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Favorite Peter Pan score (other than Hook)


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My nephew has been performing in a junior school Peter Pan this week, and a great pirate he was too! I naturally had to stick on some Peter Pan related film music so of course I ended up with Hook (sequel) and Pan (prequel)... but I have a few others in my library and it got me to thinking what was everyone's favourite Peter Pan score that wasn't Hook. So my quick question is... is there a thread for this already? I searched and couldn't find one but I'm sometimes a bit hopeless with searches. Plus, does anyone actually care as to the best Peter Pan score that isn't Hook!? Or will JNH and John Powell just tie for it?!

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I liked Romer’s new score from last year, but it’s hard to outdo Powell.

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Yes, JNH's.

 

I have nostalgic memories of the old Disney film, but the score never made much of an impression.

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I only know Pan by Powell and Peter Pan by JNH. The former is quite nice, the latter leaves a lot to be desired except for the beautiful dance, and neither even make the smallest attempt to come remotely close to Hook.

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1 hour ago, crocodile said:

I quite like Benjamin Wallfisch's stage adaptation score:

 

 

Yup this is my answer too, even though I do like the JNH.

 

If Joel McNeely Tinker Bell scores count, then I’ll go with The Lost Treasure.

 

Yavar

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I only just noticed that my post got moved into a thread. Thanks @Mephariel! In response to my own question, I'd have to say JNH's Peter Pan and JP's Pan would be my joint favourites. Both have bags of character, JNH's is perhaps the more magical of the two, with JP's more on the pirate/swashbuckling end of things but one of those JP scores that I forget how good it is.

 

I listened to the Wallfisch album earlier and enjoyed it muchly, although it doesn't have quite as much character of its own as the others. I also have a ballet score by Stephen Warbeck but having listened to it a few weeks ago can't honestly say I recall any of it. I seem to recall Daniel Hart's recent Peter Pan and Wendy score being somewhat underwhelming, but I'll have to give it another listen. I don't recall enjoying Oliver Wallace's score for the Disney animated version that much, it's all too, well, cartoonish, but another one to give another listen to.

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JNH's work captured the fantasy side of this story really well. It's hard to top that "Flying" tune alone. To this day I still can't figure out where he gets his inspiration to write these amazing tunes for scenes that barely have anything truly imaginative to offer.

 

I was also very surprised and impressed by Joel McNeely's "Flight Through Neverland" from his score for the direct-to-video sequel to the original animated flick. Clearly inspired more by Hook and JW than Oliver Wallace. I only wish this wasn't the only cohesive track of the album - the rest is all over the place with the Stalling effect (read: Micky Mousing).

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Personally, Pan AINEC.

 

JNH's Peter Pan has some nice moments but I never warmed to the album (certainly not to an expansion) and I also was never a big fan of his themes - the 80s flying theme particularly struck me as a bit odd, even in context.

 

McNeely's Neverland score again... some nice bits here and there but never rises above an extremely completent but merely functional score.

 

But Powell's Pan is a thematic and orchestrational delight - being given a canvas that has the action and fun of an animated movie, but still being a live action movie - a perfect vehicle for Powell's style. A minus point goes to some of the earlier dramatic material and his OTT orchestration in the action sequences (and we'll never know whether the former has anything to do with time, given it's a replacement score) but his core ideas make up for that in a stunning 50-minute playlist. I rented the movie years ago and immediately told the critics to stuff themselves - I really liked it and the score worked great.

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JNH's Peter Pan and Powell's Pan are some of my top picks, but I would recommend at least checking out Daniel Hart's score for Pan & Wendy. Some bits on the album are fairly dull, but there are some awesome tracks in here, especially the track that underscores their arrival at Neverland:

 

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