Knowing The Score: Whispers: An Elephant's Tale

One of a continuing series regarding Trevor's career as a film scorer.


Author's note: much of the content of this entry originated between 2009-2011, by way of private composition, brainstorming with an individual who prefers not to be named, and posting on the Yesfans discussion forum.  This process enabled me to discover and share with fandom that Trevor had made vocal contributions to this score.  The original title of my essay was:
“Where did you come from?”

Examining origins in Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale

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“Oh, you know, there's actually a lot of them that I'm real happy with, and I'm not talking about even just for a movie, I'm talking about when I'm done and gone, the things that I hope my son will listen to, will be Whispers, which is a movie that was barely released.”

- Trevor Rabin, 2002

Trevor Rabin’s eighth full scoring project since the advent of his film music composition career was one close to his heart as well as his homeland, the Walt Disney Pictures live action family film Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale, released in 2000.  The footage of wild animals, forming the tale of a baby elephant separated from his mother and bonding with another misfit in order to find her, was filmed in Botswana and voiced by a cast of well-known actors, most notably Anne Archer as Whispers’ mother Gentle Heart, and Angela Bassett as Groove, the rogue alpha female elephant who serves as a surrogate mother to the titular character.

The film itself didn’t prove to be wholly successful for a few reasons, but the soundtrack is primary among those elements which did appeal to viewers of all ages.  And part of that appeal lies within the synergy between the composer and the choice of music, as logically dictated by the nature of the film itself.  A native of South Africa, Trevor was an apt choice for a score which blended the music of the continent with orchestral grandeur and percussive tension.

But the score itself never received its fair due, as the recording issued was strictly promotional, meaning available only to those in the industry, and so another chance – as with Remember The Titans – for its' composer to receive further coverage and validation as a master of varying styles and moods within the scoring community was missed.  But thanks to the “gray” market in promo-only recordings I am able to fully comment on one of Trevor’s greatest scores, by his own admission as well as critical consensus.

Trevor had already established a relationship with Disney through his partnership with producer Jerry Bruckheimer on several scores – including what is still likely his most well-known to this day, Armageddon – for projects released under the Touchstone imprint, but the majority of those films were action-based, which suited Trevor’s dynamic style as he used his rock n’roll instincts and orchestral training to create compelling dramatic scores, even as he was looking to expand and move forward with different styles of music, which has always been a hallmark of his ambition and career trajectory.  The first progression beyond action/drama film scoring was with the family film Jack Frost in which he had a distinctly personal involvement – appearing in two of the opening scenes as the lead guitarist of the title character’s rock band – and the score contained very moving and melodic orchestral themes, as well as one of Trevor’s most beautiful compositions, “Frostbite.”  Once this forward momentum had begun, future projects reflected further diversity, as the next score was for the horror film Deep Blue Sea, which contained a full orchestra and choir to supremely dramatic effect.

Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale was as far removed from Trevor’s previous projects as any on his CV, and yet is entirely suited to his compositional style in regards to memorable melodies and orchestral power.  But for the first time in his scoring career Trevor was able to incorporate world music and furthermore offer a score of African musical stylings as a tribute to his own origins.  The music of South Africa holds enormous variety as an aspect of its diverse populace, but the style most associated with the region is called Mbube, a choral mode of singing.  The score also incorporates elements of what is known as Mbaqanga, with intricate percussive motifs and challenging polyrhythms.  Native percussion and wind instruments feature prominently in the score, as well as vocals sung both in English and in Zulu, the predominant language of the Mbube genre.  Because this is a film about animals, many of the sonic textures are suggestive of wildlife calls and vocalizations.

Writing in this idiom was not new to Trevor, as previous instrumental compositions such as “The Cape” and “Where Will You Be” as well as the second single from his solo album Can’t Look Away – a track entitled “Sorrow (Your Heart)” – were written with the same stylistic aim, but this project enabled him to compose upon a broader canvas, to evoke with music the film’s immense panorama of the African landscape.

The central conflict of the narrative – the struggle for survival of a baby elephant separated from the herd in the beautiful yet harsh milieu of the African savannah – provides a great opportunity for the full range of emotional themes and cues in tribute to the characters and the landscape as well as the movement of the story.

