There are also deep metaphorical depictions being displayed that the adults will catch on to, while children simply enjoy a naive simplicity of happy little sea animals, not knowing of the sociological references to bourgeois vs. Controversially, one of the cartoons endorses the Darwin theory, showing the evolution of life from the dawn of the planet Earth. The visual effects and cartoon story lines coincide with the musical numbers beautifully. The video is nothing more than something to keep the attention-lagging folks interested. The movie consists of a series of staple orchestral pieces from some of history's most important composers, played by highly-talented musicians from the time of the movie's filming. Thus, the people that actually did go to see the movie were disappointed when they learned this was not a Micky Mouse cartoon, or even a movie with any sort of plot whatsoever. The people of this era had never even heard of a TELEVISION! Let alone multi-channel audio encoding/decoding. Most of us take our 5.1 home theaters for granted. If no one had ever even heard of "Stereo" or "Quadrophonic", it was difficult to describe what was so special. People did not understand what they were going to witness, so with little understanding came little hype. The movie was extremely poorly received for it's debut. This should be a big clue as to what was the most important factor in experiencing the movie is/was: THE SOUND. Because most theaters did not contain the necessary components to deliver "Stereo Sound", Disney actually had a mobile rig called "Fanta-Sound" that toured different cities to deliver the true experience. Just something to consider.Ī little-known fact, Fantasia was actually the very first movie ever to be released containing multi-channel audio, meaning "using two or more speakers". Taking nothing away from this landmark work for what it was (as well as what it is), it's a snoozer for most kids today. This film is too spirited to be a "bedtime" movie, but not spirited enough to hold your average elementary-aged child's attention. If you are going to invest in quality movies for your children or if you hope to give them some exposure to classical music, you may want to look elsewhere. I have become spoiled by the quantum leap animation techniques have made since Fantasia stood as the pinnacle of acheivement in animation.įantasia is perhaps most appreciated by those who regard it with nostalgia. and I have to confess that while it is a classic in my mind, it was not as riveting recently as I remember it being. The thing is, though, my children were flat-out bored with it. I loved the playfulness of the Greek theme, and of course, what child wasn't spellbound by the fairies from the Nutcracker Suite? I remember being awed, amazed and terrified when Mickey Mouse brought those brooms to life and they marched out of control. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen - spectacular colors and details and various forms of animation against the backdrop of classical symphonic masterpieces. At the time it was created, Fantasia represented the state-of-the-art in animation. įantasia was one of the "must-see" movies of my childhood. Parents - some things to consider before you buy. 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. 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. One of Walt Disney's ambitions for the project was to rerelease the film periodically over the years with new sequences. 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. A box-office failure when first released, it's now considered a timeless treasure. The result is a sometimes mesmerizing, sometimes hilarious, sometimes frightening, but always beautiful moviegoing experience. 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. Walt Disney took a big chance with this ambitious anthology of animated fantasies.
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