Musically speaking, John Powell is certainly one of the most charismatic composers we have working today. His work always seems to be full of energy and playfulness but also dramatic force when called upon. So now with an inviting genre like "Happy Feet," it's no surprise that Powell delivers yet another successful contribution to his portfolio. But, this one sure wasn't easy!

Looking back on time spent on this affair, Powell spent a total of over 4 years affiliation with this project. To say that this was a labor of love on some level would be an understatement. With the mammoth task of offering direction for the multiple songs and writing composition for the score material, Powell might still be seeing dancing penguins in his dreams even now.

The album releases for "Happy Feet" were staggered between the song album and the score, the latter of which was released second (and most recently). By getting a sneak preview, so to speak, of the first CD (which I will refer to as Happy Feet 1), I could tell that the score material must have been on par with Powell's other pieces of work in the animated genre. What I couldn't tell from the one score track that was included on Happy Feet 1, however, was the dramatic tones that were also included in the overall score. This was made evident to me by the opening track on the score disc.

The score album begins with a mysterious, deeply thematic cue that can make one think of the world of Gregorian chants. Richly developed, this opening track took me aback as it wasn't what I expected from an animated tale such as this. But this my friends is a good surprise! The first quartet of tracks on the score album draw leverage off of this musical tone and you'll find some nice variations of it in these first 4 cues. In fact, this gregorian-inspired theme is but one of a few enjoyable themes dancing across the many tracks on this album. Another thing that drew me in during the early stages of the score is Powell's soft, delicate strings that carry some warmth with it. Enjoyable to the listener for sure, and probably even more effective toward the viewer as he or she will get emotionally attached to the characters without even knowing it with thematic music such as this!

Throughout your audio journey on this album, you'll hear Powell deliver striking cues of danger when needed, aforementioned softness when appropriate, and a full palette of thematic color throughout. Also, this is the kind of score that gets better with repeat listens as well, since when there is so much detail at work, it takes a bit of time to be able to appreciate it all. For me, these are probably the best types of soundtracks to get involved with since the replay value is high, thus you get an even better value got your buck or euro. But for whatever the case may be, the score for "Happy Feet" can stand on its two own as a delightfully engaging success.

Final Score: For thrills, smiles and a dash of excitement, "Happy Feet" is an effective and charming score that many of you will enjoy. It's not quite up there with his collaborative work from his past animated efforts, but it's not off by much.