Fantasia 2000
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Movie Reviews of Fantasia 2000
Movie Review: Disney Classic - Part II
Summary: 5 Stars
The original "Fantasia" was extremely experimental animation that attempted to broaden the appeal of animation at a time when animation primarily appealed to children. Walt Disney intended that the original "Fantasia," according to Roy Disney's commentary on the DVD, be a continuously changing work of art that would be different, and yet familiar, every time you watched it. "Fantasia 2000" is an attempt to be true to that vision.There are eight vignettes captured in the 74 minutes of this all-too-short DVD, with introductions for each of the vignettes by a host of familiar names such as Steve Martin, James Earl Jones, Penn and Teller, and Angela Lansbury, among others. I think that some of the vignettes work as well or better than those in the original, and others are okay but barely match the original.
The two vignettes that I enjoyed the best are "Pines of Rome" and "Firebird Suit - 1919 Version." In the former we see a fantastic vision of whales that is wonderfully surrealistic and beautiful. The only flaw in the wonderful vision is that the vision ended all too soon. There is a lot in the vision that the animators could have been explored in much more depth. The "Firebird Suite - 1919 Version" includes a phenomenally-animated nymph. This nymph combined a flavor of Japanese Manga with traditional Disney animation to create a character style that is wondrous and beautiful. I longed for this segment to last longer.
Disney animators once again created a new classic short in "Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102," which provides the music for "The Steadfast Tin Soldier." The story-telling is quite taut and well organized. However, just as with the "Pines of Rome" story, Disney animators could have expanded this vignette significantly.
The remaining vignettes vary in quality and length. There is a cute new Donald Duck story with Noah's Ark as the backdrop, set to the music of "Pomp and Circumstance." There is a clever story set in New York City set to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." There is pure silliness involving a group of flamingos and a yo-yo in "Carnival of the Animals, Finale." The one vignette remaining from the original is "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" starring Mickey Mouse, a classic for all times and ages.
In addition to the film there are two musically-based animated shorts, "Melody" and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom." Both are clever and have made appearances on one of the original "Worlds of Disney" weekly shows and on The Disney Channel. There are also extensive commentaries and making of features that are okay if you are into the reasoning behind making of the movie and the process by which the music and concept for each of the features was selected, but much of it was pretty dry.
On the down side, this DVD does feel like it should have been part of the original "Fantasia" to create a single work of adequate length and scope. I suspect that one day Disney will re-release both works on a single DVD, and I'll likely have to have that one too to keep my collection complete. On the up side, all of the animation is equal to or better than traditional Disney animation, and two particular works I thought were extremely good. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra provided the excellent music throughout, and makes this DVD and the original an easy way to introduce anyone to classic works of music. While the DVD is too short, the quality is excellent and well worth having in any collection of Disney animation, especially if you liked the original "Fantasia."
Movie Review: The Fantastic Fantasia
Summary: 5 Stars
The guys at the Disney studios did a great job with Fantasia 2000 each section was well coriographed.1. Beethoven's "Symphony #5" -- the opening sequence (after the introduction) used the whole spectrum of colors in what seemed to be no particular pattern was in reality kind of a way for them [both the musicians and the artists] to flex their muscles. Oh, and by the way, they DID pick out the right 2m 51s of the piece.
2.Respighi's "Pines of Rome" was one of my favorite pieces . . . I can still see those whales flying through the night sky . . . breathtaking piece.
3. "Rhapsody in Blue", while the longest of the pieces tells the story of life in 1930's New York through the eyes of Al Hirschfeld all done in various tones of blue. There is a definate story to this one -- four to be exact, all of who are discontent with their lives until the circumstances put them all on the right track.
4. Shostakovich's "Piano Concerto #2" tells the story of "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" the one-legged toy soldier who falls in love with the beautiful ballerina, but has competition with the evil and towering jack-in-the-box, a fight breaks out between the two and . . .. Well, I don't want to give the story away now do I?
5. Saint-Saens' "Le Carnaval Des Animaux: Finale" was done just for the comic relief and answers the age old question -- "What would happen if you gave a yo-yo to a flock of flamingos?" Great fun although the shortest piece in the batch at 1m 54s.
6. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is lifted from the original Fantasia, but is a great piece for connecting the two together. The unfortunate FLAW in this one, (which will show up in the widescreen) us that they lifted the print from the pan-and-scan version, then placed it in the wide-screen version which makes it seem like you're looking at a much smaller picture than you really are. Oh well, at least you still have something to connect the two!
