Fantasia 2000
Year: 1999
Directed by: James Algar, Gaetan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Don Hahn & Pixote Hunt
Starring: James Earl Jones, Penn Jillette, Quincy Jones, Angela Lansbury, James Levine, Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Itzhak Perlman & Raymond Teller
Runtime: 74 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 27/08/21
Directed by: James Algar, Gaetan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Don Hahn & Pixote Hunt
Starring: James Earl Jones, Penn Jillette, Quincy Jones, Angela Lansbury, James Levine, Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Itzhak Perlman & Raymond Teller
Runtime: 74 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 27/08/21
In 1940 Walt Disney released Fantasia, a stunning combination of boundary pushing animation set to classic orchestral symphonies. Disney had envisioned Fantasia to return every few years with new pieces, or re-imaginings of old ones. However, this never came to be until the turn of the millennium, following a successful home video release of Fantasia.
A sequel was thrown into production, and it was to be a true spectacle, being the first animated film to be made for IMAX theatres, meaning that if it could be bigger then it could be better.
Presented in an almost identical style to its predecessor, Fantasia 2000 presents eight classic orchestral numbers performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with accompanying animation that has a narrative provided by the music, influenced by the music, or no narrative at all.
Seven of the eight segments are new, with the eighth number being a reprisal of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice from the original Fantasia.
The new numbers are simply gorgeous to watch, with the Disney animators once again pushing the boundaries of what was capable with animation at the end of the last millennia. Each segment includes a wonderful mix of traditional 2D animation and 3D CG animation, much like the other Animated Classics of that time.
But what Fantasia does incredibly well is act as a celebration of all of the styles of animation Disney animators have used up to this point. With the inclusion of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Fantasia 2000 replicates the animation styles of every era so far.
A sequel was thrown into production, and it was to be a true spectacle, being the first animated film to be made for IMAX theatres, meaning that if it could be bigger then it could be better.
Presented in an almost identical style to its predecessor, Fantasia 2000 presents eight classic orchestral numbers performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with accompanying animation that has a narrative provided by the music, influenced by the music, or no narrative at all.
Seven of the eight segments are new, with the eighth number being a reprisal of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice from the original Fantasia.
The new numbers are simply gorgeous to watch, with the Disney animators once again pushing the boundaries of what was capable with animation at the end of the last millennia. Each segment includes a wonderful mix of traditional 2D animation and 3D CG animation, much like the other Animated Classics of that time.
But what Fantasia does incredibly well is act as a celebration of all of the styles of animation Disney animators have used up to this point. With the inclusion of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Fantasia 2000 replicates the animation styles of every era so far.
Like the original film, each segment is introduced by a real person. This time though you’ll see a number of familiar faces like Steve Martin and Angela Lansbury, among others. This retains the concert style presentation that Disney was so keen for Fantasia to be, whilst also making the introduction of each new segment slightly more entertaining than in the original film.
But much like the original Fantasia I feel like this is made for a particular kind of person. I don’t feel like Fantasia 2000, as good as it is, is something that people would be desperate to watch over and over. It lacks that appeal that almost every other Disney film does, and whilst the segments are incredibly entertaining, I don’t see children being captivated by them in the same way an adult is.
Fantasia 2000 is definitely a film I would recommend watching, and I would adore to see it on an IMAX screen in the way it was always intended to be shown; but it’s also a film I don’t expect I will have any desire to return to for a very long time.
But much like the original Fantasia I feel like this is made for a particular kind of person. I don’t feel like Fantasia 2000, as good as it is, is something that people would be desperate to watch over and over. It lacks that appeal that almost every other Disney film does, and whilst the segments are incredibly entertaining, I don’t see children being captivated by them in the same way an adult is.
Fantasia 2000 is definitely a film I would recommend watching, and I would adore to see it on an IMAX screen in the way it was always intended to be shown; but it’s also a film I don’t expect I will have any desire to return to for a very long time.