Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (video game soundtrack)

Infobox Album
Name = Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Video Game Soundtrack
Type = studio
Artist = Winifred Phillips


Released =
Recorded =
Genre = Soundtrack
Length = 40 minutes
Label = promotional soundtrack
Producer = Winnie Waldron
Reviews =
*GameZone (favorable) [http://pc.gamezone.com/news/07_28_05_07_03AM.htm link]
*Next Level Gaming (favorable) [http://web.archive.org/web/20051102233512/http://nlgaming.com/nl/asp/id_1210/nl/reviewDisp.htm link]
*Team XBox (favorable) [http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/964/Charlie-and-the-Chocolate-Factory/p2/ link]
Last album = "God of War (soundtrack)"
(2005)
This album = "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (video game soundtrack)"
(2005)
Next album ="The Da Vinci Code (video game soundtrack)"
(2006)The original musical soundtrack of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory video game was composed by Winifred Phillips. The original music for the video game was produced by Winnie Waldron. Choir and solo vocals were performed by Winifred Phillips [ [http://www.mobygames.com/game/gamecube/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory/credits "Game Credits for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"] Mobygames.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.] As of July 2008 the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory videogame soundtrack has not received a commercial release, although a medley of tracks from the score is available for online streaming via the composer's website. Several tracks from the soundtrack album are also streamed as background music on the game’s official website. [ [http://www.charliegame.com/index-flash.php "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Videogame"] CharlieGame.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

Tracks

The soundtrack of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Videogame includes the following tracks:

tracklist
collapsed = no
headline = Track listing
title1 = Overture
length1 = 2:47
title2 = Luckiest in the World
length2 = 2:21
title3 = Main Theme
length3 = 3:05
title4 = Sled Ride
length4 = 2:03
title5 = The Golden Ticket
length5 = 4:14
title6 = The Chocolate Room
length6 = 2:02
title7 = The Trouble with Mike
length7 = 1:26
title8 = Chocolate River Ride
length8 = 3:03
title9 = Blueberry
length9 = 1:41
title10 = The Inventing Room
length10 = 3:04
title11 = Rollerbots
length11 = 0:48
title12 = A Very Bad Nut
length12 = 1:43
title13 = Squirrel Battle
length13 = 2:04
title14 = The Garbage Chute
length14 = 0:48
title15 = The Exploding Room
length15 = 1:32
title16 = Mike on Television
length16 = 1:25
title17 = Great Glass Elevator
length17 = 1:30
title18 = Final Robot Battle
length18 = 1:34
title19 = Only Charlie Left
length19 = 1:31
title20 = Never Sweeter
length20 = 0:57

Background

Early Development

Describing a meeting during E3 2004 with the developer of what would become her first video game project, God of War, composer Winifred Phillips told interviewer Jonathan Shearon of the web site Music On Film, “Strangely enough, during that very same convention I also met with the developer for my second game project, and we talked in general terms about the music needs of one of their upcoming titles, which turned out to be the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory console game. So I’d have to say that E3 2004 launched my career as a video game composer.” [ [http://www.musiconfilm.net/get_feature.php?id=4 "Music on Film Features – The Sweet Life: An Interview with Winifred Phillips"] MusicOnFilm.net. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

oundtrack Production

Speaking with music journalist Demetris Christodoulides of ScoreMagacine.com, Phillips described the music production schedule and artistic goals of the project: “I was provided with video from the game-in-progress to work with while I was creating the music, so I was able to soak in the bizarre creations of Tim Burton’s film as translated by High Voltage’s artists and designers. My responsibility was to translate this wonderfully eccentric visual feast into a musical score that was true to the feel of Tim Burton’s world, while at the same time served the gameplay, enhanced the action, warned of enemies and accented player successes and failures. I wrote over seventy tracks for the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” console game. The whole project took four months to complete. It was an intense and enjoyable experience from beginning to end.” [ [http://www.scoremagacine.com/Entrevistas_eng_det.php?Codigo=15 "SCOREMAGACINE.COM - Web dedicada a la Música de Cine y Bandas Sonoras"] ScoreMagacine.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

