Composer Michael Giacchino has one seriously diverse résumé. In addition to scoring Up and other Pixar hits like The Incredibles and Ratatouille, he also created the music for Star Trek, Jurassic World, and television’s Lost. From Carl to Spock to mysterious smoke monsters, it seems there’s no soundtrack Giacchino can’t summon.

With Up, Giacchino’s score strikes a unique tone: it’s sentimental, but never syrupy. As it waltzes around Carl and Russell’s adventure, it heightens the emotions on screen, but never whacks you over the head with them. “Michael Giacchino’s gorgeous music, invoking great Max Steiner scores from the ’40s and ’50s, steers the story’s emotional shifts with great elegance,” explains Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Schwarzbaum. It’s sweeping, yet subtle, and, most importantly, and it never intrudes on Carl and Russell’s epic quest.

Giacchino’s artful contribution to Up’s story also sent him on his own heroic journey through the 2010 awards season. He snagged the Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, and BAFTA awards for Best Original Score. (Source) Not bad for a guy who started out scoring 16-bit video game soundtracks like Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse.

That’s right: Disney and Giacchino go way back.