IMDb has Heitor Pereira down as composer. Normally one might take that with a grain of salt, given the site is user contributed, however, if you look at the Music Department credits, it's packed full, so it's likely the score is already in the can.
Thomas Newman (American Beauty, The Shawshank Redemption, 1917, Skyfall) has been tapped to score the upcoming animated feature Elemental. The film is directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur) and features the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie. The movie is set in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together and revolves around a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Denise Ream is producing the Pixar Animation Studios production. Newman has previously scored Pixar’s Finding Nemo, Wall-E and Finding Dory. Elemental is set to be released in theaters nationwide on June 16, 2023 by Walt Disney Pictures.
Oh yes, yet another Newman score this year! So this mean that we will probably get at least three new scores from him this year (Elemental, White Bird: A Wonder Story and Last Voyage of the Demeter) Awesome. I'm looking forward to it, as anything he does, even if his animation scores has never been my most favorite Newman.
DR: I love the music so much. I already have favorite cues. I can’t wait for our Pixar family and our crew to [hear] it as well.
JM: One of my favorite movies is “Saving Mr. Banks”, and the way he took the “Mary Poppins” music (and that’s also one of my favorite movies ever) and adapted it to this other story while still bringing the cues back… that’s hard to do. And I bet for a movie like this that’s so detailed, there were a lot of challenges for him.
DR: And that’s what’s so impressive, I think. He knew the story inside and out, so when he and Pete were talking, [Thomas] was talking most often from a story perspective. I had never seen a composer do it to that extent. So it was all about the emotions of the characters and what was supporting the story. And then it’s beautiful on top of it. It’s a career highlight, honestly, having an opportunity to work with him.
PS: I absolutely agree. He’s so humble. You would think that a guy like that that’s had so much success and has done so much… he’s still this sensitive artist. He really is so humble.
As he approaches 70 and the Elder Statesman category, I wonder, at what point will the Academy throw their obligatory Oscar at him for a score way below the standards of his milestone work, or give him the Alex North/Lalo Schifrin et al 'Sorry...we f**ked up' statue for their years of giving it to fads and flavours-of-the-month?
As he approaches 70 and the Elder Statesman category, I wonder, at what point will the Academy throw their obligatory Oscar at him for a score way below the standards of his milestone work, or give him the Alex North/Lalo Schifrin et al 'Sorry...we f**ked up' statue for their years of giving it to fads and flavours-of-the-month?
If that happened wouldn't it be refreshing if he said 'sorry can't make I'm waxing my sack that night'. Or cutting my toe nails .
Yeah, she has become a sound-scaper, swooshes, bloops and twinkles, not really much composition from him. Nice enough guy it seems, but I read interviews 20 years ago where he was sounding like he hated music that sounded "composed".
Not long until this is released, has there been any suggestions of what to expect from Newman? With this film now complete, it'll be interesting to see if Newman scores a further film in 2023, I know he has White Bird and Demeter but they were both completed in 2022.
As he approaches 70 and the Elder Statesman category, I wonder, at what point will the Academy throw their obligatory Oscar at him for a score way below the standards of his milestone work, or give him the Alex North/Lalo Schifrin et al 'Sorry...we f**ked up' statue for their years of giving it to fads and flavours-of-the-month?
Or maybe he'll get the coveted "Dang you old! Here's a freebie... what's that? You made a score after that award? HERE'S ANOTHER ONE!" Morricone two-fer.
I don't have high hopes for the film. Looks like a mix between Inside Out, Zootopia and another desperate attempt to be current and cool. Curious to see what Thomas Newman has to offer, though.
