Well, with the film now out in North America, and having had a chance to see it a couple times, I can state absolutely that I think it was the right decision to re-do the cue where Carl’s house lifts up off the ground (as mentioned in the LA Times). The first version was grand and large, but in watching the movie, the lyrical version is indeed better. It’s too early in the film to “go big,” and the final, more subtle version also better matches the idea of someone floating his house away with balloons. You can hear only very tiny snippets of the original version in one of the later trailers for the movie (in the same scene, as the house is beginning its flight), but honestly, while the other way still would have worked, the final version matches the film much better.
TheIncredible: By now of course the film is out (in North America) as is the soundtrack (for download only). As I stated in the Up Soundtrack thread, I was quite disappointed to see no physical CD for this. There are mentions in the press (just today, in an LA Times article) that Michael will probably get nominated again for this score… yet no one can buy a CD of it – they can only download it.
C-3PO: Yes, it has a very classic feel. Michael really did a great job on this one. One thing to note: for the song (“Spirit of Adventure”), though it’s made to sound “old” in the mix, when you hear it in the movie (at the end of the closing credits), they also add the sound of [spoil]a needle/old scratchy record at the end[/spoil], which was a nice touch (and not heard on the soundtrack). Having seen the movie twice now, I couldn’t find any mention in the end credits as to the singer’s name, or who wrote the lyrics… but according to today’s LA Times article on Giacchino (link in the Up Soundtrack thread), Michael wrote the lyrics as well.
rachelcakes1985: The inside of Sony looks like a meat locker (it looks terrible) but they’ve left it as-is because the sound is so good. Both Fox and Warners had their stages re-done within the last 20 years, but I don’t know the last time anything was done to Sony. In the end though, it’s the sound that matters, and thankfully all three of these large stages have really good sound. By the way, the Sony stage (still sometimes referred to as “MGM”, as that’s what it was for years) is officially the “Streisand Scoring Stage.” Fox is the “Newman Scoring Stage” and Warner Bros is the “Eastwood Scoring Stage.” Tim Simonec and Randy Newman separated at birth? Well, they both can have a wicked sense of humor!
Well, now that the movie and soundtrack has come out, that’ll probably wrap up this thread (though of course if you have any questions, feel free to post them here). Between this Up Tempo thread and last year’s posts on what it was like to work on the “Wall-E” score,
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I hope I’ve given those interested some insight into what it’s been like to record the scores for these great projects. I work on films other than Pixar’s of course, but it’s always special to work on their films. I haven’t done them all (I don’t think anyone has), but was there for the original Toy Story (one of my first jobs!) and have seen the studio prosper while giving us all so much enjoyment. Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and see the movie. For those of you living where the movie hasn’t come out yet… just be patient. It’s worth the wait.