‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’: The Power of Music in Films
‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ may not have received positive reviews from critics, and although it lacks in the storyline, according to viewers, the film definitely made up for in stunning visuals and sound. From incredibly well-generated CGI backdrops to the amazing costuming, the movie managed to look truly magical.
One element that also serves in complementing the moving images on the screen is the music. Emmy-winning composer, Geof Zanelli, was responsible for creating the score and came up with the film’s theme song “You Can’t Stop the Girl”. As per one of our latest posts, music is pivotal when it comes to setting the right mood and delivering the emotional impact. In ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’, the musical score definitely embellishes and enhances the story, but more importantly allows viewers to feel that the theater is the most magical place on earth.
In an interview, Zanelli once discussed his approach to writing music for films. In this film, in particular, it is noticeable that the composer wanted to focus on the roots of the world the movie takes place in, staying away from trendy elements. Maleficent learns that she is just one of many Dark Fey — that there is, in fact, a whole society of outcast fairies which obviously play an important and relevant role in the movie — , and such fact is supported by musical elements: there is indeed a sonic culture for said characters that hinted at their diversity.
Another particular element that stands out is the fact that the composer managed to update the classical sounds from ‘Sleeping Beauty’. The first installment of the movie did enough to pay homage to Sleeping Beauty, but since this film now tries to expand its world it makes sense that the composer didn’t try to simply go back and mine the score and songs from such a classic film; however, musical elements such as a large symphonic orchestra and choir definitely relates Disney’s most classic projects, which accounts for the sense of timelessness that is present in the film.
When it comes to music, it’s important to say that all film music exists in service to the story it’s written for. Music has always played a pivotal role in audiovisual projects. Whether it is a film, a short film, a documentary project, or even an ad, music is always present to some degree. Of course, the complexity of a soundtrack goes from the traditional worn-off jingle to a whole new composition.
Music in audiovisual projects is highly linked with the emotional impact the project intends to deliver. Think of Christmas ads and the music they involve: all those soundtracks and jingles include elements highly associated with that time of the year, which ultimately emphasizes the storytelling in terms of Christmas and the message the project wants to convey. The same applies to films.
Depending on what’s going on, whether it’s a home invasion story or one that takes place in a wonderful world where fairies, humans and legendary animals coexist, the actual style and sound of the music is completely different: one can be a simple violin line with a singer grunting into a microphone, and the other is a thoroughly curated score given to a 100-piece orchestra, meticulously performed at one of the world’s top recording studios.
Regarding the latter, audio post-production and recording studios in particular really understand the value of having great musicians and a great score. They go above and beyond to make everything happen, and it’s really hard to understate the role of studios in allowing the score to keep the story alive.
Delivering the Emotional Impact
Movies such as ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ allows us to realize that the audience has in their mind plenty of songs and musical pieces from movies. In fact, the vast majority of them remind us of a certain individual, time and places we’ve possibly been to before. The music in the film does that perfectly: by keeping a healthy balance between the musical elements that remind us of that time when we used to watch Disney classics and the ones that allow us to understand the modern elements of society, the film manages to resonate with us. It’s the power of music in films.
Music and other musical elements are key in audiovisual projects, and given the fact that for us to comprehend and process music, our brains resort to that exact same part responsible for triggering, and to some extent controlling, emotions and memories.
Since our brains are capable of establishing an emotional bond between a piece of music and something either positive, sad, joyful, negative, etc., the fact that the movie includes music, original soundtrack songs, and other musical elements suggests that actually all these elements help make the storytelling in more enticing, digestible and memorable, and that’s why the movie, in that regard, truly delivers.
