Digimon: The Movie (OST), by Various Artists
Suggested by Rico James (Guilty Pleasure)
What even is Digimon?
This suggestion is likely the one that’s made me feel old. I’ve heard of Digimon, I suppose. At least, I know the word. I’ve always assumed it’s a derivative of Pokemon. While I’m no stranger to you Bulbasaurs, your Jigglypuffs and your Gengars, I’m no real fan. Some people may feel they’ve gotta catch ‘em all, but not me. And Pokemon are the real deal, while Digimon are likely some Aldi knockoffs, yellow blobs with paint splotch eyes, Pikachus ordered from Wish.
It took me an age to compile this album from a slew of streaming sources, pairing them up with the soundtrack list from Wikipedia. I covered all twelve of the non-hidden tracks, and if you’re playing along at home I’d suggest YouTube is your best place to start.
The first song, Digi Rap, channels Partners in Crime’s Turtle Power. It serves a valuable purpose of explaining that Digimon is a contraction of Digital Monsters. The rather angry rapper also informs us that “the Digi dudes / Will Digi rule”, which is straight from PJ and Duncan’s Big Book of Rap Rhymes. The song is rather ominous and forthright, which is surprising, and not unwelcome.
The twelve-song soundtrack appears to consist of a slew of songs with turn of the century credentials. There’s the super-pop-punk All Star by Smash Mouth, the infectiously cool Rockafeller Skank by Fatboy Slim, the whipcrack vocal gymnastics of Barenaked Ladies’ One Week, the spaciousness of LEN’s Kids in America, and more.
Aside from the opener Digi Rap, there are a few Digimon-themed original tracks. Hey Digimon is of particular note, a strange almost calypso reggae-rap that outlines the show’s central theme in a forthright way. Nice for those reviewing along at home, but not exactly exciting. Run Around is surprisingly metal for a pop-punk song, with a fine uplifting and chantable chorus.
In all honesty, this is a pretty kickass soundtrack. It has some blinders, some funky original songs, and even a pair of Ska-Punk tracks from Less Than Jake and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. My standout song is One Week, because of my love for dextrous vocals, but a lot of thought has gone into this collection of songs.
The problem is that the whole thing comes across as a playlist rather than a cohesive album or soundtrack. I’ve no sense at all of how any of these songs tie into the narrative of the Digimon Movie, which I guess can be expected as I’ve not seen the film, but I thought I’d at least get some feeling to the flow of the story. It feels as though the soundtrack was simply assembled from the Spotify history of one of the film exec’s children.
After listening to this soundtrack, I have learnt a little more about the Digimon world, but not enough to actually care. However, I can’t deny that the songs on here are catchy and fun, so Digimon: the Movie (OST) gets a passable 6/10.