Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Disney’s latest animated feature film, “Wish“, will make its way to theaters nationwide Wednesday, Nov. 22. The film brings the protagonist, Asha, together with Star, an actual star, in an attempt to save her community of Rosas.
While moviegoers will be enjoying the animation, they will also be enveloped in the music of the film. The man behind that music, Dave Metzger, is a composer, arranger and orchestrator that has worked on 11 Disney films during his career. During a one-on-one interview with Disney Files Magazine editor and lead writer Ryan March, Metzger shared how he felt when he got the news he was going to compose “Wish” and what some of his inspirations for the sounds of the film were.
Metzger’s work can be found in many Disney classics, such as “Frozen”, “Tarzan & Jane”, “Moana” and “How to Train a Dragon 2”, but getting the nod to compose and arrange the music of “Wish” moved him to tears.
“It’s honestly something that I never expected to happen,” Metzger, who described himself as an emotional person, said.
The only song that was written for the film when Metzger came aboard was “This Wish”, and his job was to create the music that surrounded that song and others that would be written and recorded for ‘Wish’.”
“One of my major jobs was to make that flow as seamless as possible,” Metzger said. He shared that some of the inspirations for the music, some of which the assembled media had an opportunity to hear in snippets Monday, came from around the world.
Instruments normally found in Spanish and Mediterranean music played a large part in the composing, said Metzger. “I also used string instruments and Spanish Flamenco guitars,” he added.
During the interview three pieces of music were played for the media. Metzger proceeded to describe each scene that accompanied the musical pieces. There’s even a song that is composed and written for chickens during a scene in the film.
“The hardest part was teaching them how to sing,” Metzger joked.
Asked by March what was the most enjoyable part of the arrangement and composition process, Metzger answered “the recording process.”
“The recording sessions are my favorite part,” Metzger, who worked with a 95-piece orchestra, said.
Towards the end of the interview Metzger shared how hos mother took him to see “The Jungle Book” when he was a child. He in turn took his kids to see “Tarzan” when they were kids. The bridge that Disney films have had for 100 years is one of Metzger’s inspirations.
“Disney films have a touchpoint in so many people’s lives,” he said. “I hope it makes the world a happier and better place.”