by jaldrich on 5/10/2009
favorite track: 13
 
This was the first score I ever heard by James Horner. I saw the movie with my dad in Christmas 1995. My second grade teacher read the book to my class before that. The story is about two children who discover a magic jungle board game where the animals come to life. I love this score. It begins with sakuhachi and strings. A beautiful theme for woodwinds plays out on several tracks like 1, 4, and 13. I love that! The action sequences are well written too. They have banging piano and more sakuhachi. This CD is a rarity, and I challenge you to find it cheap. If you get it for Christmas or birthday, it would make a great gift. It even has some music not presented in the film, notably tracks 8 and 13. These have the monkey theme introduced in track 3. The soundtrack also implements drums in track 13, and a string theme which pops up in various other places. This is such a great fantasy adventure score, compared only with Willow. Willow has a lot of beautiful woodwind work. Jumanji though, takes the trophy for me. Flawless writing intended for a younger audience. This score could also compare with, on second thought, Casper, my third favorite score. So in order they are Jumanji, Braveheart, Casper, and Willow. They rank up as expensive, but buy them if you can. Great scores; great movies; great stories. Enjoy!