Composing Greatness: #1. James Horner - "An American Tail" (1986)

Scene from An American Tail

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Series Composer: James Horner

Entry: An American Tail (1986)

Collaborators (If Available): Barry Mann (music), Cynthia Weil (lyrics), Phillip Glasser (singer)

Nomination: Best Original Song 

Did He Win: No

Other Nominees:
-Top Gun - "Take My Breath Away" (Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock)*winner
-The Karate Kid Part II - "Glory of Love" (Peter Cetera, David Foster)
-The Little Shop of Horrors - "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman)
-That's Life! - "Life in a Looking Glass" (Henry Mancini, Leslie Bricusse)

Additional Information

This is to help provide perspective of where each composer is in their Oscar-nominated life as it related to the current entry.

Oscar Nomination: 1

Oscar Wins: 0

Track List

Exploring the Music

The area of the column where I will explore the music in as much detail as I see fit for each entry.

Theme Exploration:

"Somewhere Out There"

Composing Greatness kicks off James Horner's list with one of the most undeniable accomplishments in movie music. It's a song that would go on to win Grammys and be one of two nominations in 1986 for the composer. What's funny is how different his two nominations are. While Aliens will be covered next time, An American Tail feels like a poignant way to start, especially as a radio hit from a Steven Spielberg-produced film that is among the saddest songs from the 1980s. There's power in the way that Philip Glasser longs to be reunited with his loved ones. There's power in every note, and the spacing makes it all the more beautiful. Sure, this deserves some credit for Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, but to be involved with a song that works beyond its animated counterpoint is a great way to kick off an Oscar-nominated career.

Did This Deserve an Oscar Nomination?:
Yes

It could be my personal disdain for Top Gun, but I would even go so far as to argue that "Somewhere Out There" was a better song than "Take My Breath Away." It's true that one can argue cultural cache, which is important, but it does feel like there's so much effort put into making this simple song carry so much emotion. I'm sure the radio-friendly version doesn't hold the same weight, but as one of those cinematic moments that just pop off the film, it's immediately iconic and moving in all the best ways possible. It's among the best kids songs featured in any movie because it trusts kids to explore their emotions. Welcome to the game, Horner. There's a lot more excitement to come in the near future.


Up Next: Best Original Score - Aliens (1986)

Best Theme

A ranking of all themes composed by James Horner.

Best Song

A ranking of all songs composed by James Horner.

1. "Somewhere Out There" - An American Tail (1986)