Fantasia 2000

Although I was aware of the original plan to renew the Fantasia concept every so often, and that it was visualised as an ongoing project, I felt that going back after 60 years was too much, and that the original classic should be left alone. However, my initial scepticism was dispelled within seconds of the opening sequence. What we have here is a lush, vibrant fusion of animation and music, each fully complimenting the other to perfection. It's hard to pick a favorite sequence, but if really pressed, for personal taste alone, it would be the awesome sequence with the whales. Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence is the only carry over from the original, and a worthy match for it in the 2000 lineup is the Donald "Noah".

The only criticism I have of the film is the bridging sequences, featuring Steve Martin, Penn & Teller, Bette Midler and others. I would have preferred that they stuck to one presenter, preferably James Earl Jones or Angela Landsbury. They seemed to take the material and the project far more seriously than Martin and Penn & Teller who's humor detracted from the dignity of the movie as a whole.

"Fantasia 2000" is a beautiful sequel of the classic animation "Fantasia" (1940). The conductor is James Levine and each segment is introduced by the actor Steve Martin, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, the actress Bette Midler, the entertainer Penn & Teller, the actor James Earl Jones, the conductor Quincy Jones and the actress Angela Lansbury. The audio is in DTS and THX and the program is the following:

(1) Symphony No. 5 in C minor-I. Allegro con brio, by Ludwig van Beethoven.

(2) Pines of Rome, by Ottorino Respighi.

(3) Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin.

(4) Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro, by Dmitri Shostakovich.

(5) The Carnival of the Animals, Finale, by Camille Saint-Saëns.

(6) The Sorcerer's Apprentice, by Paul Dukas.

(7) Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4, by Edward Elgar.

(8) Firebird Suite – 1919 Version, by Igor Stravinsky.

My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Fantasia 2000"

Top quality animation and a sense of humour make this sequel/add-on a formidable animated movie in its own right. The running time of 74 minutes is a bit of a let-down. I would have liked to have seen more pieces and more imagination. And be warned, The Sorcerer's Apprentice remains. As this was the original's ONLY real selling point they decided to stick it back in there, so you're really only get just over an hours worth of new footage. Which feels like a bit of a rip-off.

But my favorite segment is the one with Donald Duck, in fact they were all cool, especially the one with the volcano. The music matches the story perfectly and it has some truly beautiful animation. Far superior to those ugly CGI crap we get these days. And the TV show style introductions were more watchable than the dubbed Deems Taylor segments in the original.

This was the first animated movie to be made for IMAX screens and the digital picture is amazing. See this preferably on an IMAX screen or on DVD. Watching it on VHS would only insult the brilliant animation. It's sad that Disney has abandoned traditional hand-drawn animation for theatrical projects. It's what the studio was built on after all. But Disney is shadow of its former self, we all know that.

Just as good as the original Fantasia, but loses points for not being longer and more ambitious.

Obviously, the original "Fantasia" was the state of the art when it was released in 1940. In fact, it remained there for many years. From an animation standpoint, I think Disney finally topped it when they released "Sleeping Beauty" in 1959. Still, as an accomplishment, I believe that "Fantasia" was Walt Disney's finest achievement.

He certainly wanted the idea of "Fantasia" to continue, but as time went on, it seemed that it would never happen. Our tastes in animation became more and more sophisticated along with the greater advancements we have seen in animation in the last decade. When Disney released the original "Fantasia" on video in 1991, many who had seen it criticized the film as being too arty, with long segments that would not appeal to children.

Perhaps many people thought that the word "Disney" always should be associated with kids. That is unfair, for Walt would have wanted all ages of people to enjoy his films.

When Roy Disney announced a few years ago that Disney was making a new "Fantasia", I was surprised and excited. In the time that movies like "The Lion King", "Aladdin", "Toy Story", and "A Bug's Life" were taking in huge sums of cash, it seemed that Disney was willing to take the risk again and make the film anyway.

What a treat it is! Most of the segments of the film stayed in my memory for days, as did the music. There is true genius in "Fantasia 2000" in the connections of imagery to music. For example, the combination of Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" the Al Hirschfeld-style caricatures was so perfect that the music seemed written for that type of visual presentation.

"Fantasia 2000" left me breathless and practically speechless. I even enjoyed the celebrity introductions throughout the picture.

Using my preferred four-star rating system, I would give "Fantasia 2000" this:

****-

The minus is there for the only criticism I have of it: Too short! The original "Fantasia" was a two-hour event, while "Fantasia 2000" was only 74 minutes. That is the same length as most other Disney animated features. Was 74 minutes determined by: a. Expense of the budget, or b. The expected length of children's attention spans?

From the depth of my heart, I recommend "Fantasia 2000". It left me wanting more. George

The first problem was that there was too much introduction between the pieces. Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones were the best, but the one with Steve Martin was unnecessary, as well as Penn and Teller. The film itself was a little short, but I enjoyed it anyway. It is beautifully animated, with good choices of music, but if anything, I wish there was more of it. I love the original, but I thoroughly recommend this as well. The animation was spot on, especially in the Pines of Rome segment. This was my personal favourite, as i thought that baby whale was so sweet. Donald Duck's version of Noah's Ark set to the music of Elgar was hilarious, as was the Carnival of the animals. The most beautifully animated was the Firebird sequence,reminding me of FernGully, telling the story of "Life, death and renewal." I am not a huge fan of Stravinsky, but the Firebird I have always considered his best work. There was also the abstract images in the Beethoven. They were ambiguous but very well done, but I didn't like the chopping of the piece itself. The section they missed out is essential to the movement's development in my opinion. The Pines of Rome sequence was outstanding I thought, I showed it to my year 4 peers 8 years ago, and they all clapped at the end of that segment but were unenthuasiastic about the rest of the film. Then Gershwin treated us with Rhapsody in Blue, telling the story of a typical day in New York. The Shostakovich was very good, but marred by the interesting but overlong introduction. Great animation and music though. The Saint Saens was funny, but the Magic Trick was pointless. Unfortunately Sorceror's Apprentice was one of the highlights in the original, but was for me the weakest segment here. The Elgar was absolutely hilarious, and the Firebird very heartfelt also I had early memories of thinking the Sprite was absolutely gorgeous. The music was very well performed by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. All in all, 8/10 Bethany Cox.