John Powell

John Powell

Birth : 1963-09-18, London, England

History

John Powell (born 18 September 1963) is an English composer, best known for his scores in films. He has been based in Los Angeles since 1997 and has composed the scores to over seventy feature films. Powell is best known for composing and/or co-composing scores for animated films, such as Antz (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Chicken Run (2000), Robots (2005), the second through fourth Ice Age films (2006–2012), the Happy Feet films (2006–2011), Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Bolt (2008), the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy (2010–2019), the Rio films (2011–2014), Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (2012), and Ferdinand (2017). His work on Happy Feet, Ferdinand and Solo: A Star Wars Story has earned him 3 Grammy nominations. He was nominated for an Academy Award for How to Train Your Dragon. Powell was a member of Hans Zimmer's music studio, Remote Control Productions, and has collaborated frequently with other composers from the studio, including Harry Gregson-Williams on Antz, Chicken Run and Shrek and Zimmer himself on Chill Factor, The Road to El Dorado, and the first two Kung Fu Panda films. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Powell (film composer), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Profile

John Powell

Movies

Elio
Original Music Composer
Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Migration
Original Music Composer
After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, the Mallard family embarks on a family road trip, from New England, to New York City, to tropical Jamaica.
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Original Music Composer
A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
Don't Worry Darling
Conductor
Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why.
Don't Worry Darling
Original Music Composer
Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why.
Locked Down
Original Music Composer
During a COVID-19 lockdown, sparring couple Linda and Paxton call a truce to attempt a high-risk jewellery heist at one of the world's most exclusive department stores, Harrods.
The Call of the Wild
Original Music Composer
Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail delivery dog sled team—and later its leader—Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his true place in the world and becoming his own master.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Original Music Composer
As Hiccup fulfills his dream of creating a peaceful dragon utopia, Toothless’ discovery of an untamed, elusive mate draws the Night Fury away. When danger mounts at home and Hiccup’s reign as village chief is tested, both dragon and rider must make impossible decisions to save their kind.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Original Music Composer
Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian.
Ferdinand
Original Music Composer
Ferdinand, a little bull, prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree just smelling the flowers versus jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow, but one day five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid and Ferdinand is mistakenly chosen. Based on the classic 1936 children's book by Munro Leaf.
Score: A Film Music Documentary
Self
Music is an integral part of most films, adding emotion and nuance while often remaining invisible to audiences. Matt Schrader shines a spotlight on the overlooked craft of film composing, gathering many of the art form’s most influential practitioners, from Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman to Quincy Jones and Randy Newman, to uncover their creative process. Tracing key developments in the evolution of music in film, and exploring some of cinema’s most iconic soundtracks, 'Score' is an aural valentine for film lovers.
Jason Bourne
Original Music Composer
The most dangerous former operative of the CIA is drawn out of hiding to uncover hidden truths about his past.
Pan
Original Music Composer
Living a bleak existence at a London orphanage, 12-year-old Peter finds himself whisked away to the fantastical world of Neverland. Adventure awaits as he meets new friend James Hook and the warrior Tiger Lily. They must band together to save Neverland from the ruthless pirate Blackbeard. Along the way, the rebellious and mischievous boy discovers his true destiny, becoming the hero forever known as Peter Pan.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Original Music Composer
Five years have passed since Hiccup and Toothless united the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Now, they spend their time charting unmapped territories. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider who turns out to be Hiccup's mother, Valka. Hiccup and Toothless then find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior named Drago.
Rio 2
Original Music Composer
It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.
Moshi Monsters: The Movie
Music
Katsuma, Poppet, Snoodle, and the other Moshi Monsters must stop evil Doctor Strangeglove and his incompetent sidekick Fishlips from pulverising the recently discovered Great Moshling Egg.
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Original Music Composer
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
The Lorax
Original Music Composer
A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters
Original Music Composer
Po and the Furious Five uncover the legend of three of kung fu's greatest heroes: Master Thundering Rhino, Master Storming Ox, and Master Croc.
