Good ear

[Petrie.]

Its well known in the composer world that composers will borrow from others or their previous works when making movie themes.

Anyway, background info here.  My mom said to watch the Spiderwick Chronicles because it was pretty good for a fantasy film.  I figured I might as well, and sat there, watching every moment and seeing how the music fit.  At one part of the film there was a very beautiful piano theme where the old lady was speaking and I thought, "Man I know this theme....I bet James Horner wrote the score!"  Sure enough on the back of the dvd case, composer was James Horner.  Would have been march harder to discern if he didn't blatantly put "Casper's Theme" at a key point in the film!!!  :  Practically note for note it was there.  The score as a whole was different, but still, Casper should be able to keep his own theme for himself.

[Amaranthine]

I think it may have to do with inspiration. A composer will get inspiration from other music from a composer she/he likes, so that maybe why different composer's work sounds similar.

That has happened to me before. I heard a ring tone that sounded like the beginning of the Simpsons theme song XD it wasn't however, it went off with a different tune.

[action9000]

James Horner is particularily bad for "borrowing" ideas from his own and other works. :

An LBT example:
Sections of "Foraging for Food" are structurally, structurally and instrumentally very, very similar to the Hunters theme from Peter and the Wolf

Casper should be able to keep his own theme for himself.

I agree; I love that piano theme, too.

I think it may have to do with inspiration. A composer will get inspiration from other music from a composer she/he likes, so that maybe why different composer's work sounds similar.

The tricky part about being a composer is trying to develop original ideas in a style you like without sounding like anyone else (or too much like your own previous work).  Why is this so hard?  There are only 12 different notes (excluding octaves) in the musical scale: choices are limited!

[Amaranthine]

The tricky part about being a composer is trying to develop original ideas in a style you like without sounding like anyone else (or too much like your own previous work).  Why is this so hard?  There are only 12 different notes (excluding octaves) in the musical scale: choices are limited!

That is true. I tried to make up a song randomly. I usually can tell different notes by ear, since I have a hard time telling them part and finding out which is which , so I realized that it sounds like a song someone else wrote. So it is hard to be "original". That's why I love bands like Nightwish, Within Temptation, and Evanescence(though they may have a tendency to sound like one of Kelly Klarkson's songs not that Kelly Klarkson is bad or anything, but I love bands that aren't exactly "well known".)

[Petrie.]

Like I said, I wasn't blasting the whole score...just that tiny piece because its very recognizable to anybody who's heard a lot of Horner.  They typically have Casper's Theme somewhere.

[Cancerian Tiger]

Something I noticed: There are a few pieces of the JP soundtrack that sound exactly like pieces in the Jeepers Creepers soundtrack :huh:.