During his nearly three decades in the business, Horner has worked on blockbusters like Titanic, The Perfect Storm, Braveheart and Deep Impact, as well as kiddie fare like The Land Before Time and Casper. (In fact, his work here bears some conceptual similarity to the main theme in Casper.) He knows what he is doing, and here he's delivered an appealing and piquant score with good hooks and lots of surprises. It's a deft offering and might even win him another Oscar nomination (it would be his 10th).

This is not a score with hummable moments or even any definitive themes per se; rather, what Horner does is build a series of interlocking moods with some good-humored touches of whimsy and a few exciting passages. That may not be enough to satisfy fans used to his stronger work (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Cocoon), but his use of smaller, quieter motifs and a few clever choices (like the bells used in many cues in the last third of the score) prove that less can be more.

There are two primary themes here, one for the children and one for the fairy land of the Chronicles, but again they aren't particularly muscular—just fun.

Nothing really new, but well arranged

As to instrumentation, in addition to a typical ensemble he adds harpsichord, celesta, harmonica, accordion, bells and even an anvil. Horner is awfully good at the sort of mood he casts here, this playful/threatening blend that somehow manages to remain fresh over the course of an hour's worth of music, exemplified by the first cue, "Writing the Chronicles," with its heartbeat thump that reappears through much of the following music.

Even though there is nothing really new here, it's arranged very well, and at its best SC combines moments of wistful gentleness with surprising sweep, as in Cue 2, "So Many New Worlds Revealed." Cue 3, "Thimbletack and the Goblins," introduces a harpsichord ostinato that recurs in several later cues. The harpsichord is replaced by a piano in Cue 4, "Hogsqueal's Warning of a Bargain with Mulgarath." Horner hasn't got a lot of really thundering stuff here, although some of the cues, like "A Desperate Run Through the Tunnels" (Cue 8) or Cue 13, the excellent "Jared And Mulgarath Fight For The Chronicles," provide pizazz and up the excitement ante.

Just about the only real miss here is the long cue (8:23!) "Closing Credits." This one wears out its welcome long before it finishes dribbling out of the speakers. The CD would have been better off without it, or with an edited version. You can almost see the people leaving the theater.