Disney announces Dinosaur soundtrack

Disney announces Dinosaur soundtrack

Walt Disney Records Takes a Prehistoric Journey Back in Time With the Soundtrack to Dinosaur

Album includes original score composed by 5-time Oscar nominee James Newton Howard

On May 19, 2000, audiences will be taken on a journey unlike anything they have ever seen when Walt Disney Pictures releases the groundbreaking new motion picture, "Dinosaur." On May 2nd, Walt Disney Records releases the soundtrack that lets people everywhere relive this dazzling experience -- a breathtaking album showcasing an all-new original score by world-renowned composer James Newton Howard.

Joining the ranks of Hollywood's all-time greatest and most impressive visual effects spectacles, Walt Disney Pictures' "Dinosaur" immerses moviegoers in a photorealistic prehistoric world of wonders with its stunning blend of digitally-enhanced live-action photography, special effects wizardry and computer-generated characters. With more than 1300 sophisticated individual effects shots, this cinematic marvel is one of the most ambitious and complex of its kind.

Set 65 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period, the film follows the adventures of an Iguanodon named Aladar, who is separated from his own species as a hatchling and raised on an island paradise by a clan of Lemurs. When a devastating meteor shower plunges their world into chaos, Aladar and several members of his Lemur family escape to the mainland and join a group of migrating dinosaurs desperately searching for a safe new nesting ground. With water and food in short supply and bloodthirsty predators posing an ever-present danger, the herd faces many life-threatening obstacles during the course of their treacherous trek. Aladar's innovative thinking and compassion for the "misfit" members of the herd brings him into conflict with Kron, the rigid and stone-hearted leader of the group, and his loyal lieutenant Bruton. Winning support from Kron's sister, Neera, Aladar reluctantly challenges the "traditional ways" and shows how being adaptable is the best path for survival.

In any film, music plays a pivitol role in the telling of the story, guiding the various dimensions of feeling and emotion. Guiding us through the epic story of Dinosaur is renowned 5 time Oscar®-nominee James Newton Howard ("The Sixth Sense," "Snow Falling on Cedars," "The Fugitive"). The moving soundtrack transports listeners from the serene opening moments of the film into the perilous world of tyrannical and predatory dinosaurs colliding, and finally to the film's powerful resolution when at long last the herd finds a new home. As Howard states, "Music clarifies what the sequence of emotional events are. It helps you understand when there's a point where one should feel that there is hope, one where there's danger. I think one of my jobs was not only to tell the story (of Dinosaur), to sort of underscore the emotional content of the movie, but to help accelerate and make even more exciting some of the action sequences."

Grammy® and Tony Award®-winning Lebo M, known as the "voice and spirit of The Lion King," contributes his unique vocal arrangements throughout the "Dinosaur" score. His influence is most evident in the inspiring track called "The Courtship," which showcases his remarkable quality in choral music, making the piece feel at once exotic and completely new. "I don't think there's anyone in the world quite like Lebo," concludes Howard. "His rhythmic sense, his melodic sense is extraordinary. He brought another hook to the music ... (in the case of 'The Courtship') making it almost a song."

The film features an all-star voice cast including D.B. Sweeney (as Aladar), Julianna Margulies (as Neera), Samuel E. Wright, Joan Plowright, Della Reese, Ossie Davis, Alfre Woodard and Max Casella. Dinosaur will be released in theatres nationwide on May 19, 2000.

The Dinosaur soundtrack is available on cassette for a suggested retail price of $11.98; CD prices will vary according to retailer outlets. In addition to the album, Walt Disney Records will release the "Dinosaur Read-Along" which will incorporate original voice talent from the movie as well as art, and the "Dinosaur Song Factory," a new product line that turns an ordinary computer keyboard into a musical instrument. Both the "Dinosaur Read-Along" and "Dinosaur Song Factory" are available at retail May 2, 2000, in conjunction with the soundtrack's street date.

All products can also be ordered by visiting Walt Disney Records' web site: www.Disney.com/DisneyRecords , part of GO Network @ go.com.


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-- Posted: April 27, 2000

Source: Company Press release