Fantasia (1940)

Directors:

James Algar
Samuel Armstrong

Writers:

Joe Grant (story) &
Dick Huemer (story) ...

Release Date:

6 January 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music

Tagline:

Walt Disney's Technicolor FEATURE triumph

Plot:

A collection of animated interpretations of great works of Western classical music.

Plot Keywords:

Classical Music | Elephant | Orchestra | Sorcerer | Dinosaur

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Leopold Stokowski	...	Himself (Conductor, The Philadelphia Orchestra)
Deems Taylor	...	Narrator (1940 original)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julietta Novis	...	Soloist (segment "Ave Maria") (voice)

Also Known As:

The Concert Feature (USA) (working title)
Walt Disney's Fantasia (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

120 min | USA:124 min (restored roadshow version) | USA:125 min (original release) | USA:80 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (1956 re-release) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints) (re-release) | Fantasound (original release) | Mono (1941 roadshow screenings) | Mono (1947 re-release)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved (PCA #5920) | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/12 | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-10 | Germany:6 | Peru:PT | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

The initial wide release was a dismal box office failure. In later years, some theater chains, which would normally run any Disney release, would not book the reissues of this film. However, by the 1969 reissue, the film attracted considerable interest for its supposedly psychedelic imagery and Disney marketed the film according to take advantage of it. The reissue was successful and the film's reputation and popular appeal grew from that point to where its first home video release in 1991 broke records for sales.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence, as Mickey Mouse waves his hands in front of him to make the broom come to life, his sleeves spill over his hands. It then cuts to his shadow on the wall, where his hands are fully exposed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: How do you do? My name is Deems Taylor, and it's my very pleasant duty to welcome you here on behalf of Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski, and all the other artists and musicians whose combined talents went into the creation of this new form of entertainment...

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Rocko's Modern Life: Sugar-Frosted Frights/Ed Is Dead: A Thriller! (#3.3)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Ave Maria

Unusual & Very Creative

This unusual and very creative classic of animation combines a very interesting idea with quite a bit of imagination, plus visual effects that still hold up quite well. All but a couple of the sequences are quite enjoyable, and some especially so. Even the segments that don't work as well are usually at least interesting, since you can at least appreciate what they were trying to accomplish.

You don't really have to be all that familiar with the specific pieces of music for it to be worthwhile, since in several cases they chose to match the music with material that is rather different in nature from any original context that it may have had. And in any case, the animated sequences are intended to provide the context, in terms of the movie.

No doubt, everyone will have his or her own favorite segments, based on the music itself and on the choice of accompanying visual material. The "Sorcerer's Apprentice" sequence, with Mickey Mouse, is certainly one of the most memorable. The adaptation of "The Rite of Spring" is quite imaginative in using an entirely different setting for the music. "Night on Bald Mountain" has striking and sometimes bizarre visuals.

Many of the classic Disney features still hold up well as family entertainment, but "Fantasia" is unique for its combination of imaginative concept and visual creativity. Not every minute of it works, but that's the price of being willing to experiment. It's an enjoyable and satisfying feature that well deserves to be remembered.