Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

世界的な大ヒットファンタジー「ハリー・ポッター」シリーズ完結から5年を経て、その新シリーズとして期待される映画『ファンタスティック・ビーストと魔法使いの旅』のサウンドトラック。作者J・K・ローリングが自ら脚本を手がけ、実際に発売もされたホグワーツ魔法魔術学校の指定教科書「幻の動物とその生息地」の編纂者である魔法動物学者ニュート・スキャマンダーが繰り広げる大冒険を描く。監督は「ハリー・ポッター」シリーズ5作目から監督を務めてきたデビッド・イェーツ。音楽は『ダークナイト』『ハンガー・ゲーム』『マレフィセント』等を手掛け、グラミー受賞歴もあるジェームズ・ニュートン・ハワード。

Making his debut in the J.K. Rowling wizarding universe, composer James Newton Howard was tabbed to score Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first entry in a prequel series to the Harry Potter franchise. No stranger to blockbuster series, Howard already composed music for members of the Dark Knight, Hunger Games, and Jason Bourne epics, among others. Here, he follows behind such esteemed colleagues as Alexandre Desplat, Patrick Doyle, and the iconic John Williams, the latter of whom created the main musical motifs for the original films, having scored the first three Harry Potter films. Howard pays brief homage to Williams' themes (catch the opening "Main Titles" or "The Niffler") while focusing on his own. He does so within an established soundscape; haunting vocals, harp, bells, plucked strings, and flitting woodwinds tie new settings and characters to the puckish textures of the epic's past. Moving deftly through scenes of action, humor, and danger, he uses styles ranging from jazz combo ("Macusa Headquarters") to keyboard ballad ("Newt Says Goodbye to Tina") and soaring rhapsody ("Inside the Case"). Howard's themes may not be as memorable as Williams' (a tall order), but they do transport and entertain, even separate from the film. ~ Marcy Donelson|