Film Music: Igor

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Patrick Doyle did the music for the animated film "Igor". He has credits for the music in a number of films, "Nim's Island", "Eragon" and even "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" although for that film he used themes by John Williams who had established the initial Harry Potter theme. He was nominated for an Oscar for both "Hamlet" (1996) and "Sense and Sensibility" (1995), so he is a respected composer in the industry.

However, listening to the music in "Igor" you get the idea that much of the music was canned, pre-programmed for the scene rather like a laugh track. When the King's carriage is shown, there is a fanfare but nothing special. When the subject matter gets dark, the music sounds like it was pulled from any number of 50's style black and white horror films, or when there is a love interest the sappy music is sweet, but generic. While I was watching the film, before I researched the composer and his credits, I felt the film music was so much an after-thought that I was surprised to find such a major name associated with it.

The drop in music is even worse than the score. The "tunes" selected had only vague references to the action on the film. At one point a tune, "The Bigger the Figure" (Louis Prima) is played while the "monster" dances around. Yes, the monster is a large woman, but what the song is saying is that large women are the preference, and yet the film actions suggest she is NOT what Igor wants. Maybe the director was trying to foreshadow events, but if so he failed. It this was Doyle's suggestion, it was a bad one.

Overall the music didn't work. It didn't take away from the film (not that there was much to take away from), but it certainly didn't add to it either. In all the music felt as if it was filling a contract obligation and nothing else.

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