| The Lego Batman Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | February 3, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016–2017 | |||
| Venue | Trackdown Studios (Sydney) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:34:17 | |||
| Label | WaterTower Music | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Lorne Balfe chronology | ||||
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The Lego Batman Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2017 animated filmThe Lego Batman Movie, which is the second installment inThe Lego Movie franchise. The film is based on theDC Comics superheroBatman, and other primarycharacters from theDC Universe and theLego DC Super Heroes'Batman toy line. It is the only film in the franchise not to be scored byMark Mothersbaugh, with it instead being scored byLorne Balfe.[1][2] The soundtrack to the film was released byWaterTower Music, through two-disc CD formats and for digital download, on February 3, 2017, a week prior to the film's release. A vinyl edition of the soundtrack was released on May 19, 2017.[3]
The film has a theme song that's exclusive to the Japanese version titled "Let's Go," performed by the bandKis My Ft2.[4]
Lorne Balfe was hired to score for the film in June 2016.[5] He previously assistedHans Zimmer on the music ofThe Dark Knight trilogy, which is also based on the DC Comics characterBatman. The film's directorChris McKay, described the film "as a mixture of howAbout a Boy, meets directorMichael Bay" for which he agreed to be a part of the film.[6][7] While working on the score Balfe did not think the film as a Batman film, but a "live-action film withLego characters", and took the approach of a serious film, rather than writing "typical animated film music".[8] Balfe did not use any musical references from previous Batman films, but instead he usedNeal Hefti'soriginal theme from the1960's television series, as he thought "it would be great to hear in the film".[8]
The first of the few themes he had written for the film, is the theme forRobin, who plays a pivotal appearance, as, according to Balfe, "a principal leitmoif or theme was not featured for the character".[6] He had written a song "I Found You" for the character.[8] Balfe used a different approach for the music for other characters, includingJoker, where "he has a traveling band with him, the same way in whichHenry VIII would have a lute player following him around…" The theme for Joker incorporatesitars,harpsichords androck guitar.[6]Red Hot Chili Peppers band's principal drummerChad Smith, played drums for the score. Speaking about Smith's inclusion Balfe had said "it brought a whole different dimension to the score [...] It’s not banging drums; it’s the attitude behind playing them. And he brought the whole opening sequence alive."[8]
For us, music was more about a journey on this one, from that “Who’s The Batman” style to, ultimately, Michael Jackson and finally “Friends Are Family,” which to me is just… I wanted the movie to end with joy. Like, really go over the top and move the needle from Batman’s point of view at the beginning to Robin’s POV by the end.
Chris McKay initially plannedThe Lego Batman Movie as a musical film. Speaking toEntertainment Weekly, he said that "I think if we had more time, there would have been a version of this movie that would have been a full musical and had more point of view songs like that for sure. But really, we just wanted people to leave the theater smiling and feel good as Batman embraces these people."[9]
Apart from composition, Balfe also wrote few songs for the film, including "Who's The (Bat) Man" and "I Found You". Hefti's theme from the television series was interpreted for the original song "Who's The (Bat)Man" performed byFall Out Boy frontmanPatrick Stump.[10] The song depicts about the origin story ofBruce Wayne. McKay planned for a standalone original song to Batman as "he loved the idea that Batman fancied himself to be aMarilyn Manson/Trent Reznor type, somewhere between industrial and rap. He saw himself as this warrior poet and writes these earnest, dark-feeling songs".[11] In the initial edit, the team planned to use "Bodies", but Warner Bros. felt that the song was not appropriate for a children's film, hence McKay roped in a team of songwriters to pen down a song for Batman. He initially liked the demo written byDJ Cheapshot which was "really funny, and also cool".[11]
Other songs include: "Man in the Mirror" byGlen Ballard, a remix of "Heroes (We Could Be)" performed byAlesso, and remixed byHard Rock Sofa and Skidka, "One" byHarry Nilsson and "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" performed byCutting Crew.[12] "Everything Is Awesome", which was featured in thesoundtrack ofThe Lego Movie, was also included in the soundtrack. This version was performed byRichard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine.[13][12] However, the song was not featured in the film.[13]
Gizmodo's James Whitbrook said "While it’s hard to imagine anything that could reach the infectious, earworm-y highs ofThe Lego Movie’s ‘Everything is Awesome’, some newly released tracks fromThe Lego Batman Movie try very hard".[14] Johnny Brayson of Bustle called it as "one of the best movie soundtracks of the year" and further called it as "the perfect accompaniment to the action, humor, and heart on screen, and fans shouldn't expect anything less from this franchise".[15] Writing for Film Stories magazine, Mark Harrison in his review for the collection of Batman soundtracks, singled out on The Lego Movie saying "The LEGO Batman Movie’s soundtrack is designed to capture the conflicting identities of the Dark Knight, with an action score that veers between dramatic and tongue-in-cheek, as well as a bunch of pop-music needle-drops."[16]Screen Rant also praised the soundtrack toThe Lego Batman Movie saying "The songs of the Lego version add to its overall appeal and gives it an edge over the Adam West film, no matter how iconic the '60s theme song is."[17]
