The Simpsons Movie: The Music

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Simpsons Movie: The Music
20th Century Fox
  • Fox Music
  • Alternative Distribution Alliance
  • Extreme Music
    • ProducerHans Zimmer
    The Simpsons soundtrack albums chronology
    Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons
    (1999)     		The Simpsons Movie: The Music
    (2007)     		The Simpsons: Testify
    (2007)
    Hans Zimmer chronology
    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
    (2007)     		The Simpsons Movie
    (2007)     		Casi Divas
    (2008)

    The Simpsons Movie: The Music is a soundtrack album for the 2007 film The Simpsons Movie. It was composed by German film composer Hans Zimmer. The soundtrack was released on July 24, 2007, by Adrenaline Music Group and peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200 chart. A limited edition version (with a donut-shaped packaging) was released on July 31, 2007. Critics have given the album generally positive reviews.

    Background

    Producer James L. Brooks chose Zimmer to compose the film's score, as they were good friends and regular collaborators.[1] Regular Simpsons composer Alf Clausen was not asked to score the film.[2] Zimmer was composing for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End at the same time as he did The Simpsons Movie. He told The Hollywood Reporter that he liked "using all his creative juices at once."[3] Zimmer felt that the score was a "unique challenge", and he had to "try and express the style of The Simpsons without wearing the audience out".[4] He used Danny Elfman's original opening theme from the series, but did not wish to overuse it.[5]

    For the soundtrack, Zimmer created themes for each member of the family. Homer's leitmotif was a major focus, and he also composed smaller themes for Bart and Marge.[5] Zimmer asked arranger Michael A. Levine to turn the Spider-Pig song into a choral piece, which, at the time, had no place in the film. Later, Brooks decided to use it for the scene in which Homer has a psychedelic epiphany and then, again, as the first number in the closing credits. The lyrics of the piece were translated for the 32 dubbed versions of the song when the film was released internationally. The same choir learned to sing the piece for each of the foreign-language dubs. Levine also composed and arranged the music for when Homer and Marge make love with the help of Alaskan wildlife. The piece features soprano Elin Carlson singing all three parts of a vocal trio.[5]

    Reception

    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    AllMusic[6]
    Pitchfork3.3/10[7]

    The soundtrack was released on July 24, 2007.

    Swedish Singles Chart.[12]

    The soundtrack has received generally favorable reviews from critics.[

    Allmusic wrote that "the zany, zesty work of Alf Clausen has been traded in for the lush, symphonic touch of Hans Zimmer, who manages to retain enough of the spirit of the show but gives it a full-fledged widescreen makeover. In other words, this soundtrack is a traditional score [...] and even with titles as wacky as 'Doomsday Is Family Time,' 'Thank You Boob Lady,' and 'Why Does Everything I Whip Leave Me?,' the soundtrack doesn't sound all that humorous. It merely sounds like the sweeping yet sensitive mood music to a movie. And on those terms, The Simpsons Movie is a very good soundtrack — perhaps not as clever as Clausen, but it's still light on its feet while having enough pomp and circumstance to justify being shown on such a larger screen."[6]

    Track listing

    No.TitleLength
    1."The Simpsons Theme (Orchestral Version)"1:27
    2."Trapped Like Carrots"2:15
    3."Doomsday is Family Time"2:27
    4."Release the Hounds"2:19
    5."Clap for Alaska"1:55
    6."What's an Epiphany?"2:07
    7."Thank You Boob Lady"2:45
    8."You Doomed Us All... Again"5:52
    9."...Lead, Not to Read"2:05
    10."Why Does Everything I Whip Leave Me?"3:05
    11."Bart's Doodle"1:01
    12."World's Fattest Fertilizer Salesman"5:05
    13."His Big Fat Butt Could Shield Us All"1:46
    14."Spider Pig"1:04
    15."Recklessly Impulsive"5:27
    16."Homer, Bart, and a Bike" (iTunes bonus track in US/Canada)2:24
    Total length:40:45

    Additional music by Ryeland Allison, Lorne Balfe, Jim Dooley, Henry Jackman, Michael A. Levine, Atli Örvarsson, and Heitor Pereira.

    Orchestra conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith and Blake Neely.

    Charts

    Chart performance for The Simpsons Movie: The Music
    Chart (2007) Peak
    position
    Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 81
    US Billboard 200[8] 108

    References

    1. ^ Maxine Shen (July 24, 2007). "'Simpsons' Score State of the Bart". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
    2. ^ Will Harris (September 26, 2007). "Alf Clausen interview, The Simpsons". Bullz-Eye.com. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
    3. ^ Conniff, Tamara (May 10, 2007). "'Biker' pirates, keeping Zimmer busy". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
    4. ^ "Hans Zimmer Bakes Up a Tasty Soundtrack for The Simpsons Movie". Soundtrack.net. June 26, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
    5. ^ a b c Edward Douglas (August 7, 2007). "The One and Only Hans Zimmer!". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
    6. ^
      Allmusic
      . Retrieved September 2, 2011.
    7. ^ Mitchum, Bob (August 3, 2007). "Hans Zimmer – The Simpsons Movie: The Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
    8. ^ a b c "The Simpsons Movie: The Music (Original Soundtrack) - Hans Zimmer". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
    9. ^ "Hans Zimmer - Spider Pig". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
    10. ^ "Hans Zimmer - Spider Pig". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
    11. The Official Charts Company
      . Retrieved August 4, 2010.
    12. ^ "Hans Zimmer - Spider Pig". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
    13. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 254.
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Simpsons_Movie:_The_Music&oldid=1195525245"