Yahoo Autos Mychael Danna Is the Man Behind the Music of ‘Onward’ and a Billion-Dollar Composer
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Mychael Danna may be the leading proponent of musical multiculturalism in film music. An Oscar winner for “Life of Pi,” an Emmy winner for “World Without End,” composer of scores as diverse as “Moneyball” and “Girl Interrupted,” he often blends ethnic sounds with a traditional orchestra in ways that few would dare attempt.
Pixar’s new “Onward,” however, posed a unique challenge. Working, as he often does, with his brother Jeff, Danna had to score an animated fantasy about brothers who had lost their accountant dad at an early age, just as Mychael and Jeff did when they were teenagers in Toronto.
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At Pixar’s original presentation of the story, Mychael recalls, “we were just like, ‘Is this a joke? Is this some weird prank?’ because it was pretty much our story.” Adds Jeff: “There were so many parallels, we were shaking our heads, we couldn’t believe it.”
“Onward” director Dan Scanlon insists he knew nothing of their personal story when he invited the brothers to write music for his film. “I didn’t know about their father until I pitched them the movie, and then it became a kind of therapy session for us,” he says with a laugh.
“Their music emphasizes authenticity, that this is a real-world [story], these are real emotions. And then they added a big sweeping journey to be taken seriously, not a joke, and an incredibly deep, rich, emotional heart.”
There is a 92-piece orchestra and 30-voice choir, but the mystical sounds of Renaissance lute and wire-strung harp, along with the medieval voice of the crumhorn, flavor the score with hints of the fantasy world that’s on screen.
Elf brothers Ian and Barley pursue their quest for a magical gem (one that can complete an unfinished spell to bring their father back to life for 24 hours) in an old van whose cassette
player blasts a wild mashup of ‘70s progressive rock and ‘90s indie rock – all written and played by guitarist Jeff and keyboardist Mychael in a callback to their own, pre-film-music experiences in Canadian pop bands.
“We sort of joked that this movie says all the things that we have never said to each other,” Mychael offers. “At this point in my life, looking back at my career, there is this strange feeling of a pattern and design – it’s kind of humbling and inspiring at the same time. ‘Onward’ was personal, sometimes almost too emotional.”
Sitting in his comfortable, colorfully decorated studio in the heart of Holly- wood, Mychael Danna reflects on his more than three decades creating music for movies and TV. He recalls a “very traditional, suburban, North American upbringing. But I also grew up in a place and time in Canada in the 1970s and ’80s when multiculturalism was blossoming in a really successful way.
“It was in the air and water all around, and I just found those other solutions to the question of music, other ways of looking at it; other uses for music; all super-exciting to me,” he says.
