About the Soundtrack: "Bedtime Stories," composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams, is a film that mismatched the actor with the studio that produced it. After all, who could have ever imagined the antics of a one Adam Sandler put to work for the Walt Disney company? Not I, I tell you, but obviously the 100 million dollars the film has grossed suggests I am wrong to think that way. On a more decisive note, the score by Rupert Gregson-Williams lends a strong presence to the film and further distinguishes the composer's independent voice. I don't think Rupert's primary introduction will be as "Harry's brother" for too much longer.
What You Need to Know: The beauty of a film like "Bedtime Stories" is that there are many shifting locales and characters that allow the composer to dabble in a variety of genres in just one movie. Taking advantage of this setup, Rupert Gregson-Williams composed a score that flourishes in many of the diverse chapters in the film and resonates with a touch of magic while doing so. This score makes an excellent follow-up to his work on "Bee Movie."
Since "Bedtime Stories" was developed (story wise) in a manner that multiple motifs and themes could be displayed, I was encouraged to hear that Rupert ensured that there was a central theme to guide the picture forward. This main melody lends it focus to the children's wonderment about the grand tales, providing a rather sweet and warm theme to represent them. This theme helped balance the score's direction and made the soundtrack all the more cohesive. Beyond this main theme, however, all bets were off.
Soaring from one adventure to the next, "Bedtime Stories" really takes off when the individual sagas are featured within the score. There is such a great variety associated with the soundtrack that its hard not to get swept up in it. After all, embarking on an adventure that leads one from the ancient Rome to the wild west and eventually to outer space is tough to resist! Rupert's representation for each chapter is like a condensed score itself as each musical number provides a quick glimpse at a grand adventure. The only frustrating aspect about it all is that the cues are too brief, averaging 2 to 3 minutes each! I would have loved to have heard where Rupert could have taken this effort if he had more pockets of time to write music for.
The soundtrack passes through the whirlwind of the bedtime stories and eventually makes it back to the music representing the children. The album concludes on this note, and in that sense, takes us full circle. It's a nice mini-adventure, but additional time added to the middle portion of the score would have made this one even more enjoyable.
Final Score: "Bedtime Stories" is a quick hit for soundtrack fans. It's short length keeps the score from reaching an elevated status but there is enough quality content to warrant a listen. The solution would be to purchase this a digital download for $9.99 or less, which is my lone suggestion for this very good, rather brief score, from a composer we're going to be hearing more of in the not so distant future.
