News Contents: How to train your dragon score

How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture was composed by John Powell for the film of the same name and released by Varèse Sarabande on March 23, 2010. The score earned Powell his first Academy Award nomination and his third BAFTA nomination, which he lost to The Social Network and The King's Speech, respectively. The score also won the International Film Music Critics Association 2011 Awards for Best Original Score for an Animated Feature and Film Score of the Year, and was nominated twice for Film Music Composition of the Year for the tracks "Forbidden Friendship" and "Test Drive".

Background

How to Train Your Dragon was composer John Powell's sixth collaboration with DreamWorks Animation. Powell had scored many of DreamWorks' previous films, but this was the first of DreamWorks' films where Powell helmed the score on his own (on his previous efforts with DreamWorks, he had collaborated with other composers such as Harry Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer). Zimmer had long praised Powell's abilities, and on many occasions, asserted that he was the superior composer between them, thus firmly supporting Powell's first solo animation effort. For the score, Powell utilized many Celtic influences, employing instruments like the fiddle, bagpipes, dulcimer, pennywhistle, and even a harpsichord.

Icelandic singer Jónsi was brought on to write and record the song "Sticks & Stones", which plays during the end credits of the film.

In an interview with The Wrap's Steve Pond, Powell talked about his intent for the score:

Critical Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Film Music Magazine	(A)
Film Score Click Track
Filmtracks
MovieCues
Movie Music UK
ScoreNotes	(8.5/10)
Soundtrack Geek	(10/10)
Tracksounds	(10/10)

The score was exceptionally well-received, earning universal praise from professional film score critics and fans alike. Powell earned a BAFTA nomination for his work as well as his first Oscar nomination, losing both nominations to Alexandre Desplat for his score for The King's Speech, and to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their score for The Social Network, respectively. The music also won an Annie Award for the Best Music in a Feature Production from the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood.

Christian Clemmensen, founder of Filmtracks.com and member of the IFMCA, praised the score, saying that "Powell has finally managed to create a well rounded and more easily digestible variation on his typical mannerisms for How to Train Your Dragon." He however criticized the use of Scottish and Irish tones in a score meant for Vikings, as well as the Jónsi song "Sticks & Stones", which he felt "[drained] all the enthusiasm out of the environment created by Powell." However, Clemmensen still awarded the score the highest rating of five stars, and later listed the score as one of the Top Five of the year.

Other reviewers expressed similar opinions about the score. Jonathan Broxton, founder of Movie Music UK and another member of the IFMCA said: "It’s very rare that one can listen to an entire 70+ minute album and honestly say that all of them have musical merit, but that is genuinely the case here. Usually scores of this length have a fair amount of filler, [...] but on How to Train Your Dragon every cue has worth." Archie Watt from MovieCues said: "I sincerely hope that Powell’s work will be rewarded with an Oscar in 2011. It couldn’t be more deserved—the score is by far the best of the year to date, and I can’t foresee any other score taking that accolade from this masterpiece." Both reviewers also gave the score their highest ratings of five stars, and both awarded it as the Best Score of the Year.

Awards and Nominations

Awards
Award	Category	Name	Outcome
Academy Awards	Academy Award for Best Original Score	John Powell	Nominated
Annie Awards	Annie Award for Best Music in an Animated Feature Production	John Powell	Won
British Academy Film Awards	BAFTA Award for Best Film Music	John Powell	Nominated
International Film Music Critics Association	Film Score of the Year	John Powell	Won
	Best Original Score for an Animated Feature	John Powell	Won
	Film Music Composition of the Year	John Powell - "Forbidden Friendship"	Nominated
	Film Music Composition of the Year	John Powell - "Test Drive"	Nominated
Saturn Awards	Saturn Award for Best Music	John Powell	Pending
World Soundtrack Academy	World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year	John Powell	Nominated
World Soundtrack Academy	World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film	Jón Þór Birgisson	Nominated

Track Listing

The official soundtrack album was released by Varèse Sarabande on March 23, 2010. However, an expanded score was leaked on an online blog, featuring several tracks not included on the official release.

