Soundtrack Review: Mars Needs Moms (2011)

Mars Needs Moms Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the motion picture score Mars Needs Moms by John Powell.

"Sometimes my expectations are very high, but really John, it's your fault. You are just so damn good"

Mars Needs Moms is the latest animated movie from Disney. It's about a boy, Milo, who doesn't think his mom is so special after an argument. He falls asleep and wakes up to a mom-less world. The martians have here and Milo is quickly on a rescue mission. Director Simon Wells have used James Horner, Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt before but never John Powell. Yes, John Powell has returned to score his first animated feature of the year and aren't we all excited?

Track List

The legacy of HTTYD

Just about a year ago, John Powell came up with this little gem called How To Train Your Dragon. After that score he set a new standard when it comes to scoring for animated movies. The news that he was to score for around 6 straight animated movies was well taken to say the least. Mars Needs Moms is Powell's first contribution this year and the anticipation couldn't be much higher personally.

Of course this is a completely different tale than How To Train Your Dragon. This is about Mars after all, and moms apparently. Right from the start you hear sci-fi with no dragons in sight.

The cue 'Mars Observers' is bursting with that energy we have come to love from Powell's animated adventures. The only difference this time is that while the energy levels are high, it lacks something, a great melody perhaps? While How To Train Your Dragon was filled with them, it seems to be a bit lacking here. There's no defined theme that I could find as easily as I could in How To Train Your Dragon.

Still, I don't know what I was expecting exactly. A copy of How To Train Your Dragon? It is not that, and I'm glad it isn't. I just want a fun, energetic score to listen to but also something to hum along in the future. There's definitely a nice theme going in 'The Sacrifice', but I have a feeling it will not be remembered for a very long time. There's also 'Mars Needs Moms Credits Suite' that has a more energetic rendition of the main theme.

The curiosity at the end called 'Martian Mambo' is best avoided until you have watched the movie, because without some connection that track seems like a Martian nightmare to be honest with very little actual melody, but a lot of ooh's and aah's.

Conclusion

Mars Needs Moms is a very good score (even though I might seem a bit let down in the review). Sometimes my expectations are very high, but really John, it's your fault. You are just so damn good. This is one of those scores that you will have to listen to a few times to really truly enjoy. It has a lot of energy and it's definitely is a lot of fun. Thank you John Powell for always coming up with the goods when it comes to animated movies, yet again you deliver.

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Listen to the Mars Needs Moms soundtrack by John Powell below: