Walt Disney took a big chance with this ambitious anthology of animated fantasies. First, he set them to lengthy classical music pieces, and then he boldly experimented with different forms of animation, sometimes jettisoning any sort of narrative altogether. The result is a sometimes mesmerizing, sometimes hilarious, sometimes frightening, but always beautiful moviegoing experience. A box-office failure when first released, it's now considered a timeless treasure. Highlights include: Mickey Mouse in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," the leaping hippos and alligators in "Dance of the Hours," the rise and fall of the dinosaurs set to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," the dancing mushrooms of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite," and Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain," with its fearsome winged demon raging at the heavens.
One of Walt Disney's ambitions for the project was to rerelease the film periodically over the years with new sequences. Though the film was regularly rereleased, it wasn't until 1999 that his intention was finally realized with the premiere of FANTASIA 2000, a lavish follow-up that included a digitally restored "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and a host of new material. The original FANTASIA, however, remains a one-of-a-kind auditory and visual experience that is still, in many ways, far ahead of its time.
(20 votes)
2.
Walt Disney's Original Uncut Version
For the first time ever, Fantasia is available on DVD in a special, uncut edition! Restored and remastered, this special 60th anniversary DVD truly captures Walt Disney's unique inspiration -- complete with the intermission and narration -- which have not been included in the film since its original theatrical release!
Fantasia created the mold for blending music and movie magic into an exhilarating moviegoing experience. Unforgettable images are brought to life by some of the world's best music -- the comedy of Mickey Mouse as a troublemaking sorcerer's apprentice, the beauty of winged fairies and cascading snowflakes, even plump hippos performing ballet in tutus!
With this special edition DVD, you are invited on a behind-the-scenes look at Fantasia. Included is a compilation of audio interviews with Walt Disney spanning three decades, much of which has never been hears, as well as insightful commentaries by Roy E. Disney and others whose talents have contributed to the Fantasia legacy.
Never before has this masterpiece looked and sounded better than in this 60th anniversary edition DVD. Enjoy the history, the sounds, the sheer excitement that is Fantasia!
(19 votes)
3.
Groundbreaking on several counts, not the least of which was an innovative use of animation and stereophonic sound, this ambitious Disney feature has lost nothing to time since its release in 1940. Classical music was interpreted by Disney animators, resulting in surreal fantasy and playful escapism. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra provided the music for eight segments by the composers Tchaikovsky, Moussorgsky, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ponchielli, Bach, Dukas and Schubert. Not all the sequences were created equally, but a few are simply glorious, such as "Night on Bald Mountain", "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "The Nutcracker Suite". The animation ranges from subtly delicate to fiercely bold. The screen bursts with colour and action as creatures transmute and convention is thrust aside. The painstaking detail and saturated hues are unique to this film, unmatched even by more advanced technology. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are also available together in the 3-disc DVD Fantasia Collection.
(17 votes)
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