The School for Good and Evil (soundtrack)

The School for Good and Evil (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)
Film score by
Theodore Shapiro
ReleasedOctober 19, 2022
Recorded2022
Studio
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length72:52
LabelNetflix Music
ProducerJoseph Shirley
Theodore Shapiro chronology
The Good House
(2022) 		The School for Good and Evil
(2022) 		Trolls Band Together
(2023)
Singles from The School for Good and Evil (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)
  1. "Who Do You Think You Are"
    Released: October 7, 2022

The School for Good and Evil (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) is the soundtrack to the 2022 film The School for Good and Evil. Directed by Paul Feig, it is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Soman Chainani. The film score is composed by Theodore Shapiro which consisted of an epic pop music combining medieval instrumentations, orchestra along with electronic music. The 23-track album was released through Netflix Music on October 19, 2022, featuring Shapiro's score and an end credits song "Who Do You Think You Are", previously released as a single.

Development

In May 2022, it was announced that Theodore Shapiro would compose music for The School for Good and Evil in his fifth collaboration with Feig.[1] Before the production began, Feig created a reel of visual ideas based on couture-inspired costumes and the reel was set to an indie rock song, which led Shapiro to set a sonic palette that "would have a youthful energy and point of view". Musically, the film required a huge orchestral score to be cinematic and epic, but Shapiro tried to keep the modern pop sensibilities alive. He combined a large orchestra with baroque harpsichords, medieval instruments, chord progressions and modern music programming, to create an "epic pop" score.[2][3]

As the film had a timeless quality, Shapiro wanted to curate a sound that span the ages. He used medieval instruments such as recorders and frame drums, along with baroque harpischord and pipe organ that represented the 20th century sounds. Combining these with electronics, Shapiro wanted to convey the idea of timelessness by "making a big musical gumbo with all of these references colliding with one another."[3]

The theme for the school for good was "straight-ahead nobility and beauty" with minor chromatic quirks, while the theme for the school for evil "got more fun toys in its music". He underlined it with a Bulgarian choir singing in a balkan style that provided a color for that theme, and when these schools were together, both themes were played simultaneously in counterpoint with one another. The score accompanied numerous themes and Shapiro refrained from too many thematic clutters, hence those themes were also used for representing key characters as well.[3]

Release

An original song for the film, "Who Do You Think You Are", performed by Kiana Ledé and Cautious Clay was released as a single on October 7, 2022.[4] The soundtrack was released through Netflix Music on October 19, the same day as the film.[5]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Family Duel and Sophie's Dream Waltz"5:47
2."Everything's Just Fine"2:52
3."The Stymph"3:02
4."Smells Like Cake"1:02
5."Good and Evil Orientation"2:07
6."Tedros and the Everboys"1:08
7."Cyclops Fight"3:15
8."Tower of Blood"1:59
9."Gregor's Third Fail"2:32
10."Hester and the Dragon Tattoo"5:16
11."Wish Fish"6:32
12."Fingerglow"1:39
13."Trial by Tale"3:10
14."The Pumpkin Patch"2:38
15."The Ever Ball"4:23
16."Turned to Dolls"1:40
17."The Witches' Transformation"2:29
18."Things in Between"1:01
19."Never After"6:48
20."Cloud of Feathers"3:43
21."True Love"3:00
22."Going Home"3:18
23."Who Do You Think You Are" (Kiana Ledé and Cautious Clay)3:31
Total length:72:52

Reception

Peter Debruge of Variety and David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it "functional" and "symphonic".[6][7] Mark Feeney of The Boston Globe wrote "The one thing to be said for Theodore Shapiro’s muscularly egregious score is that the music makes it marginally easier to miss what the characters are saying."[8] Vinayak Chakravorty of Firstpost noted that the background score "you’d feel you’ve heard once too often".[9] Reviewing for the musical piece "The Stymph", Owen Danoff of Screen Rant said that it was "reminiscent of some of Theodore Shapiro's action work in films like Tropic Thunder and 2016's Ghostbusters, with a whimsical edge that firmly roots it in the fantastical world of The School for Good and Evil. Driving percussion and soaring vocals pair with horns and the rest of the orchestra to create a soundscape that is at times suspenseful and at times triumphant."[2]

Additional music

The following are the list of songs featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack:[10]

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes:[11]

