The soundtrack to the Disney+ docuseries The Imagineering Story is here with thirty-seven tracks from composer Jeff Kryka. Like the Disney Parks, the music is fun, lively, and an escape from reality. It’s over an hour of new, original music from the series that helped Leslie Iwerks tell a story that’s near and dear to our hearts.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the score is that it doesn’t rely on the vast library of unique music created for the parks. It never samples melodies and refrains from trying to emulate them. The album kicks off with the opening credits theme, “Overture to Imagineering,” which uses violins, chimes, harpsichord, and choral vocals to create a perfect aura of optimism and challenge, underscoring the series theme of just how difficult it is to create something grand out of nothing.
The entire album has a very percussive flow with a wide variety of instruments. Jeff Kryka clearly tried to emulate the vast amount of creativity of the Imagineers in the soundscape of the series. It’s fun to listen to the score separate from the series to try and pick all of it out. Perhaps most impressively, there’s not a lot of repeated themes throughout the soundtrack, keeping it fresh and original throughout.
The composer clearly had a lot of fun when naming the tracks. “Lay of the Disneyland,” “As a Matterhorn of Fact,” and “Swashbuckle Up” are just a few examples of the joy and delight that awaits fans in just perusing the tracklist. He also doesn’t fall into any perceived tropes. For example, “It’s a Jungle Cruise Out There” doesn’t sound like an exotic river journey.
It’s great to finally have music from The Imagineering Story to listen to anytime, anywhere. If you’re looking for just a handful of tracks for an optimistic playlist, my favorites are “Lay of the Disneyland,” “All Who Come to this Happy Place,” “Four Levels of Detail,” “Collecting Research,” “Mystic Point,” and “Where Do We Go From Here?” But you can’t go wrong with any piece of music from this incredible release.
The Imagineering Story Original Soundtrack is now available digitally from all music providers including Amazon and Apple Music.