Happy Feet Two
Original Music Composer
Mumble the penguin has a problem: his son Erik, who is reluctant to dance, encounters The Mighty Sven, a penguin who can fly! Things get worse for Mumble when the world is shaken by powerful forces, causing him to brings together the penguin nations and their allies to set things right.
Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury
Original Music Composer
Hiccup and Toothless go on an exciting adventure and discover an island of new dragons.
Book of Dragons
Original Music Composer
So you want to be a dragon trainer do you? Prepare yourself for adventure, excitement and training as Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless and Gobber tell the legend behind the Book of Dragons and reveal insider training secrets about new, never-before-seen dragons.
Kung Fu Panda 2
Original Music Composer
Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five - Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
Rio
Original Music Composer
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.
Mars Needs Moms
Original Music Composer
When Martians suddenly abduct his mom, mischievous Milo rushes to the rescue and discovers why all moms are so special.
Kung Fu Panda Holiday
Music
The Winter Feast is Po's favorite holiday. Every year he and his father hang decorations, cook together, and serve noodle soup to the villagers. But this year Shifu informs Po that as Dragon Warrior, it is his duty to host the formal Winter Feast at the Jade Palace. Po is caught between his obligations as the Dragon Warrior and his family traditions: between Shifu and Mr. Ping.
Legend of the BoneKnapper Dragon
Music
The film follows Hiccup and his young fellows accompanying their mentor, Gobber, on a quest to kill the legendary Boneknapper Dragon. An extra that accompanies the film "How to Train Your Dragon".
Knight and Day
Original Music Composer
A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.
Fair Game
Original Music Composer
Wife and mother Valerie Plame has a double life as a CIA operative, hiding her vocation from family and friends. Her husband, Joseph Wilson, writes a controversial article in The New York Times, refuting stories about the sale of enriched uranium to Iraq, Then Valerie's secret work and identity is leaked to the press. With her cover blown and other people endangered, Valerie's career and personal life begin to unravel.
How to Train Your Dragon
Original Music Composer
As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father.
Green Zone
Original Music Composer
During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller and his team of Army inspectors are dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert. Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that threatens to invert the purpose of their mission.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Original Music Composer
Times are changing for Manny the moody mammoth, Sid the motor mouthed sloth and Diego the crafty saber-toothed tiger. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors – the mighty dinosaurs.
Super Rhino
Original Music Composer
This short begins with the star canine and his owner Penny in peril from "The Man with the Green Eye", trapped within his fortress protected by overwhelming defenses, tied up and suspended high above a bottomless pit that's surrounded by fire. So Penny's father transforms Rhino into a super hamster to save the day.
Bolt
Original Music Composer
Bolt is the star of the biggest show in Hollywood. The only problem is, he thinks it's real. After he's accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt must harness all his "super powers" to find a way home.
Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five
Music
Ordered to teach a martial arts class of rambunctious bunny kittens, Po tells stories of each of the Furious Five's pasts.
Hancock
Original Music Composer
Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip back into old habits?
Kung Fu Panda
Original Music Composer
When the Valley of Peace is threatened, lazy Po the panda discovers his destiny as the "chosen one" and trains to become a kung fu hero, but transforming the unsleek slacker into a brave warrior won't be easy. It's up to Master Shifu and the Furious Five -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey -- to give it a try.
Stop-Loss
Original Music Composer
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Horton Hears a Who!
Original Music Composer
The classic and beloved story from Dr. Seuss is now a CG animated film from 20th Century Fox Animation, the makers of the Ice Age films. An imaginative elephant named Horton (Jim Carrey) hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Horton suspects there may be life on that speck and despite a surrounding community, which thinks he has lost his mind, he is determined to save the tiny particle! Jim Carrey and Steve Carell lead an all-star cast in bringing this wonderful family picture to life!
Jumper
Original Music Composer
David Rice is a man who knows no boundaries, a Jumper, born with the uncanny ability to teleport instantly to anywhere on Earth. When he discovers others like himself, David is thrust into a dangerous and bloodthirsty war while being hunted by a sinister and determined group of zealots who have sworn to destroy all Jumpers. Now, David’s extraordinary gift may be his only hope for survival!
P.S. I Love You
Original Music Composer
A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
The Bourne Ultimatum
Original Music Composer
