MovieScore Media releases Matthew Llewellyn's score for Wishin' and Hopin'. Based on the New York Times bestseller novel by award winning author Wally Lamb, the movie paints a nostalgic and vivid picture of 1960s New York through the story of Felix Funicello, a Catholic school fifth-grader whose biggest boast is being cousins with beach party queen Annette Funicello. This holiday season however shapes up to be different with the arrival of a new substitute teacher and a feisty Russian student who could teach our hero some extracurricular lessons...

Matthew Llewellyn's score for Wishin' and Hopin' is quite a light and fluffy affair. It sounds, oddly enough given the film's subject matter, more like the music to a family movie from the '80s/'90s. In fact there's a little bit of the spirit of James Horner tucked away here with a sprinkling of Howard Shore's music for films like Big and Mrs Doubtfire.

It's not a big surprise that Llewellyn turns in something slightly off genre with impressive results, he did the same with Dead Souls and Deep in the Darkness.

It's a sweet album, with plenty of beautiful themes. Highlights, over the 20 tracks (33 min, 05 sec) include 'Introducing the Class'; 'Madame Frechette'; 'Lincoln Log Life'; 'A Wonderful Disaster'; and 'Annette and Felix'.

This is certainly an album that's worthy of your time.

9

Darren Rea