A Bug's Life (soundtrack) explained

A Bug's Life: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Randy Newman
Cover:A Bug's Life (An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack).jpeg
Released:October 27, 1998
Recorded:1997–1998
Studio:
Genre:Film score
Length:47:32
Label:Walt Disney
Producer:Randy Newman

A Bug's Life: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1998 Disney/Pixar film A Bug's Life featuring original music composed by Randy Newman and released on October 27, 1998 by Walt Disney Records.[1] Aside the instrumental cues accompanying the album, it also features an original song "The Time of Your Life" written and performed by Newman.[2]

The score transitions from orchestral music to 1940s jazz which was used when Flik travels to the city.[3] It was recorded at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California, Signet Sound Studios in Los Angeles and Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. The score received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score, and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

In Japan, the film's image song is "STAND" by the Japanese band Hoff Dylan. It is also the first song on the Japanese version of the film's soundtrack.[4]

Reception

Alex Henderson of AllMusic rated three out of five stars to the album, summarising: "A Bug's Life isn't an essential purchase by any means, although some of Newman's more hardcore and devoted fans might find it mildly interesting to hear this other side of him."[5] Ian Freer of Empire also rated three stars and called it as "very likeable but ultimately does not grab the attention as well as it might".[6] Filmtracks.com wrote "A Bug's Life could leave non-Randy Newman fans cold. His jazz is predictable and his generic orchestral animation music begs for more personality. The highlights of both Newman's own Pleasantville from the same year and the competing Antz are superior to anything heard here."[7] Rating four-and-a-half stars out of five, James Southall of Movie Wave called the film's score as "the best of Newman's scores for Pixar" as it "lends itself better than the others to album treatment due to its more flowing, less bitty nature".[8]

Far Out ranked third in the best of Newman's scores (top 10).[9] Writing for that article, Calum Russell summarised: "Randy Newman’s Bug’s Life score is a joy to listen to, taking the listener immediately back to Pixar’s animated world as it so well recreates the essence of the chaos of the city or the intensity of a bird sighting." Also ranking in their top 10 of the composer's best scores, Dalton Norman of Screen Rant wrote "Newman understood what was expected of him and his score is just as fun and jaunty as his previous Pixar outing. He proved he could work cleverly with scope and scale with his music by shrinking the orchestrations down in scenes that needed simplicity. The film is about a tiny world and the music reflects both the smallness of the world and the overwhelming size of Flik's adventure."[10]

Accolades

Awards[11]
YearAssociationAward CategoryRecipient (if any)Result
1999Academy Awards[12] [13] Best Original Musical or Comedy ScoreRandy Newmanrowspan="4"
Chicago Film Critics Association[14] [15] Best Original Score
Golden Globe Awards[16] [17] Best Original Score
Motion Picture Sound EditorsBest Sound Editing, Music – Animated FeatureLori L. Escher and Bruno Coon
2000Grammy Awards[18] Best Instrumental CompositionRandy Newman
Best Song
(for the song "The Time of Your Life")

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD liner notes.[19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: October 23, 2001 . iTunes Music – A Bug's Life (An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack) by Randy Newman . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131106233253/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/bugs-life-original-walt-disney/id156087339 . November 6, 2013 . October 21, 2013 . iTunes Store.
  2. News: Pareles . Jon . November 13, 1998 . POP REVIEW; Randy Newman's Songs Mix Humor and Barbs . en-US . The New York Times . May 19, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150527081903/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/13/movies/pop-review-randy-newman-s-songs-mix-humor-and-barbs.html . May 27, 2015 . 0362-4331.
  3. Web site: Noyer . Jérémie . Monsters, Inc.‘s Composer Randy Newman: "I score because I care!" . May 19, 2023 . Animated Views . en-US . The people at Pixar liked that 1940s jazz. I did it in Bug’s Life and they loved it when I did Flick going to the City and stuff like that. So, it was essentially what they wanted..
  4. https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/153757/lyrics/I135572/
  5. Web site: Henderson . Alex . Review: A Bug's Life . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150215061305/http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-bugs-life-mw0000600565 . February 15, 2015 . October 9, 2014 . AllMusic . Rovi Corporation.
  6. Web site: Freer . Ian . A Bug's Life Soundtrack Review . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141015014546/https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?SID=4447 . October 15, 2014 . October 9, 2014 . Empire.
  7. Web site: Review: A Bug's Life (Randy Newman) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141028014435/http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/bugs_life.html . October 28, 2014 . October 9, 2014 . Filmtracks.com.
  8. Web site: Southall . James . A Bug's Life Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150215002931/http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/bugs_life.html . February 15, 2015 . October 9, 2014 . Movie Wave.
  9. Web site: November 28, 2021 . The top 10 film scores of Randy Newman . https://web.archive.org/web/20211130005710/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/randy-newman-top-10-film-scores/ . November 30, 2021 . May 19, 2023 . Far Out Magazine . en-US.
  10. Web site: December 16, 2021 . 10 Best Randy Newman Movie Scores . https://web.archive.org/web/20211223183630/https://screenrant.com/randy-newman-best-film-scores-music/ . December 23, 2021 . May 19, 2023 . ScreenRant . en.
  11. News: 2011 . A Bug's Life (1998) Awards . . Movies & TV Dept. . dead . March 7, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110511100151/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/174122/A-Bug-s-Life/awards . May 11, 2011.
  12. News: The 71st Academy Awards (1999) Nominees and Winners . . AMPAS . live . November 19, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141109171019/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999 . November 9, 2014.
  13. News: Munoz . Lorena . February 10, 1999 . It's the Early Birds That Get to Squirm . Los Angeles Times . live . January 3, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140104100303/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/feb/10/entertainment/ca-6553 . January 4, 2014.
  14. Web site: Klady . Leonard . January 18, 1999 . Chi crix like 'Line,' 'Show' . https://web.archive.org/web/20150104225647/https://variety.com/1999/film/news/chi-crix-like-line-show-1117490365/ . January 4, 2015 . December 21, 2014 . Variety.
  15. News: Knopper . Melissa . March 2, 1999 . Chicago Critics: 'Ryan' Best Film of the Year . . December 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230108044132/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-68803117 . January 8, 2023.
  16. News: Higgins . Bill . Hontz . Jenny . 16 December 1998 . ‘Truman,’ Bard win noms . Variety . 11 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180112043046/https://variety.com/1998/film/news/truman-bard-win-noms-1117489548/ . 12 January 2018.
  17. News: Higgins . Bill . 24 January 1999 . Globes 'In Love' and war . Variety . 11 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180112043000/https://variety.com/1999/film/news/globes-in-love-and-war-1117490584/ . 12 January 2018.
  18. Web site: 1999 Grammy Awards . https://web.archive.org/web/20140623014623/https://www.grammy.com/awards/42nd-annual-grammy-awards . June 23, 2014 . December 18, 2021 . . The Recording Academy.
  19. Web site: Credits A Bug's Life . https://web.archive.org/web/20230519125121/https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-bugs-life-mw0000600565/credits . May 19, 2023 . May 19, 2023 . AllMusic . Rovi Corporation.

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