One of our very favorite composers out there is John Debney. A great friend of the site, we’ve spoken to Mr. Debney over the years (including an awesome hour-long discussion about his unparalleled 40+ year career) and just love chatting about film, music and more.
John has a true knack for scoring and because of his talents, time, and energy he has helped transform the soundscape of modern film music. Whether it’s a tent pole blockbuster or something more quaint and intimate, John digs deep, gives his all and the feature is so much better for his contributions.
He’s also a chameleon; there isn’t one composer we can think of who has such a varied palette and has worked consistently across genres and with some of cinema’s most elite filmmakers. Who would ever imagine that the man who lent his hand to Sin City and Elf, Predators and The Jungle Book, Clifford: The Big Red Dog and The Passion of the Christ would be the same man? Well, shocker, it is. And in our eyes, that man is a genius.
Even though John grew up in the Disney family, he’s able to offer more than the Disney sound. With a superhuman ability to get to the heart of each and every story, John is able to get to our hearts by way of our ear drums. I bet you wouldn’t expect to shed a tear in the world of Hocus Pocus 2, right? Well, without any shame, we can admit that actually happened. Thanks, John, really.
In this haunting sequel to the Halloween classic – which brings back the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters for more comedic mayhem – John plays with the new and resurrected sounds of Salem. John was in his mid-30s when he wrote the score to the original (thanks to James Horner who recommended him for the job!) and so it was fun to dig back into the work that pretty much kick-started his career.
In this podcast, we get into that as well as another big feature this year, Apple TV’s Luck. So come little film fans, I’ll take thee away into the wonderful sonic world of John Debney!
Hocus Pocus 2 Original Soundtrack is now available digitally with the CD set for release on November 11th. The soundtrack features 9 songs with an original score composed and produced by Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer John Debney. Hocus Pocus 2 is now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