The film was created by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, the South African husband-and-wife author/filmmaking team; they wrote the story which was the basis of the script and Dereck co-wrote the screenplay.  The footage was shot in their characteristic fashion of becoming part of the landscape, to the extent where the animals living in situ do not acknowledge their presence.  As conservationists the Jouberts have the highest respect for the environment in which the animals reside, and they capture every aspect of the daily existence of the wildlife of Botswana. The advertising tagline - The True-life Adventure of a Big Little Hero – refers to the footage of actual animals in the wild.  No CGI for the Jouberts, although reportedly publicity for the film stated the two main characters, Whispers and Groove, were trained elephants.  It’s possible the scenes with the poachers in the second half of the film were staged, but the footage of wildlife was otherwise strictly observational.

Whispers was the only narrative-based commercial film the Jouberts were involved with, as all their other works are documentaries, each one focusing on one particular breed in the African savannah.  Their process takes many years, and Whispers likely began as a documentary on poaching, following their 1994 award-winning documentary Reflections on Elephants.  The Jouberts live among the animals they document, capturing moments most human eyes will never witness.  Their mission is to create a greater awareness of the interconnectedness of all life, the life-and-death struggles of their subjects, and how all species should be allowed to co-exist in their native habitats and respected as an equal part of the diversity of our planet.

Trevor has stated in prior interviews he holds similar beliefs as the Jouberts (and the lyrics to “Miracle of Life” are indicative of his stance), and therefore this project likely appealed to him as an opportunity to pay tribute to the music of his homeland, to work with fellow natives in support of a film which possesses a shared philosophy - illustrating the sacred beauty and majesty of a land vast and varied - both visually and musically.  In a sense it was a homecoming: music created as a homage to the place which shaped his creative consciousness as thoroughly as any other external influence; as well as a literal one in which he returned to South Africa in search of familiar voices with which to populate his compositions.

And so such an authentic pedigree (right down to a song from fellow ZA musician Johnny Clegg being commissioned for the end credits) does well to ensure the atmosphere and action of the film is fully represented.  Yet Whispers was admittedly not successful for Disney, despite offering a feast of sight and sound…though not as far as the dubbing was concerned.  Reviews were not kind, such as Lawrence Van Gelder of the New York Times referring to the film’s “cloying anthropomorphism,” and Charles Isherwood of Variety going so far as to label the script “crude.”  A common complaint seemed to be that the subjects by virtue of their species were incapable of nuance and much of the dialog was considered corny.  One does wonder what the film would have been like without the dub in regards to the appreciation of it, and I would have to assert that the dubbing detracts from the overall viewing experience.  In my most recent conversation with Trevor he indicated much the same, opining that perhaps the film should have been released without the dubbing, and I was in total agreement.

But as a very special and beautiful part of the oeuvre of Trevor Rabin, the score for Whispers: An Elephant’s Tale is a wonderful experience, which grows more enjoyable over time with repeated listening.

There are many unique moments in the score and not the least of them is the opportunity to hear Trevor singing in Zulu on a few of the themes, a solo vocal from his original stems interwoven with the African choir utilized for the recording, for which the featured vocalists were Faith Kekana and Lange Dube.  Although Trevor has sampled and processed his own voice as textural elements for other scores, this is the only one in which he actually sings (although he did record a song for use in the film The Banger Sisters – a cover of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – which was included on the soundtrack release).

The Main Titles theme (featuring what I refer to as the "Wake Up Africa" motif) is one of Trevor's most memorable overall in terms of melody and progression: uplifting and atmospheric, immediately establishing the overall mood and ambiance of the film, and features both the choir and Trevor on vocals.  Other great themes include "Whispers," "The Longest Night," "Place of Takers," "A Brave Deed" and "We Have To Find Her" as well as "The Stand" which reprises many of the thematic elements featured throughout the score.  Those who own the DVD will recognize "The New Baby" as the music which plays on the menu loop, and it features a bit of a Township Jive take on the main motif of the score.

As a recommendation for adding this film to your collection if you are so inclined, beyond the value of experiencing this score as it was meant to be, watching Whispers reveals a world of wonder in its' cinematography.  The most compelling footage involves those shots featuring the diversity of wildlife - often shot at dawn or dusk - wherein the sky and the land reveal a particular beauty thus adorned by its inhabitants.  The true aesthetic power of the film lies in these moments as we are made appreciative of a place most do not see.