In general, music is one of the most powerful tools for quick emotional development in the movie-maker's arsenal. By simply changing the music, a movie can oscillate between joy and sadness, comedy and drama, fun and fear without ever altering the action or the dialogue. Music keeps the viewer's ears interested even when there is little happening.
It is truly amazing how great movies all have great music underneath. It is also truly amazing how even a great movie—or perhaps even only a moderately decent movie—can be completely ruined by one bad song. For instance, the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
This adaptation of C. S. Lewis's story of the same name was very well done! It had plot, subplot, allusions, depth, action, romance, honor and valor, glory and power, treachery and deceit and vengeance! And to lead the way for an emotional and mental attachment to the characters and their plight was a glorious orchestration.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film … until the end. During the final scene, when High Queen Susan finally kisses her dreamy crush, Prince Caspian, a song began to play: Regina Spektor's "The Call".
Not a bad song, in and of itself, it completely ruined the movie for me. The Chronicles of Narnia is not about Susan and her new boyfriend. It is about the fight for life! It is about the pure defiance of evil! It is about the strength of the righteous, no matter how small or outnumbered they may be!
With "The Call," the focus instantly transitioned from the beauty of the sacrifice the kings and queens were making to the cute kiss and the glimmer of a relationship had between Susan and Caspian. The marvel of the movie was the fight for all of Aslan's creatures against insurmountable odds—and how simply believing in Aslan can give even a small child the power to fight an army (biblical allusions of many, many sorts pervade this movie).
If they had only chosen a different song …. It sucked the very essence of the true meaning behind the battle and Lucy's singular belief in the power of Aslan and created a standard teenage love story. Disappointing, though not unexpected, of Disney.