  • Music by: Theodore Shapiro
  • Music supervisor: Erica Weis
  • Score produced by: Joseph Shirley
  • Music designer: Chris Lane
  • Music editors: Paul Chandler, Thomas Dreschner
  • Orchestration: Mark Graham, Jeff Kryka, Tommy Laurence, Geoff Lawson
  • Music preparation: JoAnn Kane Music Service
  • Orchestra conducted by: Gavin Greenaway
  • Additional conductor: Mark Graham
  • Score recorded by: Nick Wollage, Chris Fogel
  • Digital score recordist: John Prestage
  • Score mixed by: Chris Fogel
  • Assistant mix engineer: Colby Donaldson
  • Technical score engineer: Felipe Pacheco
  • Score programmer: Prateek Rajagopal
  • Recording assistant: Jedidiah Rimell
  • Music librarian: Dave Hage
  • Score editor; Chris Barrett
  • Orchestra leader: Thomas Bowes
  • Orchestra contractors: Lucy Whalley and Jenny Goshawk for Isobel Griffiths Ltd.
  • Choirmasters: Terry Edwards, Ben Parry
  • Choir contractor: Jasper Randall
  • Choir: London Voices, Reid Bruton, Grace Davidson, Allie Feder, William Kenneth Goldman, Joanna Goldsmith-Eteson, Bri Holland, Sudumu Jayatilaka, Baraka May, Jenna Lea Rosen, Steve Trowell
  • Sofia choir: Sofia Session Orchestra
  • Score recorded at: Air Lyndhurst Studios, London and Sofia Session Studio, Sofia
  • Score mixed at: Elbo Studios, Glendale, California
  • Music clearances: Christine Bergren, Alexa Collazo
  • Bass: Steve Dress, Christian Kollgaard, Steve Mair, Stephanie Payne, Laurence Ungless
  • Celeste: David Arch
  • Cello: Jacob Braun, Steve Erdody, Vicky Matthews
  • French horn: Richard Bissill, Allen Fogle, Dylan S. Hart, Diego Incertis
  • Guitar: Andrew Synowiec
  • Viola: Rachel Bolt, Rob Brophy, Meredith Crawford, Zach Dellinger, Clifton Harrison, Shawn Mann, Mike Nowak, Erik Rynearson, David Walther
  • Violin: Eun-Mee Ahn, Mark Berrow, Charlie Bisharat, Jacqueline Brand, Jessica Guideri, Tamara Hatwan, Amy Hershberger, Luanne Homzy, Benjamin Jacobson, Kevin Kumar, Songa Lee, Natalie Leggett, Phillip Levy, Maya Magub, Perry Montague-Mason, Everton Nelson, Grace Oh, Alyssa Park, Tom Pigott Smith, Mark Robertson, Molly Rogers, Justin Smith, Tereza Stanislav, Sarah Thornblade, Shalini Vijayan, Irina Voloshina, Roger Wilkie

Accolades

Awards and nominations received by The School for Good and Evil
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
MTV Movie & TV Awards May 7, 2023 Best Musical Moment "You Should See Me in a Crown" Nominated
[12]

References

  1. ^ "Theodore Shapiro Scoring Paul Feig's The School for Good and Evil". Film Music Reporter. May 17, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Danoff, Owen (October 13, 2022). "Listen To A New Track From The School for Good and Evil [EXCLUSIVE]". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "How Theodore Shapiro composed The School for Good and Evil". CutCommon. November 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  4. ^ "Who Do You Think You Are (From the Netflix Film The School for Good and Evil)". Apple Music. October 7, 2022. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  5. ^ "The School for Good and Evil (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film)". Apple Music. October 19, 2022. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  6. ^ Debruge, Peter (October 19, 2022). "'The School for Good and Evil' Review: Derivative Magic Teen Franchise Borrows From 'Harry Potter,' Hogwarts and All". Variety. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  7. ^ Rooney, David (October 19, 2022). "'The School for Good and Evil' Review: Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington Get All Dressed Up for Nothing in Paul Feig's YA Fantasy Misfire". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  8. ^ Feeney, Mark (October 19, 2022). "'The School for Good and Evil': Imagine Hogwarts minus the magic — or, better yet, don't". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  9. ^ Chakravorty, Vinayak (October 20, 2022). "The School For Good And Evil review: Young adult fairytale hits Hogwarts road with Disney cliches". Firstpost. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  10. ^ Korioth, Jim (October 23, 2022). "Every Song In The School For Good & Evil". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  11. ^ Theodore Shapiro. The School for Good and Evil (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) (Media notes). Netflix Music.
  12. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (May 7, 2023). "MTV Movie & TV Awards: Full List of Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
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