Fantasia for the new Millenium

The original Fantasia, released in 1940, was the product of Walt Disney's dream; to combine animated images with classical music. FANTASIA 2000 continues Walt Disney's original concept of a repertoire program that was continually being updated.

I eagerly awaited the release of FANTASIA 2000, but unfortunately it was only being shown in IMAX format. The nearest showing was in Orlando, a two-hour drive away. Alas, FANTASIA 2000 became another video I was destined to rent at Blockbuster at a later date. After a much anticipated wait, I was finally able to purchase my copy of FANTASIA 2000. My children and I have watched our copy so many times I fear I may have to replace it soon.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by renowned conductor James Levine, recorded the musical selections for FANTASIA 2000.

FANTASIA 2000 opens with Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5", played against a background montage of clips from the original FANTASIA, combined with scenes of the symphony tuning up. In this segment the animations dramatize the age-old struggle between good and evil.

FANTASIA 2000's second segment, "Respighi's Pines of Rome", is introduced by comedian Steve Martin, who claims the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was trained under the "Steve Martin Two-Week Master Musician Home Study Course". In this segment, computer animation brings a pod of flying whales to life high above the clouds after a celestial explosion over the ocean where they live. The Pines of Rome is very surrealistic and beautiful to watch.

The third segment of FANTASIA 2000, George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", evokes the feeling of New York in the 1940's. Featuring Ralph Greerson on piano, "Rhapsody in Blue" successfully melds jazz with traditional classical music. Drawn in the style of Al Hirshfield, the caricatures are remarkably life-like. This segment follows the lives of several characters; a unemployed construction worker, and down-and-out Phillip Marlow type complete with fedora and trench coat, a society matron and her childlike husband, and a little girl and her harried nanny, as they lead their busy lives on a day in Manhattan.

The fourth segment of FANTASIA 2000, Shostakovich's "Piano Concerto No. 2" is introduced by the divine Miss M, Bette Midler. Using a blend of computer and hand-drawn animation, this segment was inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson tale The Steadfast Tin Soldier. In this tale, a brave tin soldier overcomes many hardships to rescue a beautiful ballerina from an evil jack-in-the-box and ultimately win her heart.

The fifth segment of FANTASIA 2000 is Saint Saens "Carnival of the Animals". It is introduced my one of my favorite actors, James Earl Jones, who states it was the animators intention to ask the age-old question "What is man's relation to the animals", which he quickly amends to "What would happen if you gave a yo-yo to a bunch of flamingos?" with a puzzled look on his face. This segment,done in bold watercolors, is slapstick and hilariously funny.

Duka's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", introduced by the team of Penn and Teller, is the only segment in FANTASIA 2000 that was in the original FANTASIA. In this classic film, Mickey Mouse reprises his role as the sorcerer's apprentice, who finds himself in increasingly deeper water when his attempt to conjure a little magic of his own goes awry.

The seventh segment of FANTASIA 2000, Sir William Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" is done in traditional animation and features Donald Duck in the role of Noah's assistant. Donald is in charge of leading the animal pairs onto the ark. As strains of the processional march play, the animals are majestically led on and off the ark. It is typical Donald Duck, cute and comical.

The final segment of FANTASIA 2000, Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" is introduced by Angela Lansbury. The central theme of "Firebird Suite" is the cycle of life, death and rebirth. When the spirit of Nature, depicted as a faery, is summoned by an elk, she creates a beautiful spring in the forest. Nature inadvertently awakens the the Firebird, who lives within an active volcano. The volcano erupts and destroys the forest. Reawakened by the elk, Spring and the elk restore the forest to its previous beauty, thus completing the cycle.

I feel FANTASIA 2000 is destined to become a classic and I'm glad I added it to our film library.