Bourne is brought out of hiding once again by reporter Simon Ross who is trying to unveil Operation Blackbriar, an upgrade to Project Treadstone, in a series of newspaper columns. Information from the reporter stirs a new set of memories, and Bourne must finally uncover his dark past while dodging The Company's best efforts to eradicate him.
Happy Feet
Original Music Composer
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
X-Men: The Last Stand
Original Music Composer
When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men—led by Professor Charles Xavier—and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organised under Xavier's former ally, Magneto.
United 93
Original Music Composer
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Original Music Composer
Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio's cherished valley. The impending disaster prompts them to reunite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation.
Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty
Music
Aunt Fanny gives a tour of the Robot City Train Station to motley collection of robots, including Fender, Zinc, Tammy, Hacky and an Old Lady-Bot.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Original Music Composer
After five (or six) years of vanilla-wedded bliss, ordinary suburbanites John and Jane Smith are stuck in a huge rut. Unbeknownst to each other, they are both coolly lethal, highly-paid assassins working for rival organisations. When they discover they're each other's next target, their secret lives collide in a spicy, explosive mix of wicked comedy, pent-up passion, nonstop action and high-tech weaponry.
Robots
Original Music Composer
Rodney Copperbottom is a young robot inventor who dreams of making the world a better place, until the evil Ratchet takes over Big Weld Industries. Now, Rodney's dreams – and those of his friends – are in danger of becoming obsolete.
Be Cool
Original Music Composer
Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive along the way.
Alfie
Original Music Composer
In Manhattan, the British limousine driver Alfie is surrounded by beautiful women, having one night stands with all of them and without any sort of commitment. His best friends are his colleague Marlon and his girl-friend Lonette. Alfie has a brief affair with Lonette, and the consequences force Alfie to reflect on his lifestyle.
The Bourne Supremacy
Original Music Composer
When a CIA operation to purchase classified Russian documents is blown by a rival agent, who then shows up in the sleepy seaside village where Bourne and Marie have been living. The pair run for their lives and Bourne, who promised retaliation should anyone from his former life attempt contact, is forced to once again take up his life as a trained assassin to survive.
Mr. 3000
Original Music Composer
Aging baseball star who goes by the nickname, Mr. 3000, finds out many years after retirement that he didn't quite reach 3,000 hits. Now at age 47 he's back to try and reach that goal.
Paycheck
Original Music Composer
Michael Jennings is a genius who's hired – and paid handsomely – by high-tech firms to work on highly sensitive projects, after which his short-term memory is erased so he's incapable of breaching security. But at the end of a three-year job, he's told he isn't getting a paycheck and instead receives a mysterious envelope. In it are clues he must piece together to find out why he wasn't paid – and why he's now in hot water.
Gigli
Original Music Composer
Gigli is ordered to kidnap the psychologically challenged younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor. When plans go awry, Gigli's boss sends in Ricki, a gorgeous free-spirited female gangster who has her own set of orders to assist with the kidnapping. But Gigli begins falling for the decidedly unavailable Ricki, which could be a hazard to his occupation.
The Italian Job
Original Music Composer
Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that he didn't plan on was being double-crossed. Along with a drop-dead gorgeous safecracker, Croker and his team take off to re-steal the loot and end up in a pulse-pounding, pedal-to-the-metal chase that careens up, down, above and below the streets of Los Angeles.
Agent Cody Banks
Original Music Composer
Recruited by the U.S. government to be a special agent, nerdy teenager Cody Banks must get closer to cute classmate Natalie in order to learn about an evil plan hatched by her father. But despite the agent persona, Cody struggles with teen angst.
Stealing Sinatra
Original Music Composer
In need of a grubstake, a young man convinces a couple of friends to help him kidnap Frank Sinatra Jr. It's a true story
Two Weeks Notice
Original Music Composer
Dedicated environmental lawyer Lucy Kelson goes to work for billionaire George Wade as part of a deal to preserve a community center. Indecisive and weak-willed George grows dependent on Lucy's guidance on everything from legal matters to clothing. Exasperated, Lucy gives notice and picks Harvard graduate June Carter as her replacement. As Lucy's time at the firm nears an end, she grows jealous of June and has second thoughts about leaving George.
Drumline
Original Music Composer
A talented street drummer from Harlem enrolls in a Southern university, expecting to lead its marching band's drumline to victory. He initially flounders in his new world, before realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Original Music Composer
The year is 2087, the setting is the moon. Pluto Nash, the high-flying successful owner of the hottest nightclub in the universe, finds himself in trouble when he refuses to sell his club to lunar gangster Mogan, who just happens to be helping the mysterious Rex Crater mastermind a plan to take over the entire moon.
