Fantasia 2000
by Charles A. Nichols, Don Hahn, Eric Goldberg, Francis Glebas, Gaëtan Brizzi
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Charlie Parlato, James Levine, Loulie Jean Norman, Steve Martin, Thurl RavenscroftDirector: Charles A. Nichols, Don Hahn, Eric Goldberg, Francis Glebas, Gaëtan Brizzi
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: IMAX, 1.85:1
Running Time: 74 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-11-14
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Movie Reviews of Fantasia 2000
Movie Review: Mystical, Magical--Classical Disney/Classical Music
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the first Fantasia at the age of 9. I was fortunate enough to see this masterpiece in a theatre in my hometown. I now consider myself fortunate to have seen this newest Disney masterpiece. Fantasia 2000. I was quite surprised to read of the criticisms pertaining to this film. Many of which were of no merit. How can one expect a film 60 years down the creative path to be lesser than or greater than the original. The art of comparison is neither artistic or logical. The Art of Appreciation is much more appropriate in terms of identifying with art and the ones that create it. Fantasia, for all of its beauty, has both its own seperate identity and space in time. The same can be said for Fantasia 2000. As for the animation, seeing is believing. The fields of color are vast and the imagery is both stunning and captivating. Even more, it is done without overkill. "The Pines of Rome" segment is breathtaking, and its conclusion always brings a tear to my eye. The style and grace of the animators truly captures the majesty of these beautiful creatures. All in a way that is stunning both in a cinematic sense and creative sense. Of course, it is all beautifully tied to the selected musical arrangements. All of which are beautifully performed, thus solidifying the elegant and majestic nature of classical music. Hans Christian Andersen's "Steadfast Tin Soldier" is one of my personal favorites. It illustrates the beauty of Disney's magical use of whimsy, levity and creativity. Making you wish that you could be part of the landscape rather than just an outside observer. The rest of the stories are also beautifully rendered, yet stand out in their own special way. Though "Rhapsody In Blue" leaves me feeling a little jaded. All in all Fantasia 2000 does everything that I felt it would. The introductions by various artists such as Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Quicy Jones and James Earl Jones served as a nice touch. Giving the film it own unique fingerprint. One reviewer mistakingly called this movie "fragmented". Which makes no sense when one considers the architecture of the film. The purpose of this film is what makes it both beautiful and unique in the art of filmmaking. The advancement of the wheel did'nt take place by duplicating the same design over and over again. The same rule applies to art, as well as engineering and most other endeavors. In viewing a "suite" of different stories set to classical music, it is hard to imagine how one can deem such an original concept as fragmented. This film is close to its roots, while shedding light on its own originality and identity. The re-introduction of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is indicative of how rooted and grounded current Disney Animators are to the best traditions of Disney Animation. All the while displaying the newest of techniques and advancements in todays realm of animation and the stories that are told within its landscape. One need not be "highbrow" or "lowbrow" when viewing a film like this. Often times people can view a film and find need to make a political commentary. Speaking of "subliminals" or the so-called socially derisive images that were spoken of in regards to Disney's "Lion King" in the Summer of 1994. The so-called "intellectuals" had a field day. All that needs to be done is the ability to view with an open set of eyes. Eyes willing to see the beauty of yesterday (Fantasia-1940) while bathing in the light of a new frontier. Fantasia 2000 allows this to be done, and with flying colors...No two Sunsets are the same, yet one is no less beautiful or more beautiful than the other. Both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 serve as wonderful companions to one another. Seperate in time and technique, yet majestically woven in service to musical and visual creativity.
Summary of Fantasia 2000
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 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 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. 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 EnglehartSimilar DVD Movies
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