In my efforts to finish up the year 2025 I have been exploring the best scores of that year and as a result I have found several more scores worth talking about. I will do so in another batch of smaller Spotlight reviews.
Avatar: Fire and Ash – Simon Franglen
I cannot end 2025 without writing something about Avatar: Fire and Ash. It is the third installment in the Avatar franchise and is one of the most expensive movies ever made. Simon Franglen had to take over for the second film after James Horner, tragically, left our world in a plane crash. Franglen wrote a fantastic score for Avatar: The Way of Water and continued working with James Cameron for the third movie.
Without getting into big spoilers, when I went to see Fire and Ash in the theater, I was quite surprised by how similar the movie was to The Way of Water. Many characters, aspects and environments from that second film have been reused in the third, as is also reflected in the film music. The score focuses on things happening on screen, as was the case with The Way of Water, and it features many earlier themes, including the stunning family theme and even some hints of Horner’s original Avatar theme. Two new clans are introduced in this film: The Windtraders and Mangkwan. The first group receives a wonderful theme but has little presence in the score, and dark, low sounds represent the second one to emphasize their evil intentions. The music for Fire and Ash is excellent and underscores this movie’s story, but I hope the next Avatar explores different places so we can hear more original themes.
Cobra Kai: Season 6 – Leo Birenberg, Zach Robinson
Another score I need to discuss is the music for Cobra Kai, a successful series that concluded with the sixth season, which Netflix split into three parts. The music, composed by the duo Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, had been on my radar for the many years this show was running, but, for some reason, I had never taken the time to look at it thoroughly, which I had to address for this final season.
Each part of the final season got its own soundtrack album, and while I have listened to all three, I focused most on the final part, released in 2025, which was a pleasant surprise to listen to. Cobra Kai is a show that continues the story of the original The Karate Kid movies from the ’80s, featuring the main rivals from those movies, and its score reflects that, with analogue synthesizer sounds and rock guitars. Those ’80s sounds are not the only ones to be found; the score also includes many modern elements, such as occasional metal guitars and a lot of orchestral cues, often masterfully blended with guitars and synths. I really should not have overlooked these previous seasons. Birenberg and Robinson did an excellent job of blending the old with the new in this stunning score.
Super Furball and the Lying Squirrel – Panu Aaltio
As a soundtrack critic, I not only try to listen to as many scores as possible each year, but I also like to look further than music from Hollywood and the Netherlands. That is why sometimes I come across gorgeous scores from uncommon countries like Super Furball and the Lying Squirrel, a Finnish family film with music by Panu Aaltio.
This film is about a girl who can transform into a super rodent to save the forest next to her school. When you are a superhero, you, of course, need a theme, and the score for Super Furball and the Lying Squirrel has a great one that sticks in your head. It is integrated wonderfully throughout this marvelous traditional orchestral and uplifting score. It is a gem you would have missed, and it is an awesome showcase of how much gorgeous film music can be found outside the big Hollywood blockbusters.
