JOEL MCNEELY has sketched a bouncy, entertaining score for "The Jungle Book 2," while PAUL GRABOWSKY and LORRAINE FEATHER form the music/lyrics songwriting ream for the film’s engaging, new songs.
A graduate in composition from the distinguished Eastman School of Music, McNeely has composed the scores for nearly 40 films and television series, including Walt Disney Pictures’ "Return to Never Land" in 2002, live-action films ‘Soldier" and "Vegas Vacation," Jim Cameron’s series "Dark Angel," and the animated series "Tiny Toon Adventures." He has conducted more than 30 albums of classic film music, including an entire collection of works by noted Hitchcock film composer Bernard Herrmann, for Varese Records. Those works include the first-ever Gramophone Award for his work on an album of the score to "Vertigo."
A native of Australia, Grabowsky composed for a number of popular primetime television series in Australia, including the courtroom drama "Janus" and the detective series "Phoenix." His recent works include the made-for-television "Noah’s Ark" starring Jon Voight and a pair of critically-acclaimed Michael Caine films, "Last Orders" and "Shiner."
The daughter of legendary jazz historian Leonard Feather, Lorraine Feather’s professional experience ranges from penning songs for recording by Cleo Lame, Diane Schuur and Kenny Rankin to writing the lyrics for the piano solos of Fats Waller. Feather boasts an impressive, unique pedigree based in jazz, primarily because of an upbringing around her father’s colleagues and a close family friendship with the likes of Peggy Lee and Feather’s godmother, Billie Holiday. Feather has written for "The Lionhearts" and the Christmas-themed video from the "All Dogs Go To Heaven" series, heartily whetting her appetite for writing music for animation.
McNeely’s early musical training as a jazz musician (focusing on the saxophone) was a perfect match for a score that required influences of Dixieland, New Orleans Jazz, big band and an occasional boogie-woogie. He responded with a rich score that ranges from large orchestral impressionistic tones to a jazzy sensibility. The score includes clever musical quotes that give pause for emotional and playful moments by harkening back to the original film’s comical and heartfelt character themes.
"As jazz moves you and gets you up in your seat bouncing, the film’s score and songs never allow you to sir back and disconnect from the image or story," says Trenbirth. "We wanted to keep you involved and engaged within the film. You never just view ‘The Jungle Book 2,’ you stay within the picture."
Feather and Grabowsky complemented McNeely’s score with a pair of songs that projected key character perspectives while also encapsulating the film’s inherent sense of play. The first song, "Jungle Rhythm," is an infectiously rhythmic song that — when seen through Mowgli’s eyes — virtually depicts the jungle as a character onto itself. The jungle represents Mowgli’s freedom — it’s the call of the wild — and Feather! Grabowsky translated that sentiment into an irresistible rune that grasps anyone that hears the beat.
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