About the Soundtrack:  In yet another star-studded collaboration (as far as composers go), John Powell teams up with Hans Zimmer for the score to "Kung Fu Panda." It's released by the Dreamworks music label and features 16 score tracks that were developed by the composers.  The song track, "Kung Fu Fighting," is what's used to close out the album, offering an updated take on a classic tune. 

For purchase options, I would recommend going with "Best Buy," which at $13.99, negates the cost (and time) I would have had to put in to buy it and dub it from iTunes at $11.99, so it was worth buying the original in this instance.

What You Need to Know: I often said that the only composer I want bringing me the 'Hans Zimmer sound' is Hans himself, not Geoff Zanelli, Steve Jablonsky, Ramin Djawadi, or any of the other graduates from his camp.  With "Kung Fu Panda," the authentic Zimmer experience is in play and this time, John Powell joins the fun.  Since John Powell had previously worked with Hans and has also gone on to become an established composer himself, his presence only added value to the work that was done here.  More to that, I think that Powell has genuinely established a style of his own, so I didn't have any fear that he would set out to mimic the expected sound that the producers were looking for.

 

With a tandem of composers like Zimmer and Powell at work, one could expect some dynamic and entertaining themes for this animated romp, which is indeed what we get with "Kung Fu Panda."  The main theme is at once charming and likeable and places the listener (or viewer) into a position where they will want to root for their unlikely hero throughout the movie.  This theme plays well in the opening track and again in tracks 13 and 14, where it is highlighted with a bit more of an energetic tone in the latter tracks.  In between those tracks, "Kung Fu Panda" plays out as a largely lighthearted listening experience, even if the 'voice' of the instruments tend to sound a bit too bold in certain parts.  For sure, it's certainly a lively experience!

 

Since we're dealing with martial arts, even if it is in an animated, fictional venue, there are musical references to the background of such.  The theme itself feels like a bit of east meets west, but Zimmer and Powell go further by bringing in traditional sounds of the far east into scope.  While the Chinese style of music is a nice and necessary touch, I didn't get the feeling that the performance or use of such were too refined or 'classical' in nature.  Instead, it blended into the sound design of the soundtrack itself, thus making it consistent in that regard.  And let's face it -- "Kung Fu Panda"  isn't exactly "Farewell My Concubine" or "Raise the Red Lantern," so a traditional, classical style wasn't what was needed here. 

As far as the energy of the album -- it rides pretty steadily throughout, though the second half of the album raises the level higher.  From track 9 onward, the music is fleshed out a bit more and the energy level picks up a notch or two.  I particularly enjoyed the Kung Fu Panda march, or so I call it, that comes up in Track 13 which punctuates the positive run during the second half of the album.

Overall, while the tunes from 'Panda' is not the type of music that will set the world ablaze, it is entertaining and offers a very nice theme to carry the score forward.  In short, it's simply fun, and that's how a soundtrack for an animated film should play out.  Thankfully, both Zimmer and Powell catch that drift.

Final Score: The combination of Zimmer and Powell proves successful enough with "Kung Fu Panda" and is worth a listen.  The main theme is charming, the use of Asian instruments broadens the score and the pulse of the music is right in line with the tenor of the movie.  With these three factors, there is enough going for this score to proclaim it a success. 

 

Now lets see if we can finally get that Powell and Gregson-Williams re-union together...