Original score from the 2026 animated feature film directed by Sean Heuston, featuring the voices of David Collins, Juliette Crosbie and The Umbilical Brothers, produced by Studio 100 International, Studio Isar Animation, Telegael and 3Doubles Producciones, released by Port au Prince Pictures (Germany).

THE STORY: Two clumsy ants with big dreams and zero coordination stumble through life in the meadow, causing chaos wherever they go. A slapstick comedy about friendship, failure, and the tiny triumphs that make even ants feel like heroes.

THE SCORE: “One of my first tasks on Arnie & Barney was writing the backing groove for a hilarious rap battle scene. Sean, the director, didn’t want me to ‘just’ create a beat, since there’s a band performing on stage. Instead, his idea was to write a groovy, driving funk track in the vein of Bootsy Collins—and that’s when I knew: this project was going to be a lot of fun. And I was right. The soundtrack turned into a wild mix of styles, ranging from epic ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ vibes to 1970s heist-movie scoring à la Lalo Schifrin, with heavy brass and crazy vocals, moving through salsa, deliberately ‘sloppy’ children’s instrument music, all the way to 1990s adventure scoring in the vein of one of my heroes, Alan Silvestri. A personal highlight is a cue in the last third of the film where everything comes together: ‘The Band Goes Crazy’ starts with a live band—playing one of those dull corporate background gigs on screen—that gets hypnotized and completely loses control – shoutout to Christian Diener on bass and Stephan Ebn on drums who absolutely nailed it! It then evolves into a disco-style party version of the Arnie & Barney theme. Stylistically, it’s a nod to the infamous Galactic Funk album from 1977. And that’s not even mentioning the incredible performance by the Filmorchester Babelsberg under the baton of my friend Ben Palmer – or the fact that I wrote one of the saddest songs I’ve ever composed for a key emotional scene, featuring a breathtaking vocal performance by Celena Pieper. I hope you enjoy listening to this diverse score as much as I enjoyed creating it.” – Christoph Zirngibl

THE COMPOSER: Christoph Zirngibl is an award-winning German film composer based in Munich with credits spanning over 120 productions across feature films, prime-time television, series and documentaries. His work includes Where’s Wanda? – the first German Apple TV+ series, now returning for a second season on 21 October 2026 – the animated feature Mia and Me: The Hero of Centopia, and the Netflix documentary Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard. He has received the Hollywood Music in Media Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award, and the Preis der Deutschen Fernsehakademie, and is a member of the German Film Academy and the Society of Composers and Lyricists. Previous release on the MovieScore Media label include Finis Terrae and Transit.

MMS26645 ARNIE & BARNEY: THE WATER QUEST (Arnie & Barney – Retten das Wasser) (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed by CHRISTOPH ZIRNGIBL
Release date: July 24, 2026