Through four films in the Pixar canon, composer Thomas Newman has delighted audiences with sonic landscapes that have accompanied pivotal moments in animation history. Most recently, the Finding Nemo composer reunited with the studio to provide the score for Elemental, a love story for the ages. Coincidentally, Newman’s work on this latest effort drew some parallels to another Pixar classic, 2008’s Wall-E, and it’s all thanks to the joys of rewriting the score of both films to accentuate some beautiful songs.
As I had the incredible honor to speak with Thomas Newman for a press day involving Elemental, my research turned to the production notes for both that film, as well as Wall-E. In both cases, I noticed that the maestro who’s scored everything from The Shawshank Redemption to Skyfall cited his collaboration with songwriters as being a vital ingredient to going back and reworking some material.
