Composer Brian Tyler is matter of fact: “The Ninja Turtles music is straight-up fantasy film/classic sci-fi music—Raiders of the Lost Ark or Star Wars—with that John Williams kind of sound, which I love doing. Director Jonathan Liebesman and I grew up watching those films, which is the vibe we wanted to evoke. It’s actually closer to the original Superman style that John Williams used.” Tyler says those melodic traditions work for a reason. “Themes can really anchor the film,” he explains. “I use the term loosely, because the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme has three different themes inside it. It starts off on the album in a way that feels like you’re hearing the origin to the story, where the music tells you about the characters’ struggles and the darkness they face with Shredder. Then that goes into a more heroic piece that you could call the ‘adventure’ theme, which has kind of a perilous old-school feel that’s a throwback to the old Saturday-morning serials, done with an orchestra and a live choir.”