7. Picking up on the heels of "Sorcerer's..." is Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance, Marches 1, 2, 3 & 4" and tells the story of Donald Duck serving as an apprentace to Noah. Although only portions of each march are used, they are used in a way that they all blend together in the telling of what would happen if Donald and Daisy were seperated during the great deluge. A great and touching story.
8. Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite -- 1919 Version" opens with a deer (an adult Bambi?) waking up a farey who is to help usher in spring, but as she does she comes across an obsticle . . . in the form of a volcano which destroys her beautiful creation and almost her as well. Only with the help of Bambi can she re-create things even more beautiful than the first time around.
8. Finally, all of the actors who spoke during the intermissions were all chosen to usher in a particular piece, and they were pieced together beautifully from magicians Pen and Stiller ushering in the Sorcer's Apprentice to James Earl Jones' lion-like voice ushering in "The Carnival of the Animals".
Also on the DVD version which I enjoyed were two classic cartoons while were somewhat irritating, were still enjoyable and an audio commentary which you could optionally listen to instead of the music.
All around Fantasia 2000 was one well rounded piece, and is one of the perfect animated movies.
Movie Review: The Art Form Of The Future
Summary: 5 Stars
It's interesting to note that while the entertainment industry is bellyaching about piracy and the copying of DVDs, Disney being among the loudest bawlers, you can't buy a new copy of this marvelous DVD for love or money, either here or at Disney's own store, and the price for a used copy is higher than that of most new movies. Apparently the demand is there, but Disney doesn't care about supply. Disney is said to put their movies in "a vault," bringing them out only every ten years, but other animated features such as "Kronk's new Groove" (2005) and "Mickey's House of Villains" (2002) are readily available. Meanwhile, free segments of "Fantasia 2000" are being given away on YouTube. Smart.
I may've paid top dollar for my copy of "Fantasia 2000" but I have no buyer's remorse, as it's a great show. Those who remember the original (1940) "Fantasia" as something suitable only for children and the anile would be well advised to take a look at this production. The quality of the animation is at Disney's highest standards, but the concepts and the images depicted are far more sophisticated than almost any other animated feature I've seen, the sole exception being Tomek Baginski's "The Cathedral."
This sets the standard of what can be done in presenting visuals to serious music. When classical music is shown on television, there is absolutely nothing original or creative about the camera work, as they use the same shots they've used since the 1940s. There is the master shot of the orchestra, and each time an individual instrument or section makes an entrance, there is a close-up, as if to assure you that, Yah, dot iz ah trumpet. There is always the mandatory close-up of the mallets whenever the timpani has a roll, and you get to see the conductor waving his arms and making faces at the orchestra - none of which augments my enjoyment of Beethoven at all. The Naxos company is selling videos of rustic European towns and landscapes providing the visuals for the classics, but such a slide show is as dull as . . . as a slide show.
But this is different. The combination of images in motion, coordinated to the music, and intelligent story lines really do compliment the great music, and the most popular chapter, Respighi's "The Pines of Rome," is especially inspired. If your idea of "aht" is Jackson Pollock or Karen Finley, you may not feel exhilarated by it, but for the rest of us, it is American art at its finest.
Of interest to audiophiles is the astonishing sound of this DVD. As CDs were an obvious improvement over the sound of LPs (disputed only by the senile), the sound of the best DVDs is as much an improvement over CDs, and the sound here is spectacular. There is, I would judge, no compression and no limit to the frequency response. My 18-inch Velodyne HGS subwoofer has trouble reproducing the ultra-low frequencies at the beginning of "The Pines of the Appian Way," so those playing it on toy computer speakers should take caution.
This is a genuine work of art fit for grownups - now if only Disney would market it.
Movie Review: Don't Be Unfairly Critical Toward Fantasia 2000 By Comparing It To The Original....
Summary: 5 Stars
I was dismayed to see someone gave the original Fantasia a TWO STAR rating. The same person gave Fantasia 2000 a ONE STAR RATING because it was just 'more of the same'.
I have said this before in other reviews, and I will say it here: If you are the type of person who thinks the recently released movie 'Stealth' with Jaime Foxx is excellence in filmmaking, YOU PROBABLY WON'T LIKE EITHER FANTASIA (or any halfway intelligent movie, for that matter). Everyone has their own opinion, but anyone who calls the original Fantasia "dumb" makes me think they are the pot calling the kettle black (which isn't even a correct analogy, as Fantasia is most assuredly not 'dumb'). It just goes to show you, there are probably people out there who think the Beatles were completely uncreative and bad musicians. It takes all kinds....
