Based on the 2002 German TV series (which was apparently comprised of 5 min. episodes), the feature-length film version of a Penguin named Jasper is goosed with a buoyant, hugely energetic score by Florian Tessloff (The Baader Meinhof Komplex).

The emotionally quixotic nature of animated films – veering from joy to angst and back again in seconds – makes it sometimes difficult to get a sense of the film and characters when the film’s been reduced to such fast-moving musical samples, but Tessloff’s score is ostensibly about a journey, so the various mood swings make sense on MovieScore Media’s brief but engaging soundtrack album.

Using a large orchestra, Tessloff’s palette initially consists of mid-level brass, crisply articulated woodwinds, and small ornamentation with harp, flutes, and bongos. The use of flutes is particularly strong throughout the score, and they provide a lofty, gliding quality to the short Jasper theme. The bongos evoke a sauntering motif for a diminutive character trying to behave tenfold its stature, and the light percussion instrument also lets Tessloff switch to a breezy lounge style now and then.

A more urgent tone is evident in “To the Rescue,” with Tessloff making use of heavy brass and percussion in a more traditional action mode, whereas “The Egg-o-Masher” stands out for its kinetic and instrumental weirdness. The latter is set in a fast-moving jazz style, with rubbery notes played on vibes, synthetic banjo, a plastic and sonically pliable slide guitar, and a few sound effects (namely a wheezing machine, as well as crickets).

Most of the cues are very short, though when Tessloff gets a long sequence, the dramatic arc is more defined, as in the film’s longest cue, “Penguin Ambassador,” which fleshes out the main theme and makes use of sweeping strings to finish the movie with a decisive character statement, as well as a short return to the lounge motif, albeit transferred to a larger and more formal orchestral setting.

© 2009 Mark R. Hasan