James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "Its sheer energy as it carries you along is enough to keep the entertainment coming, but there is almost too much packed in, the changes in style sometimes so frequent, the pace so unwaveringly swift, you’re left building up a real sweat just listening to it. Still – it’s a lot of fun, it brings a frequent smile to the face, and sometimes you can’t ask for more than that."[18] Filmtracks.com wrote "Balfe continues to prove himself a master builder of really impressive, intelligent music for this genre, and his work here is ironically more engaging in most parts than his friend Hans' comparatively serious take on the same world."[19] Sci-fi Bulletin wrote "A magpie of a score that borrows, steals, rewrites and still finds a way to adds its own contribution to the pantheon of Batman scores. Stripped away from the kinetic and colourful on-screen mayhem, you get to appreciate Balfe’s work – a holy satisfying experience."[20]
The soundtrack album to the film was released byWaterTower Music on February 3, 2017, a week before the release.[3] It was accompanied by the lead single "Who's the (Bat) Man" performed byPatrick Stump, also released on the same day as the album.[21][22] The album was released in digital formats,[2] and also in two-disc CD — the first disc consisting of several original and accompanied songs, whereas the second disc consisted of film score composed by Lorne Balfe.[12]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Who's the (Bat) Man" | Neal Hefti, Chief WaKil, Brayden Deskins, Barry Pointer,DJ Cheapshot, Jason Rabinowitz, Jaron Lamont | Patrick Stump | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Forever" | Justin Tranter, Dan Crean, Stevy Pyne,Cole Whittle | DNCE | 3:49 |
| 3. | "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" | Nick Van Eede | Cutting Crew | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Invincible" | Lindsay Rimes, Kirsten Arian | Kirsten Arian | 2:59 |
| 5. | "One" | Harry Nilsson | Harry Nilsson | 2:22 |
| 6. | "Heroes (We Could Be)" (Hard Rock Sofa and Skidka Remix) | Alesso,Tove Lo,David Bowie,Brian Eno | Alesso featuringTove Lo | 6:35 |
| 7. | "Man in the Mirror" | Glen Ballard,Siedah Garrett | Alex Aiono | 3:48 |
| 8. | "Friends Are Family" | Chris Sernel, Maddison Love, Hovey Benjamin,Jeff Lewis,Christopher Miller | Oh, Hush! featuringWill Arnett andJeff Lewis | 2:25 |
| 9. | "I Found You" | Lorne Balfe,Antony Genn | Fraser Murray | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Forever" | Tranter, Crean, Pyne, Whittle | Justin Tranter | 3:49 |
| 11. | "Man in the Mirror" | Ballard, Garrett | Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine | 1:49 |
| 12. | "Everything Is Awesome" | Shawn Patterson | Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine | 2:03 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black" | 7:32 |
| 2. | "Your Greatest Enemy" | 2:42 |
| 3. | "The Arrival of Robin" | 2:52 |
| 4. | "Joker Crashes the Party" | 1:33 |
| 5. | "No Seat Belts Required" | 2:18 |
| 6. | "To Cage the Joker" | 1:59 |
| 7. | "The Phantom Zone" | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Open for Business" | 1:09 |
| 9. | "Chaos in Gotham" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Lava Attack" | 7:40 |
| 11. | "For Your Own Good" | 1:45 |
| 12. | "Joker Manor" | 2:29 |
| 13. | "Batman's in the Zone" | 4:40 |
| 14. | "The Babs Signal" | 2:25 |
| 15. | "Battle Royale" | 4:54 |
| 16. | "A Long Farewell" | 2:49 |
On May 19, 2017, WaterTower Music released the vinyl version of the soundtrack, only consisting the songs from the album.[23] United Record Pressing published the vinyl pressings of the album in four editions:[24] "Batman Edition" (black and yellow split colour),[25] "Robin Red",[25] "Joker Edition" (split purple and green vinyl)[25] and "Batgirl" (lavender vinyl).[25]
| # | Title | Performer(s)/Writer(s) | Key Scenes/Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Man In The Mirror" | Will Arnett | Batman quotes aMichael Jackson song during the opening credits. | [26] |
| 2 | "Batman Theme" | Will Arnett | Batman ends up singing while continuously saying 'no' toAlfred. | |
| 3 | "Girls Know How" | Al Jarreau | Batman and Alfred throw a tuxedo dress-up party. | |
| 4 | "Bad Boys" | Will Arnett | Bruce quotes the song while posing for photos outside the gala. | |
| 5 | "Pop Goes The Weasel" | Traditional | The Joker and the other villains attack the gala. | |
| 6 | "We Are Family" | Michael Cera | Alfred shows Batman the surveillance video ofDick running around Wayne Mansion. | |
| 7 | "Bumper Batman Theme" | Neal Hefti | Batman andRobin run to theBatmobile. | |
| 8 | "It's Raining Men" | Michael Cera | Robin sings as he and Batman head off to theFortress of Solitude. | |
| 9 | "The Fortress of Solitude" | John Williams | Batman and Robin arrive at the Fortress of Solitude | |
| 10 | "Theme from Superman (Concert Version)" | John Williams | Superman's doorbell | |
| 11 | "Planet Rock" | Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force | Batman realizes Superman's throwing aJustice League anniversary party. | |
| 12 | "Fly, Robin, Fly" | Michael Cera | Robin sings while telling Batman about his code name, as he makes his way to the atomic cauldron. | |
| 13 | "I'm Batman" | Lil Dicky | Batman plays after sending The Joker to thePhantom Zone. | |
| 14 | "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" | Johann Sebastian Bach | The Joker meets the occupants of the Phantom Zone. | |
| 15 | "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" | Wham! | First song on Robin's boombox. | |
| 16 | "Never Gonna Give You Up" | Rick Astley | Second song on Robin's boombox. | |
| 17 | "Fly, Robin, Fly" | Silver Convention | Third song on Robin's boombox. |
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[27] | 27 |
| USBillboard 200[28] | 187 |
| US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[29] | 14 |
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