How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture
Encyclopedia
How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture was composed by John Powell
for the film of the same name
and released by Varèse Sarabande
on March 23, 2010. The score earned Powell his first Academy Award
nomination and his third BAFTA
nomination, which he lost to The Social Network
and The King's Speech, respectively. The score also won the International Film Music Critics Association
2011 Awards for Best Original Score for an Animated Feature and Film Score of the Year, and was nominated twice for Film Music Composition of the Year for the tracks "Forbidden Friendship" and "Test Drive".
was composer John Powell's sixth collaboration with DreamWorks Animation
. Powell had scored many of DreamWorks' previous films, but this was the first of DreamWorks' films where Powell helmed the score on his own (on his previous efforts with DreamWorks, he had collaborated with other composers such as Harry Gregson-Williams
and Hans Zimmer
). Zimmer had long praised Powell's abilities, and on many occasions, asserted that he was the superior composer between them, thus firmly supporting Powell's first solo animation effort. For the score, Powell utilized many Celtic influences, employing instruments like the fiddle, bagpipes
, dulcimer
, pennywhistle, and even a harpsichord
.
Icelandic singer Jónsi
was brought on to write and record the song "Sticks & Stones", which plays during the end credits of the film.
In an interview with The Wraps Steve Pond, Powell talked about his intent for the score:
for his score for The King's Speech, and to Trent Reznor
and Atticus Ross
for their score for The Social Network
, respectively. The music also won an Annie Award
for the Best Music in a Feature Production from the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood.
Christian Clemmensen, founder of Filmtracks.com
and member of the IFMCA
, praised the score, saying that "Powell has finally managed to create a well rounded and more easily digestible variation on his typical mannerisms for How to Train Your Dragon." He however criticized the use of Scottish and Irish tones in a score meant for Vikings, as well as the Jónsi song "Sticks & Stones", which he felt "[drained] all the enthusiasm out of the environment created by Powell." However, Clemmensen still awarded the score the highest rating of five stars, and later listed the score as one of the Top Five of the year.
Other reviewers expressed similar opinions about the score. Jonathan Broxton, founder of Movie Music UK and another member of the IFMCA
said: "It’s very rare that one can listen to an entire 70+ minute album and honestly say that all of them have musical merit, but that is genuinely the case here. Usually scores of this length have a fair amount of filler, [...] but on How to Train Your Dragon every cue has worth." Archie Watt from MovieCues said: "I sincerely hope that Powell’s work will be rewarded with an Oscar in 2011. It couldn’t be more deserved—the score is by far the best of the year to date, and I can’t foresee any other score taking that accolade from this masterpiece." Both reviewers named it as the Best Score of the Year.
John Powell
John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with...
for the film of the same name
How to Train Your Dragon (film)
How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 3D computer-animated action fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the 2003 book of the same name. The film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher...
and released by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
on March 23, 2010. The score earned Powell his first Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
nomination and his third BAFTA
BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
The Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music is an annual award given by British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-1960s:*1968 - The Lion in Winter - John Barry...
nomination, which he lost to The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
and The King's Speech, respectively. The score also won the International Film Music Critics Association
International Film Music Critics Association
The International Film Music Critics Association is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.-History and purpose:...
2011 Awards for Best Original Score for an Animated Feature and Film Score of the Year, and was nominated twice for Film Music Composition of the Year for the tracks "Forbidden Friendship" and "Test Drive".
Background
How to Train Your DragonHow to Train Your Dragon (film)
How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 3D computer-animated action fantasy film by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the 2003 book of the same name. The film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and Christopher...
was composer John Powell's sixth collaboration with DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
. Powell had scored many of DreamWorks' previous films, but this was the first of DreamWorks' films where Powell helmed the score on his own (on his previous efforts with DreamWorks, he had collaborated with other composers such as Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams is a prolific British composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He is best known for his film scores, of which he has composed over sixty using electronic music and orchestral pieces...
and Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
). Zimmer had long praised Powell's abilities, and on many occasions, asserted that he was the superior composer between them, thus firmly supporting Powell's first solo animation effort. For the score, Powell utilized many Celtic influences, employing instruments like the fiddle, bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, dulcimer
Hammered dulcimer
The hammered dulcimer is a stringed musical instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. Typically, the hammered dulcimer is set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who holds small mallet hammers in each hand to strike the strings...
, pennywhistle, and even a harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
.
Icelandic singer Jónsi
Jón Þór Birgisson
Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson is the guitarist and vocalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his falsetto voice. He is also blind in his right eye and is openly gay. His boyfriend Alex Somers has done much of the graphic design for...
was brought on to write and record the song "Sticks & Stones", which plays during the end credits of the film.
