"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
Score Composed by Danny Elfman
   Audio Clips: Main Titles | Wheels in Motion

Not the biggest Elfman fan here. I know he has quite a legacy firmly entrenched within the soundtrack community for all of his high impact efforts, but his style has never really quite worked for me. There is not an Elfman score in my collection that I listen to regularly from start to finish. He's teased me before with highly energized main titles ("Mars Attacks") or exceptional action music ("Planet of the Apes"), but for my taste, he's yet to produce a complete effort to date that can stand powerfully on its own. String together a compilation, though, and you'll be in business!

With this new entry, Elfman is back in the colorful world of Tim Burton's with his scoring opportunity for "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." And this time, he delivers a soundtrack with a complete and profound creativity. Elfman hits every note perfectly in this juggernaut score.

Going in, if you're a film music follower of any sort, you'll know that Elfman + Burton + a chocolate factory will equate to madness. Thus is the case with the opening act on the album, with a lineup of songs that seemed to have emerged from another dimension. Each of these songs represent a theme for a character in the movie, and each distinguishes themselves from one another. These cues don't necessarily make for good driving music, but they're fun nevertheless!

Getting past the first five tracks will prove rewarding. The Main Titles emerge with a remarkable energy erupting from the music. The music moves so briskly, you may need to pause the music just to catch your breath! Part wacky, part melodic, and all fun, Elfman was born for this scoring opportunity.

Another striking aspect of this score is the epic quality that some of the music impressed on me. There is range and depth, tenderness and grandeur, all rolled onto one CD. This is the type of complete effort I had always rooted for from Elfman.

When you've traveled through the passageways of this score and arrive at the End Credit Suite, you'll find that there's a party waiting for you there! Uniting Wonka's theme with an utterly retro display of skill, Elfman closes out "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with a type of wacky flourish that will make you smile.

If you're a soundtrack fan, which I suspect you are, then I definitely encourage you to add "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to your collection. It's the kind of music the rekindles a joy that we all seek to embrace with film scores.

Final Score: Danny Elfman separates himself from the summer competition with a score that rivals any of his best efforts.