Using the word “nefarious” to judge every soundtrack to every movie geared towards children made this century is, obviously, a gross over generalization. So, let’s clarify and say the vast majority of the soundtracks to those movies are best left to collect dust at your local record store. If they aren’t poorly orchestrated messes, then they’re filled to the brim with cheeseball interpretations of oldies and classic rock songs. (I'm looking at you, Smash Mouth.)
Happy Feet falls into that latter category. Yet, while many of the 13 tracks are dubious (Brittany Murphy can’t replace Freddie Mercury on “Somebody to Love,” and the least said about the mash-up of Nicole Kidman singing Prince’s “Kiss” with Hugh Jackman’s interpretation of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” the better), the soundtrack has enough bright spots and missed-it-by-that-much tracks to work better than it should.
The brightest moment on the album is also its first, Prince’s contribution “The Song of the Heart.” While new Prince material is usually cause for celebration, this track especially stands out from his recent output. Musically, the song is, naturally, funky, but the songwriting is especially tight, tighter than other recent Prince outputs. The track sets a good tone for the rest of the soundtrack; unfortunately it’s followed by the ho-hum, typical Top 40 bait “Hit Me Up” by Gia Farrell. Of course, part of her problem is how does a new singer being groomed as the Next Pop Star follow such a legend?
Prince knows what it takes to make great music; Farrell is learning. Prince has a lot of real instrumentation — actual guitars, actual horns, actual keys — on “The Song of the Heart,” generating a warm sound. Farrell, on the other hand, is overprocessed and too reliant on mechanical loops and beats, creating a cold and distant-sounding track.
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