Which leads me to my point. I think an awful lot of people are being unfair to Fantasia 2000 by comparing it to the original. Fantasia 2000 is not a remake of the original, and its not supposed to top the original. If anything, it is a continuation of the CONCEPT. Don't judge it by the merits of the original, judge it on its own merits as a standalone project. If you do that, and don't expect a "Fantasia" part 2, you will be most impressed with Fantasia 2000.
One of the beautiful things about Fantasia 2000 is that Disney tried to get as much variety in animation styling as possible. From the hand drawn centerpiece (and overall BEST Fantasia segment ever) Firebird Suite to the reminiscent-of-'70s-animation watercolored Canival Of The Animals to the computer generated Steadfast Tin Soldier, Fantasia 2000's segments are wildly different visually. Instead of making the segments seem disjointed though, the effect is to make each segment seem to be an experiment in art, and after all, isn't that what Walt intended Fantasia to be?
The only real weakpoint of Fantasia 2000 is the inclusion of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Not because it is a bad segment, but because it gives the film a 'retread' feel and an attachment to Fantasia that holds Fantasia 2000 in the impossible position of being compared to the original. Disney included the segment to achieve a continuity with the original, but they should have used all new segments and been happy to be judged as a freestanding project. Despite this misfire, Fantasia 2000 is a great movie. All the segments are entertaining and beautiful. Firebird Suite is particularly enchanting, and for those that want to make comparisons: since when is the ubiquitous theme of death and rebirth the sole domain of Night On Bald Mountain? Such comparisons do an injustice to both Fantasias.
All in all, while it cannot match the original for groundbreaking techniques and jawdropping animation/effects, Fantasia 2000 is just as creative and entertaining as the original. If you enjoyed Fantasia, you should absolutely enjoy Fantasia 2000. Walt would be proud.
Movie Review: Walt would be elated
Summary: 5 Stars
"Fantasia" was Walt Disney's passion and obsession. Likewise, "Fantasia 2000" became the same for Roy Disney who became preoccupied with completing his uncle's vision. Walt had originally envisioned "Fantasia" as a continually running feature that would metamorphose over time, adding new segments to replace the originals one by one. F2000 is essentially a fast forwarding of that process, producing an animated feature that is almost completely new. Only "Sorcerer's Apprentice" remains from the original.F2000 is an excellent work that suffers from unfair comparisons to the original. The problem with any sequel that follows a groundbreaking film is that the novelty has worn off. A launch of the Space Shuttle just doesn't have the same drama and excitement as the launch of the first manned Mercury capsule, even though the Mercury program was crude by comparison.
F2000 represents a giant leap forward in animation technology, blending hand drawn animation with digital animation. I was actually surprised at how much hand drawn animation was still used in this film, and I was impressed that Disney didn't opt for the easy way out by creating a completely computer generated feature. The marriage of old and new was very evident, not only in the technology, but in the themes. They matched highly digitalized new age flying whales with Ottorino Respighi's "Pines Of Rome" in the same feature as a retro 1930's New Yorkeresque rendering of George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". Ironically, both pieces were composed in the same year, 1924.
If there is one area that is clearly better in F2000, it is the sound. As advanced as Fantasound was in the original, it still can't compare with the crispness and channel separation of modern audio technology. The DVD really brings this difference to the fore, creating a true concert hall experience.
The finale in F2000 was magnificent, even better than the finale of the original. The theme of death and rebirth was uplifting and inspirational, and the meld of animation and music was powerful. All the segments were wonderful in different ways and marked a level of creativity and entertainment that matched the original, far ahead of anything else available.
I took issue with a few areas. I could have done without the introductions by the comedians, especially Steve Martin. They trivialized an otherwise superb work. In addition, at 75 minutes, this was a good deal shorter than feature length. However, these are minor criticisms of a great film.
"Fantasia 2000" is another example of Disney's utter dominance of animated films. Despite my slight preference for the original (probably just sentimental from my childhood), F2000 is a brilliant film in its own right. I rated a 10/10. Walt would have been proud of his nephew's work, and elated at the realization of his dream that "Fantasia" live on as an evolving animated feature.