The Bourne Identity
Original Music Composer
Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?
D-Tox
Original Music Composer
A disgraced FBI agent with a drinking problem joins nine other troubled law enforcement officers at an isolated detox clinic in the wilds of Wyoming. But the therapeutic sanctuary becomes a nightmarish hellhole when a major snowstorm cuts off the clinic from the outside world and enables a killer on the inside to get busy.
I Am Sam
Original Music Composer
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the authorities take her away. Sam convinces high-priced lawyer Rita to take his case pro bono and in turn teaches her the value of love and family.
Rat Race
Original Music Composer
In an ensemble film about easy money, greed, manipulation and bad driving, a Las Vegas casino tycoon entertains his wealthiest high rollers -- a group that will bet on anything -- by pitting six ordinary people against each other in a wild dash for $2 million jammed into a locker hundreds of miles away. The tycoon and his wealthy friends monitor each racer's every move to keep track of their favorites. The only rule in this race is that there are no rules.
Evolution
Original Music Composer
A comedy that follows the chaos that ensues when a meteor hits the Earth carrying alien life forms that give new meaning to the term "survival of the fittest." David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, and Julianne Moore are the only people standing between the aliens and world domination... which could be bad news for the Earth.
Shrek
Original Music Composer
It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.
Just Visiting
Original Music Composer
A knight and his valet are plagued by a witch, and to repair the damage they make use of the services of a wizard. However, something goes wrong and they are transported from the 12th century to the year 2000. There the knight meets some of his family and slowly learns what this new century is like. However, he still needs to get back to the 12th century to deal with the witch, so he starts looking for a wizard. Remake of 1993 French film Les Visiteurs (The Visitors).
Chicken Run
Original Music Composer
The creators of Wallace & Gromit bring you an exciting and original story about a group of chickens determined to fly the coop–even if they can’t fly! It’s hardly poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and her feathered friends to fly…but, with teamwork, determination and a little bit o’ cluck, the fearless flock plots one last attempt in a spectacular bid for freedom.
The Road to El Dorado
Original Music Composer
After a failed swindle, two con-men end up with a map to El Dorado, the fabled "city of gold," and an unintended trip to the New World. Much to their surprise, the map does lead the pair to the mythical city, where the startled inhabitants promptly begin to worship them as gods. The only question is, do they take the worshipful natives for all they're worth, or is there a bit more to El Dorado than riches?
Chill Factor
Original Music Composer
A store clerk and an ice cream truck driver are thrown together when a dying scientist entrusts them with a deadly chemical kept in ice. This chemical will kill every living thing once it melts. They have to take the chemical codenamed 'Elvis' to the next nearest military base while being chased by terrorists who want it to hold the country for ransom.
Endurance
Music
The gold medal for the men's 10,000-meter race in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is won by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie.
Forces of Nature
Original Music Composer
Ben Holmes, a professional book-jacket blurbologist, is trying to get to Savannah for his wedding. He just barely catches the last plane, but a seagull flies into the engine as the plane is taking off. All later flights are cancelled because of an approaching hurricane, so he is forced to hitch a ride in a Geo Metro with an attractive but eccentric woman named Sara.
The Thin Red Line
Additional Music
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.
Antz
Original Music Composer
A neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a parade, he ends up under the command of a bloodthirsty general. But he's actually been enlisted to fight against a termite army.
With Friends Like These...
Compositors
Four small-time two-bit character actors, all close friends, are competing for same important part in the next Martin Scorsese mob film.
With Friends Like These...
Music
Four small-time two-bit character actors, all close friends, are competing for same important part in the next Martin Scorsese mob film.
Human Bomb
Music
An unhappy male takes a classroom of children and their teacher (Patsy Kensit) hostage with a set of explosives strapped to his body.
Face/Off
Original Music Composer
In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.
Je suis ton châtiment
Music
An avid moviegoer sees several films depicting grisly murderers and decides to commit a crime himself, only to discover that there's quite a difference between fantasy and reality.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Score Engineer
A man attending a funeral in his hometown comes face-to-face with his past when he is confronted with memories of mistrust, adultery, abuse, and a fantastical journey that couldn't possibly be real. It couldn't possibly be real, but the memory of a mysterious girl named Lettie Hempstock ties each bizarre childhood occurrence to the last.