More ambitious in scope than any of its other animated films (before or to come), Disney's 1940 Fantasia was a dizzying, magical and highly enjoyable marriage of classical music and animated images. Fantasia 2000, originally made for the IMAX large-screen format, features some breathtaking animation and storytelling, and in a few spots soars to wonderful high points, but it still more often than not has the feel of walking in its predecessor's footsteps as opposed to creating its own path. A family of whales swimming and soaring to Respighi's The Pines of Rome is magical to watch, but ends all too soon; a forest sprite's dance of life, death and rebirth to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring too clearly echoes the original Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria sequence. But when it's on target, Fantasia 2000 is glorious enough to make you giddy. Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a perfect narrative set to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2, and Donald Duck's guest appearance as the assistant to Noah (of the Ark fame) set to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance marches is a welcome companion piece (though not an equal) to The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the one original Fantasia piece included here. The high point of Fantasia 2000, though, is a fantastic day-in-the-life sequence of 1930s New York City set to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and animated in the style of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld; it's a perfect melding of music, story and animation style. Let's hope future Fantasias (reportedly in the works) take a cue from the best of this compilation. The music is provided by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, interspersed with negligible intros by Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Itzhak Perlman, James Earl Jones and others. --Mark Englehart
Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are also available together in the three-disc DVD Fantasia Collection.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A fitting compilation for an unrivalled masterpiece Disney's groundbreaking film "Fantasia", released in 1940, stands today as one of the most incredible films to come out of the studios glittering array of films. It symbolises Walt Disney's pursuit for experimentation in the art form he did so much to create. Disney's dream was to turn Fantasia into a constantly changing film that audiences would return to year on year, much like a live concert, to see different pieces set to music. It never happened... that is until "Fantasia 2000".
totally unimpressed i loved the original fantasia - despite being 20 now, it still has its place on my video shelf. but this had nothing at all on the original - the music scenes were much shorter, and in between there was just a load of minor celebrities who i'm not interested in at all. to be honest, didn't even know who some were, just that they were irritating, and took up far too much time. in the oroginal, the point was the music, and you'd hear the whole thing - not tiny sections from a piece. in this one, was there a... more info
Great Film, Lacking DVD Release I guess many people are aware that Walt Disney's Fantasia is a masterpiece of the arts and the imagination. If it weren't, it would've long been forgotten. Artsy and mature, this motion picture appeals more to the adult crowd than the kids, who cannot possibly appreciate the artistic integrity on display on their TV. It's sad, however, to see that on Region 2, this film receives such a mediocre DVD release. Not only is the 1940 Fantasia disc missing extras, but it also sports a very undesirable transfer.... more info
Superb!! The original Fantasia of course was released in 1940 and it is still popular today as it was then. This new version is superb for a number of reasons. Picture and sound, courtesy of Digital Technology are quite simply out of this world. As for the music, its a bit of a mixed bag to be quite honest. The best sequence is the Whales to Resphigi's Pines of Rome, followed by the Toy Soldier and the Dancer, to Shostakovich's 2 Piano Concerto. However, George Gerswin's Rhapsody In Blue is certainly one of the... more info
