James Newton Howard › Peter Pan [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

Original score composed by James Newton Howard.

Producers: James Newton Howard, James Weidman, James T. Hill.

Personnel: Karen Harper, Susie Stevens Logan, Terri Koide, Joanna Bushnell, Virenia Lind, Sandi Hall, Joan Beal, Linda Harmon, Sally Stevens, Terry Harrington, Elin Carlson (soprano); John Beeney, Dwayne Condon, Dick Wells, Walt Harrah, Agostino Castagnola, Amick Byram, Rick Logan, Sean McDermott, Steve Amerson, Randy Crenshaw, Jonathan Mack (tenor); Jon Joyce , Bob Joyce, Stephen Grimm, Kerry Katz, Jerry Whitman, Gene Merlino, Guy Maeda, Mike Geiger, Ian Freebairn-Smith, John West, Alvin Chea (baritone); Marcia Dickstein, Gayle Levant (harp); Davey Johnstone (mandocello, mandolin); Eun Mee Ahn, Al Hershberger, Anatoly Rosinsky, Katia Popov, Robin Olson, Mark Sazer, Ana Landauer, Alan Grunfeld, Henry Gronnier, Helen Nightengale, Ken Yerke, Phillip Levy , Julia Ann Gigante, Jeanne Evans, Lily Chen, Franklyn D'Antonio, Rene Mandel, Tamara Hatwan, Sungil Lee, Andrew Graybill, Mark Robertson , Joel Derouin, Lisa Sutton, Richard Altenbach, Jacqueline Brand, Roberto Cani, Bruce Dukov, Clayton Haslop, Natalie Leggett, Sarah Thornblade, Liane Mautner, Dimitrie Leivici, Miwako Watanabe, Rafael Rishik, Endre Granat (violin); Dan Neufeld, Shawn Mann, Victoria Miskolczy, Marlow Fisher, Matthew Funes, Steven Gordon, Cassandra Richburg, Rick Gerding, Robert Becker, Brian Dembow, Keith Greene, Janet Lakatos, Dave Walther, Piotr Jandula, Thomas Dienner, Darrin McCann, Shanti Randall (viola); Timothy Landauer, Dennis Karmazyn, Paul Cohen , Antony Cooke , Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, Dane Little, Andrew Shulman, David Speltz, Sebastian Toettcher, Cecilia Tsan, John Walz, Todd Hemmenway, Christine Ermacoff (cello); Louise di Tullio, Jim Walker , Geri Rotella (flute); Phil Ayling (panpipes, recorder, oboe); Amanda Walker, Emily Bernstein, Gary Bovyer, James Kanter (clarinet); Tom Boyd, Barbara Northcutt (oboe); Ken Munday, Allen Savedoff, David Riddles (bassoon); Jon Lewis , Malcolm McNabb, Warren Luening, Tim Morrison, David Washburn (trumpet); James Sawyer, Andrew Malloy, William Booth, George Thatcher, William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); Jim Self (tuba); Phillip Edward Yao, David Duke , Steven Becknell, Brian D. O'Connor, John Reynolds, Richard Todd, Jim Thatcher (horns); Randy Kerber (keyboards); Neil Stubenhaus (electric bass); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Alan Estes, Emil Radocchia, Dan Greco, Joe Porcaro, Michael Fisher, Peter Limonick, Robert Zimmitti, Donald Williams (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Shawn Murphy.

Recording information: Sony Pictures Studios.

The producers were wise in their choosing of James Newton Howard to compose the score for P.J. Hogan's big screen rendering of J.M. Barrie's famous children's book, Peter Pan. The former Elton John keyboardist's work on M. Night Shyamalan's Sixth Sense and Signs showcased his ability to blend suspense and whimsy, and skillfully paint a scene from a child actor's point of view. For Peter Pan, Howard builds the dreamy world of "Neverland" with harps, choirs, and the occasional keyboard flourish, fleshing out the characters with fairy tale precision, and creating a believable realm in the same fashion that John Williams handled the magical world of Harry Potter. The string motifs he chooses for Wendy and Peter are steeped in the bittersweet confusion of sexual awakening, and the eternally youthful Lost Boys are treated with a light hand, hinting at their enviable immortality. "Howard" goes to great lengths to capture the myth of Peter Pan, never dumbing it down. His is a darker take on a story that has spent years in the hands of cartoonists, and it delivers the tale a much-needed edge. ~ James Christopher Monger