Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
It's as if composer Danny Elfman's fertile relationship with director Tim Burton had been building up to this, their 11th collaboration and perhaps the one that best encapsulates their shared aesthetics: It's hard to think of a subject better suited to the two men than an adaptation of Roald Dahl'sCharlie and the Chocolate Factory.For the occasion, Elfman has come up with five actual songs (and sings on them), which reminds one of the 1980s heyday of his old band,Oingo Boingo. The first, "Wonka's Welcome Song" is a demented minute-long blast that evokes 1960s kiddie TV. Each of the other four (which use Dahl's own words) is dedicated to one of the children invited to visit Willy Wonka's factory, and each is done is a different musical style. All are fantastically fun. A personal favorite is the mock-operatic "Mike TeaVee," on which Elfman basically transposes "Bohemian Rhapsody" to a hyperactive cartoon universe. The lovely "Main Titles" acts as a transition into the instrumental part of the score and will be familiar to fans of Elfman's music forEdward Scissorhands,particularly its otherworldly, celestial choral sound. The rest of the tracks simply represent the work of Elfman and his longtime arranger, Steve Bartek, at their best, alternately flamboyant, dreamlike, and suggestive.--Elisabeth Vincentelli