Movie Scores that are Magical

The score world is underrated and sometimes, I feel, underappreciated. I've listened to scores for many years, but this year is when I really delved into listening to scores and appreciating their sound.

On Spotify, I have created a playlist that creates a magical environment in my home and I am wanting to share it and why it is so magical! Below are the movies that I have taken their scores and created a great playlist!

The beauty about a list like this is I don’t really have to go in detail about the songs because you can look them up for yourselves on YoutTube or Spotify or wherever else.

Enjoy!

1. Paperman, by: Christophe Beck from "Paperman"

This isn’t a movie, obviously, but the song that comes from it is so beautiful and the story that goes along with it is a beautiful love story.

2. Piper, by: Adrian Belew from "Piper

Another short, not a movie, but it is such a cute song that involves curiosity just like in the short where the little bird is experiencing new things.

3. Hunger Games

One of my favorite songs from this series from the scores is, There are Worse Games To Play/Deep In The Meadow. It is intense in some parts, and also solemn. And Jennifer Lawrence sings in it for a small part. It doesn’t wreck the ambience, but adds to the sadness. I felt from this song.

4. Narnia

Pretty much every song in Narnia is amazing. You really step into the world that the Pevensie children do without even having to watch the movie or read the book. That’s what I love most about scores. The composer really catches the essence of the message and dream world and creates another conduit to the fantasy land we all want to visit.

5. Shrek

The best score to come out of Shrek is Fairytale. When that song plays the movie we all think of is Shrek. Among other classic songs like the one from Smash Mouth, this song is amazing.

6. Pride and Prejudice

Another movie where every song is fantastic and doesn’t need anymore words than that!

7. Ocean's Eleven

The one song in this movie that embodies it is at the end. And I think you might know what it is. It is in a lot of other movies, but it wasn’t created for the movies. I’ll leave a picture where it plays in the movie and let you figure out if you remember it.

8. Interstellar

This soundtrack is literally out of this world. Pun intended. This score really takes you away from Earth and into the skies, space, and other worlds. My favorite is the Cornfield Chase.

9. Sherlock Holmes

This score soundtrack is unlike any other. The use of the string instruments is beautiful and crazy sounding. It fits along with the movie so well causing intrigue, mystery, and always wanting to find out what’s next! My favorite one is called Discombobulate.

10. Harry Potter

This may be an obvious one, but there is one Harry Potter score that I love and it barely sounds like a Harry Potter song at all. It’s called A Window to the Past. It is from the third movie, which is the best one in my opinion. Just with the picture above, how could you not feel free listening to those songs?

11. Lord of the Rings

This is another obvious one on the list, but how could I not put this and the previous one on here? All the songs in these movies are wonderfully played to perfection. It’s almost as if you stepping into Middle Earth and walking amongst the folk you have only read about.

12. Any Hayao Miyazaki Movie

Literally any Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli movie will be magical. They are mostly composed and conducted by the talented Joe Hisaishi. My playlist is filled mostly with his songs. My Spotify top had Joe Hisaishi on it, which I thought was hilarious. The songs though are beautiful and carry so much happiness and always lifts up my spirits. The movies are wonderful and if you close your eyes listening to the songs, you can almost see the movies come alive in your head.

13. La La Land

This is a bittersweet one because the songs make you want to make your dreams come true, but it also makes you understand the sacrifice that comes with accomplishing what you want. Whether that be time, saying goodbye, losing precious hobbies, getting rid of things or people that you love. At what cost are you trying to accomplish your dreams?

14. The Theory of Everything

To be honest, the life the Hawking really hit the heart strings because my uncle had ALS and died a few years after his diagnosis. But the score is beautiful and whenever I hear the songs I saved from it I always think of him. It definitely has an out of this world feeling to the score, but it is definitely a softer version unlike Interstellar.

15. How to Train your Dragon

One song really spoke to me, Romantic Flight. It has that Scandinavian feel to it, but is really soft and calming. Great movie, great songs.

16. The Lion King

No words. Just listen to it and remember who you are.

These songs always remind me of the movies and the feelings I felt while watching and listening to the creations of the filmmakers and composers. Makes you wonder what creativity went into making such masterpieces and if you could create something like that one day.

Happy listening!

If you have any suggestions or other songs you would like to share, let me know!