Soundtracks for films in the children's genre usually bring out the best of composers because of the sense of fun, creativity and humour that are often absent in films for an older audience. Whilst the quality of the score is great, some of the lighthearted tracks can feel a little too over the top. The second half of the album really moves up a gear, with some amazing choral and orchestral writing from Howard. Overall, some of the tracks might feel a little to sugar coated to enjoy fully, but the majority of the score is brilliant. Whether it is as good as Patrick Doyle's score for the original
Nanny Mcphee is open to debate. JNH hasn't carried any noticeable themes through from that album, but the lack of continuity didn't bother me. If you can forgive the sugar coating of some of the tracks and like JNH's style of writing, this would make a great purchase.
**Please note there is an identical score called
Nanny Mcphee Returns - O.S.T. which contains identical music. Nanny Mcphee & The Big Bang was the UK name, while Nanny Mcphee Returns was the USA version**, so don't buy a duplicate copy thinking thinking it contains new music.