In an interview with The Wraps Steve Pond, Powell talked about his intent for the score:
Critical Reception
The score was exceptionally well-received, earning universal praise from professional film score critics and fans alike. Powell earned a BAFTA nomination for his work as well as his first Oscar nomination, losing both nominations to Alexandre DesplatAlexandre Desplat
Alexandre Michel Gérard Desplat is a French film composer. He has received four Academy Award nominations, five BAFTA nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, winning a Golden Globe for his work on The Painted Veil in 2006, and two Grammy nominations. In 2011, Desplat won his first British...
for his score for The King's Speech, and to Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
and Atticus Ross
Atticus Ross
Atticus Ross is an English musician, composer and producer. Ross, along with Trent Reznor, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network in 2011.-Early career:...
for their score for The Social Network
The Social Network
The Social Network is a 2010 American drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. Adapted from Ben Mezrich's 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires, the film portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook and the resulting lawsuits...
, respectively. The music also won an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for the Best Music in a Feature Production from the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood.
Christian Clemmensen, founder of Filmtracks.com
Filmtracks.com
Filmtracks.com is a leading modern film score review website created and maintained out of Missoula, Montana by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen...
and member of the IFMCA
International Film Music Critics Association
The International Film Music Critics Association is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.-History and purpose:...
, praised the score, saying that "Powell has finally managed to create a well rounded and more easily digestible variation on his typical mannerisms for How to Train Your Dragon." He however criticized the use of Scottish and Irish tones in a score meant for Vikings, as well as the Jónsi song "Sticks & Stones", which he felt "[drained] all the enthusiasm out of the environment created by Powell." However, Clemmensen still awarded the score the highest rating of five stars, and later listed the score as one of the Top Five of the year.
Other reviewers expressed similar opinions about the score. Jonathan Broxton, founder of Movie Music UK and another member of the IFMCA
International Film Music Critics Association
The International Film Music Critics Association is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.-History and purpose:...
said: "It’s very rare that one can listen to an entire 70+ minute album and honestly say that all of them have musical merit, but that is genuinely the case here. Usually scores of this length have a fair amount of filler, [...] but on How to Train Your Dragon every cue has worth." Archie Watt from MovieCues said: "I sincerely hope that Powell’s work will be rewarded with an Oscar in 2011. It couldn’t be more deserved—the score is by far the best of the year to date, and I can’t foresee any other score taking that accolade from this masterpiece." Both reviewers named it as the Best Score of the Year.
Awards and Nominations
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
| Academy Awards 83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ... |
Academy Award for Best Original Score Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:... |
John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
|
| Annie Awards 38th Annie Awards The 38th Annual Annie Awards honoring the best in animation of 2010 was held February 5, 2011 at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.-Best Animated Feature :How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation... |
Annie Award for Best Music in an Animated Feature Production | John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
|
| British Academy Film Awards 64th British Academy Film Awards The 64th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 13 February 2011 honouring the best national and foreign films of 2010. The nominees were announced on 18 January 2011. The King's Speech earned the most nominations with fourteen... |
BAFTA Award for Best Film Music BAFTA Award for Best Film Music The Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music is an annual award given by British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-1960s:*1968 - The Lion in Winter - John Barry... |
John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
|
| International Film Music Critics Association International Film Music Critics Association The International Film Music Critics Association is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.-History and purpose:... |
Film Score of the Year | John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
|
| Best Original Score for an Animated Feature | John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
||
| Film Music Composition of the Year | John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... - "Forbidden Friendship" |
||
| John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... - "Test Drive" |
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| Saturn Awards 37th Saturn Awards The 37th Saturn Awards, honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror film and television in 2010 were held on June 23, 2011.-Best Science Fiction Film:*Inception*Hereafter*Iron Man 2*Never Let Me Go*Splice... |
Saturn Award for Best Music Saturn Award for Best Music The following is a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Music.-Multiple Winners:*John Williams - 7 awards*Danny Elfman - 5 awards*James Horner - 3 awards*Alan Silvestri - 3 awards*Alan Menken - 2 awards*John Ottman - 2 awards*Miklós Rózsa - 2 awards... |
John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
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| World Soundtrack Academy World Soundtrack Academy The World Soundtrack Academy , launched in 2001 by the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent, is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and its worldwide promotion... |
World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year The WS Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year is one of the three main prizes given by the World Soundtrack Academy to honour the best movie soundtracks and the people who work on them.-Winners and nominees:... |
John Powell John Powell John Powell is a British composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in the United States since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, and collaborating with... |
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| World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film The World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film is one of the three main prizes given by the World Soundtrack Academy to honour the best movie soundtracks... |
Jón Þór Birgisson Jón Þór Birgisson Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson is the guitarist and vocalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his falsetto voice. He is also blind in his right eye and is openly gay. His boyfriend Alex Somers has done much of the graphic design for... |
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