I quite enjoy a good movie soundtrack. Whether it be serious (a la
A Clockwork Orange) or comedic (a la
South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut), it's always a fun time to listen to music that puts you back into any said movie. Most of the time, however, the music within the movie itself doesn't get my to delve further. I normally just get bored and think of a movie that I would assume had a good soundtrack, and find it. This was not the case with
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, in which merely upon my first viewing of the film, I knew I had to own the soundtrack.
And for the greater part of it, my sudden urge to obtain it was assuredly a good idea. The most apparent material on the album (completely done by the legend himself, Danny Elfman) is the four songs played after the downfall of each of the losing children from the movie. Ranging from Beach Boys-y tunes to hard rockers, this small collection of songs are some of the most entertaining and entrancing songs I've heard from a musical (however loosely that word can be applied here) for quite a while.
Augustus Gloop is perhaps the strongest of these, being a blast of dark and quite morbid show tunes. A tribal beat hidden behind a horn section gives the strange singing stylings Elfman decided to use for the Umpa Lumpa's (the strange little creatures who wing throughout the movie and soundtrack) a haunting quality, not quite right for the supposed children’s atmosphere.
The rest of those songs, however, share an equally eerie vibe. Elfman has put out some of his best pop-infused material here, and the tune
Veruca Salt is probably the strangest of them all. Combining the Beach Boys and ABBA's musical spirits, it's really about a 9 year old girl falling down a garbage chute and how now her best friends will be pieces of trash. Yet, its still rather sweet and endearing, and the end exposition on her particular flaw is the most piercing of them on all (this part is rather difficult to understand without seeing the movie, however). Of course, Elfman can't have any sort of similarity, so next he throws in the rockin tune
Mike Teavee, which combines Beatles-esque vocal melodies with hard rock instrumentation and then suddenly switches to Queen bombastics. Yes, it's rather kick a
ss.
The true orchestral parts of the album, however, are a far more mixed bag. On one hand, it's exactly the quality you'd expect from Elfman. Pieces are poignant and evocative, yet also incredibly strange and altogether...
different from what many other Hollywood composers put out. Combined with the atmosphere Tim Burton wanted for the film, it's arguably some of the highest-level quality stuff Elfman has ever produced. The main titles and end credits are both fun romps through the variety of the album, with the end suite in particular being an exhilarating ride through the musical range of the album. Even the single passages from the movie that normally serve as little more than passable filler for most soundtracks are quite a thrill to listen to, with the occasional flourish of a surprising sound (there are moments of sitar flair, pulse-pounding suspense lines, and Elfman's bell of choice here, the chimes throughout the album). The only slight drawback in all of this is the fact that it does occasionally drag on a bit too long. It's not that large of a problem to be truthful; soundtracks normally do this anyways, and Elfman at least gives us a large range of diversity and excitement to keep us from getting bored.
The
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory OST is one of the most surprising I've ever heard. While it didn't shatter my expectations, it certainly surpassed them by a great deal, giving me something I never expected to have. Elfman's showtunes numbers are, in fact, showstoppers, and his orchestral arrangements here are arguably the best of his career. While I can't reccomend the album in its entirety to everyone (This is about as far as I can take classical-infused music, and I'm sure many others could easily find it a bore), I can recommend checking out the first five tracks at the very least. Then, if you like the sound of those, check into really any of the other tracks here. It's all amazing in my book, and if not for a slight bit of tediousness, it would be a classic example of movie soundtracks in my book.
But alas, here are 5 songs that in particular piqued my interest...
Augustus Gloop
Veruca Salt
End
The Indian Palace
Loompa Land
End Credits Suite
