Will it become another rich Newman family tradition? Picking up the baton his cousin Randy carried so skillfully on Disney/Pixar's four previous pioneering computer animation features, composer Thomas Newman was undaunted, bringing his own highly original scoring sensibility to the studio's latest digital daydream--an effort that's also the younger Newman's own debut score for an animated feature. Tom's consistently unique approach to matters of rhythm and percussion are as forceful and inventive as ever in this undersea adventure, while his passages for orchestra resonate with the same quintessentially American pastoral melancholy his songwriting cousin has long employed in his work. The result is dynamic, diverse, and uniquely personal as any modern animated feature. Especially rewarding are the jazz/exotica/kitsch flourishes Newman playfully throws into the mix, diffusing his ever nervous rhythms with unexpected, quirky colorations. It's a must for any fan of Newman's evocative canon. Contemporary crooner Robbie Williams rounds out proceedings with a faithful, jazzy take on Bobby Darin's classic "Beyond the Sea." --Jerry McCulley