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Kidco (1984)
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Reviews
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 Small does a BIG job!
by a soundtrack collector (February 3, 2012)
Robert F. Maxwell's "Kidco" was a small gem of a film produced in the mid eighties, when children were getting their very own movies. Amidst the die-hard action films, and the glossy fantasy escapades, we had a few films made about children, starring children, and most of which were for the children - yet - there were a few that attributed more than mere elementary appeal in their value. In "Kidco" four youngsters on a farm are ambitious enough to start there own fertilizer company, and come under fire from the state tax commission. Naturally, their predicament is handled in an adult fashion, giving adults entertainment apparent to justify sitting through the film, and their children viewers, the chance to experience what it is like in hard times, as an adult.
Renowned composer Michael Small delivers one of his most unique, and masterful scores of his career - easily beating out his more well known scores, such as "Marathon Man", "Klute", and "The Parallax View" to name a few. His score for "Kidco" is rich, lush, and often times at various places at once. It's a score with a lot of heart, soul, and attitude. We get, in a rare score as this, a range of child-like emotional themes and motifs, heard in tracks such as "Stephen Foster" and "Betty and Neal." But don't be fooled into formulaic spurts - Small never writes any two cues the same. This, as in all of his scores, keeps listeners on their toes. Given a child's view of a corporate adult (greedy, goofy, over the top) you get the more fun themed cues as "Balls", "We're in Business", "Hot Dog", and "All for One." But the scores real diamond cues are in tracks as "Night Ride" (this reviewers favorite track), "Sentances" and the "End Credits." These have repeat motifs, albeit in different fashions that give the impression of coming of age-ness, a feeling of warmth and growth, and in the score itself, the musical quality seems to grow like a child to adulthood.
The score itself blends rock ballad persuasion, with full blown orchestrations to make for a motley sound that has seldom been matched in such vicinity.
When it all comes down, both the film and it's score are lost in the shuffle of the ever flowing revolving doors of Hollywood pop-culture; thanks to Intrada, we have the complete score preserved for film score fans, buffs, and enthusiasts alike. It's a score to look out for. It has it all, mystique, variety, it always keeps you guessing, and it gets better after each listen. A great score.
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