A determined main theme leads a desperate and at times intensely heroic charge across James Horner’s breathless score for Balto, with the aforementioned motif and some absolutely phenomenal action writing overall resulting in some seriously standout tracks.
Now we foray into the animated side of James Horner’s considerable soundtrack discography! An American Tail, The Land Before Time and indeed Balto have stood out for years as not only some absolutely impeccable animated movie scores by the composer, but also some of his best work just generally. All will receive reviews here in time, but for now let’s get tackling the first; Balto (a 1995 animated adventure film about the titular and actually real rescue dog) begins with “Main Title/Opening Scene”, and a delightful sense of wonder quickly envelops the cue in its opening seconds as Horner debuts his main theme on twinkling percussion and warm strings swelling with hope. This lovely sense of tranquility and orchestral optimism lingers for three enjoyable minutes, with gentle brass also joining the fray to emphasize the main theme until a sudden crash of drums then urges breathless action into centre stage. Here the brass and strings quickly become tense and frantic, with the main theme blitzing past in now dramatically determined form until the thunderous orchestral ensemble finally reaches a breathtaking finishing crescendo. All-in, what an opening for Balto; the main theme is simply gorgeous, proving both its memorability and versatility in just this opening track as it both soars in hope and surges in drama, and the orchestra – as per usual with Horner really – sounds impeccable, assisted sizeably too by Intrada’s excellent work on remastering this expanded release.
A flurry of excited strings and brass opens “Boris And Balto”, with the playful instrumental combination leaping and thudding together with interspersions of the main theme throughout the rest of the ninety second cue. A rather festive tone then arrives with “The Dogsled Race” as bells shake alongside the ever-upbeat strings and brass in the first minute before intense brass takes the reins for a grand though sadly short action sequence with the main theme heroically at the forefront. The music then softens for the quieter, more romantic “Balto Sees Jenna”, with gentle and rather playful strings in centre stage alongside plinking piano, before a new theme is introduced in “Not Dog Nor Wolf”. After the main theme plays nobly on strings to start, this new motif debuts in rather wary form on brass, hinting at worrisome events to come before the orchestra quickly leaps back into sprightly, optimistic territory. Some rather lovely woodwinds then occupy the start of “Muk & Luk Arrival” before a thunderous crash of drums suddenly causes a burst of circus-like mischievous action to muscle its way into centre stage. This rather whimsical musical nature continues into the first two minutes of the subsequent “Rosy Goes To The Doctor” with woodwinds again in tow, before the main theme returns for a series of heartfelt renditions on strings.
An ominous murmur of strings opens “Balto’s Aurora”, with this new air of mystery then seguing into a rather serene rendition of the love theme from “Balto Sees Jenna”. Intense action however then quickly overtakes in the opening seconds of “Quarantine”, with a dramatic sense of urgency underpinning the track for the remainder of its runtime as rapid brass and strings reprise the main theme in particularly emphatic style. This then leads into one of the score’s finer action setpieces, the five minute “The Journey Begins”; rumbles of militaristic brass, clanging bells, surging percussion and intense brass all lead the main theme on a tremendous charge in the first two minutes, with the motif then settling for a few moments of strings-focused quiet before the action begins to flare again in the back half with the main theme held enthusiastically high. Anxious strings and brass then occupy “The Epidemic’s Toll” with solemn hints toward the main theme, and “To The Rescue” afterward continues in a similarly hopeless vein initially with downtrodden woodwinds and strings until brassy and percussive drama hammers the mood into downright misery in the track’s second half. After a rather light opening, “Grizzly Bear” then continues the score’s building tension with frenetic brass and pounding drums.
The love theme reprises on gentle strings in “Telegraphing The News”, with light flutters of woodwinds continuing this newly hopeful tone alongside hints of the main theme before rumbles of angry percussion then occupy “Steele’s Treachery” with a rather anxious main theme interspersing apprehensively on strings. The standout “Heritage Of The Wolf” is then the heroic moment we’ve been waiting for as, after a few moments of brassy tension with the “Not Dog Nor Wolf” motif returning, the main theme practically soars back into centre stage for several increasingly grand and determined renditions atop triumphant orchestra. Just… what a theme this is – finally allowed to unleash in all its epic glory. The sub-minute pair “Avalanche” and “Deadly Ice” then slip back into aggressive action territory for a short while with imposing bursts of brass, strings and percussion abound, before final and indeed Standout Cue “Balto Returns/Balto Brings Medicine” offers a spellbinding conclusion to the score; here the main theme gets one last and very thorough orchestral fleshing out, with noble brass and victorious strings ushering this feeling of pure wonder back into the music as the main theme soars one last time.
Overall, James Horner’s Balto is a delightful adventure score with an equally superb main theme. The orchestral style showcased throughout the album has such a charm to it, with the use of whimsical strings, playful brass and percussion (festive-sounding bells in particular) being a highlight through cues such as “Boris And Balto” and “The Dogsled Race”. When it needs to though the orchestra also swings from upbeat to intensely dramatic on a dime, resulting in some frankly tremendous action setpieces (see the back half of the lovely “Main Title” as well as “The Journey Begins” and “Heritage Of The Wolf”). At the forefront of each and every one of the above as well – both the sublimely playful cues and the determined action ones – is Horner’s main theme, a versatile, memorable and indeed utterly standout piece that’s at its best soaring in sheer heroism through the aforementioned action setpieces as well as the conclusive “Balto Returns/Balto Brings Medicine”. Accompanying the main theme is also a heartwarming though sadly underutilised love theme for Balto and Jenna (“Balto Sees Jenna”) and a warier, more worrisome motif for the action (“Not Dog Nor Wolf”). Despite the little use of the love theme though, Horner’s Balto is a highly enjoyable experience with the main theme being – naturally, I suppose – it’s best feature, and you only need check out some of the Standout Cues below to hear why.
Score: 7.5/10
Standout Cues: Main Title, Heritage Of The Wolf, Balto Returns/Balto Brings Medicine
Follow me on Twitter for the latest soundtrack and review-based news!
Leave a Reply