Dragonball Evolution: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2009 Twentieth Century Fox film Dragonball Evolution, directed by James Wong, by composer Brian Tyler. It was released on March 17, 2009 in the United States,[1] on March 30, 2009 in Europe,[2] and on April 15, 2009 in Japan.[3]
| Dragonball Evolution: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Soundtrack album by Brian Tyler and the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra | |
| Released | March 17, 2009 (United States) March 30, 2009 (Europe) April 15, 2009 (Japan) |
| Recorded | Newman Scoring Stage |
| Genre | Film score |
| Length | 57:17 |
| Label | Varèse Sarabande |
| Producer | Brian Tyler Robert Townson |
| Alternative cover | |
 International Cover | |
The score was met with positive reviews from music critics who also drew comparisons to Tyler's previous works as well as other composer works.
Development
editA fan of the franchise, Tyler jumped at the job when he was offered it before filming even began. He called director James Wong stating that "they could make the film very, very epic". Tyler stated that the basis for his score is the vibe that the film is a parallel universe with a mythic aspect.[4] He began work on the project before the initial filming[5] by writing various themes for the anime itself. With the notion that a particular theme would be fitting for characters such as Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan. Tyler stated that he didn't want to go with "pop, synthpop stuff" that was presented in the anime as it was live-action. Yet he wanted something that "kind of stood outside of time a little bit more". But there are references to contemporary music within the score.[6] Tyler conducted the score with the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra at the Newman Scoring Stage on the Twentieth Century Fox lot. With orchestrations by Robert Elhai, Brad Warnaar, Dana Niu, and Pakk Hui.[7]
Track List
edit| # | Track title | time |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Legend | 1:13 |
| 02 | Dragonball Evolution | 3:26 |
| 03 | Fulums | 5:14 |
| 04 | Kaiou Samma | 2:34 |
| 05 | Goku | 3:09 |
| 06 | Gohan's Special Gift | 0:57 |
| 07 | Master Roshi | 3:45 |
| 08 | The Journey Begins | 0:58 |
| 09 | Lighting the Torches | 2:44 |
| 10 | Vengeance | 5:55 |
| 11 | Chasing Dragonballs | 2:41 |
| 12 | Lord Piccolo | 2:51 |
| 13 | Mai Vs Chi Chi | 3:55 |
| 14 | A Higher Calling | 2:03 |
| 15 | Body Work | 1:26 |
| 16 | I Dream of Chi Chi | 0:54 |
| 17 | Grime Vinyl | 1:52 |
| 18 | Unwelcome Strangers | 2:12 |
| 19 | Bulma and Yamcha | 1:51 |
| 20 | Things to Come | 1:42 |
| 21 | Battle | 6:20 |
| 22 | End Game | 1:32 |
| 23 | Dragonball Evolution Main Titles | 1:32 |
Reception
editThe album received a fair reception in contrast to its corresponding film. In his Evolution review, Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network gave the score a C grade.[8] Christopher Coleman of TrackSounds praised the soundtrack, stating that Tyler's status as a fan of the series helped fuel his performance. He then recommended the album for those who enjoyed Tyler's work in such films as Timeline and Eagle Eye.[9] David Abraham Dueck referred to the soundtrack as "a solidly engaging, robust, and complex musical thrill ride". Yet he felt that it wasn't groundbreaking, stating that did very little to stylistically deviate from Tyler's other works.[10] Tom Hoove of ScoreNotes gave the soundtrack an eight out of ten, citing the music as respectable. Yet like Dueck, Hoove would comment that the score was not groundbreaking, he then continued that the percussion sequences were easy to get into, and would also go on record citing "Chasing Dragonballs" and "Grime Vinyl" as favorite tracks.[11] James Southall of Movie Wave gave the soundtrack three and a half stars. As he felt that while the soundtrack played too long, it was not much of a problem. Tyler was able to keep his pace throughout the film. He would also describe that album as an amalgamation of Timeline and Danny Elfman's Batman and Spider-Man scores.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Varèse Sarabande Product Details Dragonball Evolution". Varèse Sarabande. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
- ^ "Dragonball Evolution: Original Soundtrack". Play.com. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ^ "ブライアン・テイラー/オリジナル・サウンドトラック『DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION』[Original recording] [Soundtrack]". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
- ^ "Part 2 of Collider's Exclusive Video Interview with Composer Brian Tyler". Collider.com. September 29, 2008. Archived from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
- ^ Collura, Scott (April 15, 2009). "The Fast & Furious Evolution of Brian Tyler: Pt. 2, From Dragonball to Rambo to Aliens vs. Predator… Page 1". IGN. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
- ^ Collura, Scott (April 15, 2009). "The Fast & Furious Evolution of Brian Tyler: Pt. 2, From Dragonball to Rambo to Aliens vs. Predator… Page 2". IGN. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
- ^ Goldwasser, Dan (February 6, 2009). "Brian Tyler scores Dragonball Evolution". ScoringSessions.com. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- ^ "Dragonball Evolution - Review - Anime News Network". Anime News Network. March 16, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
- ^ Coleman, Christopher. "Great Balls of Fire". TrackSounds. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ David Abraham Dueck (April 8, 2009). "Dragonball: Evolution Soundtrack Review, Another Thrilling Action Score from Brian Tyler". Suite101. Archived from the original on April 18, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.
- ^ Hoove, Tom. "Dragonball: Evolution". ScoreNotes. Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
- ^ Southall, James. "Dragonball: Evolution, Exciting action score marks a real return to form for Tyler". Movie Wave. Retrieved May 18, 2009.