The Enduring Legacy of John Powell’s Score for “Dragons”
The sky is blue, almost clear. Only a few clouds gently touch the steep cliffs surrounding the island of Berk. In the distance, the boreal sea, as far as the eye can see, seems to issue an electrifying invitation. Hiccup has taken his place on Toothless’ saddle, and is preparing to launch himself into the void. This is his very first flight on the back of a dragon.
Suddenly, it launches, swoops, executes a few timid changes of trajectory which gradually transform into impetuous spins. And when we discover the animated feature film from Dreamworks studios for the first time, we have the strange and euphoric impression of riding the gigantic winged creature ourselves.
A Brilliant Composer
The scene is powerful, certainly. But if it manages to make our hairs stand at attention and make all the hairs on our heads stand on end with pleasure, it is thanks to the strings, percussion and brass of the musical theme which resonates in our ears at that moment.
This absolutely masterful score, as well as the entire Dragons soundtrack, is by the excellent John Powell. A composer whose name the general public does not necessarily know, but who is nevertheless among the great maestros of his discipline.
Powell has signed major live-action soundtracks for cinema (such as Face/Off, The Bourne Identity, and Hancock), but is especially distinguished for his immense talent in the field of animation, notably at Dreamworks.
“Everything Worked”
We owe him the wonderful scores of Antz, Shrek, Chicken Run, Kung Fu Panda, Happy Feet, Ice Age, Horton, Rio, and Migration, and therefore the Dragons trilogy.
“You always try to get emotionally attached to the story. Whether the movie is good or not, you try to believe in it. It’s like actors trying to get into character,” he declared in a 2014 interview with Power 106 Los Angeles on YouTube on the occasion of the release of Dragons 2.
“In this case, the movie is so good that it’s easy, really easy. I discovered it a year and a half ago, but it was just a succession of drawings, nothing moved, and it worked. The story worked, everything worked. I didn’t have the slightest problem liking the story from that moment on. I started writing themes a year and a half ago and gradually it all came together.”
The Dragons franchise, based on the book series by Cressida Cowell, began with the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon and expanded into a television series, DreamWorks Dragons (2012-2014), and subsequent spin-offs like Dragons: Rescue Riders (2019-2022) and Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021-2023) [1]. Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup in the franchise [1].
What is your favorite John Powell soundtrack?
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