• Composed by Michael Giacchino
• Walt Disney Records / 2013 / 22m

The first Toy Story television special, Toy Story of Terror! follows Woody, Buzz and the gang who are forced to spend the night in a spooky motel.  It’s produced by Pixar and features the big stars reprising their voice roles.  Sadly not reprising his role is composer Randy Newman, a vital part of the Toy Story cog beforehand.  There’s no slouch in his place, though – it’s Michael Giacchino, who seems to have become Pixar’s house composer; and this is his only score of 2013 other than Star Trek: Into Darkness.  As well as the big movies he’s done for the studio, the composer has written the music for a number of shorts, often providing delightful accompaniment to the usually delightful films; this welcome release, albeit download-only, is the first music from any of Pixar’s non-feature work to have been made available for purchase.

Sadly, it’s the least memorable thing Giacchino’s written for the studio.  After a bright, amusing opening which offers a brief hint of Randy Newman’s style before moving into a stylised Halloween theme, the music becomes technically-accomplished, highly-polished but sadly rather generic orchestral action/adventure.  Newman’s brilliance in capturing the joy of these stories while writing highly-literate, ever-interesting music is unrivalled in the modern day – Giacchino attempts to do a similar thing, but even a composer of his quality isn’t able to get anywhere close, which just goes to show what an amazing job Newman has done over the years.  The music here is fast-paced and well-orchestrated, but the only thing you’re likely to remember about it is the few bars of Newman quoted in “World’s Worst Curtain Call”; otherwise the best thing is the witty cue titles.  It’s distinctively Giacchino and fans of the composer will hear many of his hallmarks throughout; but sadly it’s at the Land of the Lost end of the scale.  All very slick and professional, but just a bit too bland.

Rating: **

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