If you’ve seen a Tim Burton movie, you’ve heard Danny Elfman. The two work together on tons of projects and have created some very memorable scores. Danny has done other projects, but many are not as iconic as those he does with Burton. His scores often feel whimsical despite the weird and dark subject he is putting to music. Here’s a list of his more recognizable work.
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Batman (1989)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Batman Returns (1992)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Good Will Hunting (1997) **
Men in Black (1997) **
Spiderman (2002)
Big Fish (2004) **
Milk (2009) **
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
** academy award nominated
A photo of Danny Elfman
A brief history/fact session
Before going into the film scoring world, Danny Elfman was in a band called Oingo Boingo. Just by the name, you can tell it was a very unique band. He arranged for them, built instruments, and eventually became the lead songwriter. Then in 1985, he scored his first big picture Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. That movie is the first of the many, many times (16 in total) he worked with director Tim Burton. Their styles have almost become synonymous with each other. He is still actively composing, with his most recent movie being Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Only 4 of his movies have been nominated for academy awards, and he has yet to win one.
Another photo of Danny Elfman
He’s for the little freaks
Danny does his best work when he’s working on a weird movie, and that’s what makes him such a great collaborator with Tim Burton. His music is able to touch on the darkness of the subject yet feel childlike in approach. Take The Nightmare Before Christmas for example. That movie is kind of gruesome and strange, but the score and songs still reflect that of a children’s movie. They have a sense of play that is often not found in other scores that take themselves too seriously. His scores are often full of brass and bells for big scenes while utilizing choirs and instruments like the glockenspiel for sentimental ones. Instruments with lower registers tend to end up working as much (if not more) as the higher ones as he often has melodies down there. It creates a sort of inverted sound to what we typically hear in a score and adds to the odd feeling of his music. He moved away from the little freaky movies in the later 2000s and early 2010s (except for Alice in Wonderland) and opted for dramas like The Silver Lining Playbook and action movies like Avengers: Age of Ultron. Part of what makes a Danny Elfman score great is a sense of lighthearted darkness. The movies he scored later on in his career have lost that feeling, and so they don’t hit as hard for me.
Credit: Warner Bros (1989)
Batman
So, Batman’s score means a lot to me personally, solely for the fact that I played LEGO Batman growing up and they used the music from this movie. Superhero movies in the 80s/90s seem to have taken themselves less seriously than today’s and honestly it may have been for the better. I remember Batman stylistically way more than Batman Vs Superman. It feels fun and overdramatic, and the score replicates that. Its music is almost constantly moving, keeping viewers in the action. “The Batman Theme” itself has such an iconic buildup that not much beats it. Batman leans heavy into the brass side to land the punches while letting strings add background sound. Choir and bells heighten the action and drama even more. For the quieter scenes, woodwinds are brought in to give the sound a mysterious, almost ethereal feel. There are waltzes, marches, and a little bit of everything else. The whole score feels like it has tension musically that only gets resolved in the “Finale”. Favorites:
The Batman Theme
Attack of the Batwing
Up the Cathedral
Waltz to the Death
Finale
Credit: Twentieth Century Fox (1990)
Edward Scissorhands
I think this movie is severely underrated, both in terms of the score and the movie itself. The score features heavy choir and celesta (a piano with bells instead of strings). I think the choir is used to make a more human connection to Edward, while the celesta brings in the childlike innocence of his character to the sound. As always there is strong lower brass to add some energy. The score also has a very strong “Christmas movie sound.” It feels like one of the first, but that could be entirely not true just because I haven’t seen many Christmas-y movies before this one. If anything, this is Danny Elfman’s take on a Christmas score. Favorites:
Ballet De Suburbia (Suite)
Ice Dance
Edwardo The Barber
The Final Confrontation
The Grand Finale
Credit: Beuna Vista Pictures Distribution (1993)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Not many composers tackle writing original music for musicals, but Danny did it with flying colors, even voicing Jack Skellington for the songs. The score captures the darkness of Halloween but also the whimsicalness of Christmas. I think it’s great to see Danny get to use his songwriting skills in addition to his scoring ability. The songs tie in seamlessly, with rarely a moment in the movie without music. I think Nightmare’s score was overshadowed because of the moves that were released around its time (Alladin and The Lion King) and sort of has a cult following because of that. Of all the scores, this one may be the most stereotypically Danny Elfman. The music is animatedly expressive, features weird unique instruments, and of course has that lower brass working day and night. Favorites:
This Is Halloween
Jack’s Lament
Doctor Finklestein/In The Forest
What’s This?
End Credits
Wrapping up
Danny Elfman is a composer who needs a revival. People don’t make movies as weird and quirky as the used to, and that is where a Danny Elfman score works best. His most recent movies, like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, don’t have half of the personality his 80s/90s movies do. I think Alice in Wonderland (2010), and MAYBE Epic (2013), were his last really memorable scores. Danny defined Tim Burton and late 90s/early 2000s superhero movies with a very unique sound. I love that sound and would love to see him continue creating more like that. We can only really hope that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will become revival he needs to get back in his weird little groove.
weird little groove for the win!!!!!!!