In an interview with Louis Bedigian of GameZone.com, Phillips remarked on a fortunate coincidence that provided a common artistic thread between her game score and the movie score by Danny Elfman: “I never heard anything from Elfman’s score for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie while I was working on the music for the game… It probably helped that Danny Elfman and I were both using some similar vocal techniques in our work. The weird part is that we both arrived at the same choices independently. We both overdubbed our own voices into choral ensembles for use in our music for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory projects, which made for a strange and wonderful coincidence… I think the use of vocals in that way made for a wonderful symmetry between the game score and the movie score, and I’m very glad it happened the way it did... I worked with award-winning music producer Winnie Waldron on this project. In addition to producing and directing the vocal sessions, Winnie ensured that the quality of the music remained high throughout the music production process. It is a real blessing to work with someone whose opinion and judgment you implicitly trust.” [ [http://pc.gamezone.com/news/07_28_05_07_03AM.htm "Delicious Compositions: Winifred Phillips Makes “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Extra Sweet"] GameZone.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

Later in the same interview, Phillips elaborated on the music approvals provided by the film’s director, Tim Burton. “Tim Burton was definitely involved in the game creation process… That being said, Tim Burton’s involvement in the music for the game was only in regard to giving his approvals of the tracks, and he liked everything I did. He approved everything. So in that way Tim Burton provided me with a tremendous amount of emotional and artistic support during the process, and I was immensely grateful for that.” [ [http://pc.gamezone.com/news/07_28_05_07_03AM.htm "Delicious Compositions: Winifred Phillips Makes “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Extra Sweet"] GameZone.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

oundtrack Musical Style

In an article on the web site Music4Games.net, the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory videogame score was described as having “a unique and distinctive sound, yet remarkably consistent and complementary to Elfman’s music for the film. Nearly 60% of the score for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is choral. Furthermore, (composer Winifred Phillips) employed unusual and sometimes quirky nonsense syllables in creating the humorous choral passages for the soundtrack. Some of these passages were very fast and vocally difficult, as the voices were used in elaborate three part counterpoint at breakneck speeds or short precision accents in full harmony.” [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20051025141851/http://www.music4games.net/n_winifredphillips_charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory.html "Music 4 Games”] Web.Archive.org. Archived from Music4Games.net. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

Critical Reception

The music of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory videogame has received positive reviews. In his review of the videogame, Chris Wilson of Next Level Gaming wrote: “The soundtrack couldn't fit the game any better if they tried. It provides the perfect atmosphere for the game, and the music really stands out. The game definitely provides one of the better audio experiences in a video game on the market today.” [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20051102233512/http://nlgaming.com/nl/asp/id_1210/nl/reviewDisp.htm "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Review at Next Level Gaming!"] Web.Archive.org. Archived from Music4Games.net. Accessed July 28, 2008.] Joanne Tang of USA Today praised the musical score as “light and fun.” [ [http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/games/2005-07-25-charlie-factory_x.htm "USATODAY.com – Tough to escape ‘Factory’ without frustration"] USATODAY.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.] . Juan Castro of IGN described the music of the game as “a really good soundtrack…Music sounds moody and atmospheric where it should. Same goes for the oddball tunes within the factory.” [ [http://cube.ign.com/articles/635/635016p1.html "IGN: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Review”] IGN.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.] Natalie Romano of GameZone.com called Phillips’ music a “beautifully cinematic original score”. [ [http://xbox.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r26126.htm "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Review - XBox"] GameZone.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

Promotion

Phillips' score for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory video game was used prominently for marketing purposes. The game’s trailer features scenes from the game edited in tempo with two tracks from the game’s soundtrack -- “The Exploding Room” and “The Garbage Chute”. [ [http://www.charliegame.com/trailers.html "CharlieGame.com Trailers”] CharlieGame.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.] The official web site of the game features many tracks from the game’s music soundtrack which automatically stream as the pages load. These music tracks include “Sled Ride” (which streams from the home page), “Chocolate River Ride” (streaming from the “Explore the Factory: Chocolate Room” page), “Inventing Room” (which plays on the “Explore the Factory: Inventing Room" page) and “Squirrel Battle” (streaming from the “Explore the Factory: Nut Room” page). [ [http://www.charliegame.com "CharlieGame.com”] CharlieGame.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.] Phillips’ “Sled Ride” track was also used in two television commercials for the game, both of which featured clips of Johnny Depp playing Willy Wonka in the associated Tim Burton film. [ [http://www.charliegame.com/trailers.html "CharlieGame.com Trailers”] CharlieGame.com. Accessed July 28, 2008.]

References

External Links

* [http://www.charliegame.com Official Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Videogame Web Site]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,181549/ Winnie Waldron's Developer Listing in the MobyGames Database]
* [http://www.winifredphillips.com/ Winifred Phillips' Website]