All themes are composed by John Powell, except where noted.

Official Album

No.	Title	Length
1.	"This Is Berk"	4:10
2.	"Dragon Battle" (Not included on Expanded Score)	1:54
3.	"The Downed Dragon"	4:16
4.	"Dragon Training"	3:10
5.	"Wounded"	1:25
6.	"The Dragon Book"	2:22
7.	"Focus, Hiccup!"	2:05
8.	"Forbidden Friendship"	4:10
9.	"New Tail"	2:47
10.	"See You Tomorrow"	3:53
11.	"Test Drive"	2:36
12.	"Not So Fireproof"	1:12
13.	"This Time For Sure"	0:43
14.	"Astrid Goes For A Spin"	0:43
15.	"Romantic Flight"	1:56
16.	"Dragon's Den"	2:29
17.	"The Cove"	1:10
18.	"The Kill Ring"	4:28
19.	"Ready The Ships"	5:13
20.	"Battling The Green Death"	6:18
21.	"Counter Attack"	3:05
22.	"Where's Hiccup?"	2:43
23.	"Coming Back Around"	2:51
24.	"Sticks & Stones" (Written and performed by Jónsi; Not included on Expanded Score)	4:17
25.	"The Vikings Have Their Tea"	2:03
Total length:		72:12

Expanded Score

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Berk Intro" (On official album as "This Is Berk" (split 1))	1:08
2.	"This Is Berk" (On official album as "This Is Berk" (split 2))	3:10
3.	"Did Anybody See That" (Expanded Score only)	1:28
4.	"War Room" (Expanded Score only)	0:47
5.	"Training / Out There" (On official album as "The Downed Dragon")	4:16
6.	"Hiccup Comes Home" (Expanded Score only)	0:28
7.	"Dragon Training"	3:12
8.	"Wounded"	1:26
9.	"The Dragon Book"	2:23
10.	"Focus, Hiccup!"	2:06
11.	"Offering" (Expanded Score only)	0:53
12.	"Forbidden Friendship"	4:12
13.	"New Tail"	2:48
14.	"Teamwork" (Expanded Score only)	0:45
15.	"Charming The Zippleback" (Expanded Score only)	0:26
16.	"See You Tomorrow"	3:54
17.	"Test Drive"	2:37
18.	"Not So Fireproof"	1:13
19.	"This Time For Sure"	0:43
20.	"Astrid Finds Toothless" (Expanded Score only)	0:36
21.	"Astrid Goes For A Spin"	0:43
22.	"Romantic Flight"	1:56
23.	"Dragon's Den"	2:30
24.	"Let's Find Dad" (On official album as "The Cove")	1:10
25.	"Kill Ring / Stop Fight" (On official album as "The Kill Ring")	4:29
26.	"You're Not A Viking" (Expanded Score only)	1:31
27.	"Ready / Comfort" (On official album as "Ready The Ships")	5:15
28.	"Relax / Stroke Hell" (Expanded Score only)	2:08
29.	"Over / Less Okay" (On official album as "Battling The Green Death")	6:18
30.	"Wings!" (On official album as "Counter Attack" (split 1))	1:13
31.	"Counter Attack" (On official album as "Counter Attack" (split 2))	1:54
32.	"Where's Hiccup (Alt.)" (Expanded Score only, but is identical to "Where's Hiccup" with the exception of a short silent pause mid-track.)	2:50
33.	"Where's Hiccup" (On official album as "Where's Hiccup?")	2:45
34.	"Coming Back Around"	2:51
35.	"End Credits" (On official album as "The Vikings Have Their Tea" Originally intended for use during credits, but was unused in the film)	2:04
Total length:		78:23

References

External Links

Official website for the soundtrack
Official website for the film

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon:_Music_from_the_Motion_Picture

2011-04-01

How to train your dragon score

How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture