Composed, conducted, and produced by
Alexandre Desplat (
Girl with the Pearl Earring,
The King's Speech), the soundtrack for Dreamworks Animation's
Rise of the Guardians is as spirited and surprising as it is refreshingly old-fashioned.
Desplat must have tucked away some extra magic after completing the scores for the final two Harry Potter films, because his work here is steeped in Hogwarts-inspired whimsy. Opening track "Still Dream," a sweet and sentimental ballad performed by soprano
Renée Fleming, sets the tone, suggesting a classic old-world Disney approach to the fable, but
Desplat never lets things dissolve into treacle, providing a muscular main theme that, along with the main melody from "Still Dream," weaves itself throughout the film with a quaint yet confident majesty. ~ James Christopher Monger