Walt Disney Records will release the original motion picture soundtrack for Finding Dory on June 17, 2016. The score was composed and conducted by thirteen-time Oscar nominee and six-time Grammy winner Thomas Newman (“Spectre,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Saving Mr. Banks”).
Finding Dory welcomes back to the big screen Dory, friends Marlin and Nemo—and Newman. “To me, he was one of the cast members of ‘Finding Nemo,'” says director Andrew Stanton. “We formed a close relationship ever since, and now that he is behind the score for ‘Finding Dory,’ it feels like the last member of the family has arrived at the reunion.”
“There was no way I could not do ‘Finding Dory,’ says Newman, who was nominated for an Oscar for his work on “Finding Nemo” and won a Grammy (best song written for motion picture, television or other visual media) on Stanton’s “WALL•E.” “It’s ironic that a movie about fish—some in aquariums, some in open water—has such a huge range of emotive possibilities—from the hysterical to the deeply profound and primally frightening. That’s exciting to ponder musically.”
The Finding Dory score features both an orchestral and electronic approach, allowing the composer flexibility. He employs dulcimer guitars, tympani drums and soprano vibraphones to support the storytelling in a unique way. “I have such a love of percussion color,” he says. “I like the high-metal rhythms and quirky sounds.”
Five-time Grammy nominee singer-songwriter Sia performs the film’s end-credit song, “Unforgettable.” American songwriter Irving Gordon wrote the song in 1951, and in 1992 won a Grammy for it when Natalie Cole included the tribute to her late father on her album of duets. “Unforgettable” remains revered worldwide today.
Sia performed the song last month on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” DeGeneres, coincidentally, is the voice of the much beloved and forever forgetful blue tang Dory. “Dory’s story makes me teary,” said Sia. “When Ellen asked me, I couldn’t refuse!”
Andrew Stanton has long been a fan of the native Australian performer. “In the same way Robbie Williams did his own unique twist on a classic song for ‘Finding Nemo,’ Sia captures the soulful truth of the Nat King Cole classic ‘Unforgettable,’ and makes it all her own,” said Stanton. “They are a perfect complement to one another, just like the two films.
The Finding Dory soundtrack, featuring Thomas Newman’s score and Sia’s rendition of “Unforgettable,” will be available from Walt Disney Records on June 17, 2016, wherever music is sold. The soundtrack is available for pre-order HERE and can be streamed HERE.