Even though music in movies is always supposed to be just the background that accompanies the scenes, the music in this movie really exemplifies that. There aren’t many instances where the music completely takes over. It’s always something subtle playing in the background, even when the music is big and dramatic, during chaotic scenes. Which I think is because the soundtrack does a great job fitting into whatever is going on in the movie. The music never throws you off, it just amplifies what you are watching, and it makes you be more involved with the characters and the story. While rewatching it, I realized that whenever it’s focusing on the character B.E.N., who is a robot, the music has a weird flute or whistle kind of sound. I think that this is a great example of the music representing a character, because it helps show off a bit of his weirdness even if people don’t notice that instantly.

Like I mentioned before, there aren’t many scenes where the music is very notable, but there are a few. The one that comes to mind is when the space airport is first shown. The music is the only thing you hear until the shot closes in into the airport and shows the ships that are taking off. The music kind of reminded me of something that could come out of Star Wars. Which makes sense since we are in space. The first few seconds is just the score playing, then, as we take a closer look at the ships, we start hearing the ships too, and a bit of chatter from the airport, but the score is still prevalent enough. It isn’t until the characters start speaking that the score becomes just the background again. The music is very well placed to be able to show off the greatness of the space airport. Makes you feel like that airport is this magnificent thing.

There is another major scene where it’s a montage of various scenes with just music playing, but it’s not part of the soundtrack. The song playing is “I’m Still Here” by John Rzeznik. Even though it’s not part of the score, I feel like this is an important part of the movie, because the montage are the contrasting scenes between the relationship of Jim and his father growing up, and his current growing relationship with Silver, who is becoming a father figure to him. I feel that the song is important because Rzeznik stated that he wrote the song thinking about himself, and how much he could relate to Jim, so he was able to bring to the table a song that strongly talked about what Jim went through. The song is a great accompaniment to the scenes, which also show a great character development for him.

The ending scene is also one where the music is prevalent. This music is definitely noticed by audiences because it is diegetic. There is a creature being the one-man band, playing the music that you are hearing. It’s a very happy party kind of music that one would expect. There’s people clapping and dancing along to it. Then as the scene is ending and preparing to roll the credits, that music slowly fades out and another pop song comes in. But here’s where I have a bit of an issue with it. Growing up I always watched this movie in Spanish, since that is my first language, and the ending song in Spanish is a different one. In the English version of the movie, the ending song is “Always Know Where You Are,” also by John Rzeznik, but played by his band, BBMak. Watching the English version, and having the English song play throws me off. It sounds way too happy and fast for it to be there. The way that the scene ends with Jim seeming a bit pensive, looking out at the stars and thinking of Silver, seems like it would flow better with a slower song, like in the Spanish version. The song in Spanish is “Estrellas Que Me Dan Vida” by Beto Cuevas. To me, it seems way more fitting. The song is of a slower tempo and almost makes you feel pensive along with Jim. It makes me feel like closure happened, whereas with the English song, it almost feels like it’s the ending to a different movie.

Treasure Planet is a movie that I will always hold close to my heart since I grew up with it. Watching it now older, I realize the importance that it contains. I'm sure this movie resonated with many people who went through similar situations as the characters. It's a movie that deserved way more praise and recognition than what t actually got. From a great soundtrack, to visuals, to character development, it's a must watch for everyone.