Fantasia/2000 (1999)

An update of the original film with new interpretations of great works of classical music.

Directors:

James Algar, Gaëtan Brizzi,

Writers:

Eric Goldberg (story), Hans Christian Andersen (story),

Stars:

Leopold Stokowski, Ralph Grierson, Steve Martin

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leopold Stokowski	...	Himself - Conductor (segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice") (archive footage)
Ralph Grierson	...	Pianist (segment "Rhapsody in Blue")
Kathleen Battle	...	Featured Soprano (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (singing voice)
Steve Martin	...	Himself - Introductory Host
Itzhak Perlman	...	Himself - Host (segment "Pines of Rome")
Quincy Jones	...	Himself - Host (segment "Rhapsody in Blue")
Bette Midler	...	Herself - Hostess (segment "Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102")
James Earl Jones	...	Himself - Host (segment "Carnival of the Animals")
Penn Jillette	...	Himself - Host (segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice") (as Penn)
Teller	...	Himself - Host (segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice")
James Levine	...	Himself - Host (segment "Pomp and Circumstance"), Conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Angela Lansbury	...	Herself - Hostess (segment "Firebird Suite - 1919 Version")
Wayne Allwine	...	Mickey Mouse (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)
Tony Anselmo	...	Donald Duck (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)
Russi Taylor	...	Daisy Duck (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)

Storyline

In this update of Disney's masterpiece film mixture of animation and music, new interpretations of great works of music are presented. It begins with an abstract battle of light and darkness set to the music of Beethoveen's Fifth Symphony. Then we see the adventures of a Humpback Whale calf and his pod set to "The Pines of Rome." Next is the humourous story of several lives in 1930's New York City, scored with "Rhapsody in Blue." Following is a musical telling of the fairy tale, "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" set to Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2. Then a goofy Flamingo causes havoc in his flock with his yo-yo to the tune of the finale of "Carnival of the Animals." This is followed by the classic sequence from the original film, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" starring Mickey Mouse and followed by "Pomp and Circumstance" starring Donald Duck as a harried assistant to Noah on his Ark. Finally, we see the awesome tale of the life, death and renewal of a forest in a sequence ...

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | forest | whale | duck | apprentice | 

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

fantasia2000.com (Disney Pictures)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fantasia '99

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£49,825 (UK) (31 December 1999)

Gross:

$60,507,228 (USA) (5 January 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Richard Purdum Productions, Walt Disney Feature Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS IMAX 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first feature length animated film to be presented in IMAX. IMAX had to agree to Disney's terms and conditions to gain the exclusive first showings of the film. These included a limited engagement of 4 months and 50% of the box office receipts. It's for this reason that, when Fantasia/2000 had its first run, not all IMAX cinemas showed it as not all of them were prepared to accept Disney's terms. The California Science Center in Los Angeles was one such venue who refused to meet these terms so Disney built a purpose-built IMAX theatre for the 4 month run, costing them $4 million, and demolished it afterwards.

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Goofs

In "Rhapsody in Blue," after the young man starts drumming on another construction worker's head, the construction worker looks down at him angrily. As he moves away and up the steel structure drumming away, the angry construction worker is still looking down, but now there is no one there.

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Quotes

Bette Middler: Hi. You may not know this, but over the years the Disney artists have cooked up dozens of ideas for new Fantasia segments. Some made it to the big screen this time, but others - lots of others - how can I put this politely?... didn't.

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Crazy Credits

Credits are superimposed over preliminary artwork.

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Connections

Referenced in Yellow Sticky Notes (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 5"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orhcestra

User Reviews

pure beauty

Fantasia 2000 has really been screwed over since it was released in January of the year 2000. I was lucky enough to see it on the IMAX screen. I liked it quite a bit then, but never thought about it much. but for some reason, when it was announced that it would be released on DVD, my interest sparked again, and I got it. now, watching it for the second time, i realize just how amazing it was. it is by far one of the most interesting disney projects ever, probably the best and most unique since the original Fantasia. i will go over and rate and criticize each segment now:

1. "Symphony #5" - the battle between good and evil with colorful abstract triangles, unmistakably based on butterflies, being attacked by black triangles in an ethereal setting. this segment did not impress me at all when i originally saw the film, but seeing it again, i am able to appreciate the pastel artistry (the DVD provides a lot of insight on to how difficult it was to create this segment). the segment as a whole may be one of the weakest, but it is very beautiful. possibly the greatness and familiarity of the music diminishes the segment's overall power. it is possibly the single most famous piece of music ever written. 8/10

2. "Pines of Rome" - a family of whales fly around in the air. i actually disliked this segment when i first saw the film last january. personally, computer animation used in an animated film always made me cringe. watching it again, i now love the way the cgi whales move and look against the cell animated backgrounds. now i feel that this is maybe the best segment of the film. the music is the best of all. i had never heard it before. the story is also probably the best of them all. it turns out to be one of the most beautiful and miraculous pieces of animation ever created. 10/10

3. "Rhapsody in Blue" - several stories of unhappy people are told and intersect in New York City. First off, this is a great piece of music and one of the most unique pieces of animation i have seen. Disney here forgot its attempts at realism and just went for charicatures. it is incredible to see animators create a microcosm of a Robert Altman film as a silent film. This was one of my favorites the first time i saw the film, and it remains so now. 10/10

4. "Piano Concerto #2, Allegro, Opus 102" (The Steadfast Tin Soldier) - again, when i first saw the film, I was annoyed at their use of computer animation. now, i see how wonderful this segment really is and how the computer animation works within the beautiful cell animation. the characters in this segment are beautifully made. the tin soldier himself isn't all that impressive, but the ballerina and the jack-in-the-box are amazing creations, among the most effective characters disney has ever created. I love the music in this one, too. i had never heard it before. the only thing i can fault this film for is that the animators changed the ending from a sad or bittersweet ending to a happy one. they claim that the music made them change it, because the music was more upbeat when it ended. this is true, but i also think that they would never have been allowed to end it sadly even if the music had ended so. Disney does not want to depress anyone, and they would slap a happy ending on it no matter what. but, with the music as an excuse, i can accept the ending of the film. 10/10

5. "Carnival of the Animals, Finale" - my least favorite segment, when i first saw it and now. it is only about 3 minutes long, and i'm glad for that. i do like it a bit more now, the art, watercolor, anyway. the story is very formulaic, and it follows the annoying tradition of silly disney animal characters like Timon and Pumbaa and Sebastion the crab and so many others. The segment is merely okay, and its shortness provides those children who are bored (the movie wasn't made for them in the first place) to be entertained a little more. 7/10

6. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" - Who can argue? it is a classic. maybe it shows a little laziness in the filmmakers, to just slap this onto a 65 minute film to pad it to 70 minutes, but who cares. it is wonderful. If you get the DVD, make sure to listen to Mickey Mouse's commetary about this segment. it is awesome. 10/10

7. "Pomp and Circumstance" - this may be the most famous of the pieces of music, only competing with Symphony #5, because of its association with graduation. It works surprisingly well with the story of Donald as Noah's assistant who can never find his wife Daisy on the arc and thinks she was left out. Even though they don't acknowledge it anywhere on the DVD, this is obviously based on Buster Keaton's The Naviagator, a silent comedy. This segment ends up being very funny, almost as good as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and even touching. It is very worthy, even though i know most people blew it off. 10/10

8. "Firebird Suite - 1919" - probably the best of the bunch, and the best film to end on. the order of the segments is actually quite well planned out, spacing them out interspersing beauty and whimsy quite well so as to never cross over emotions between two segments. each starts afresh. The Firebird Suite is the story of death and rebirth in nature, with a sprite helping nature to bloom after the winter. she awakes the firebird, a volcano, which destroys all that she has created. at the end, after being destroyed, a majestic elk revives the sprite and she revives nature. the only fault i could think of, and it does harm the film for a few people, is the tremendous similarities between it and Mononoke Hime, Princess Mononoke, which disney distributed last year. I have heard this segment called a rip-off of that film, but, with the tremendously long amount of time it takes to produce an animated piece, i will guarantee that The Firebird Suite was in developement over a year before Mononoke was released. Death and rebirth is such a common theme, it is universal. It is done as well here as it is in Mononoke Hime. 10/10

The interstitials - this is surely the worst part of the film, and it completely diminishes the film's value. We do not need famous people telling us that it is okay to listen to classical music. This is an insult to our intelligence. buy the DVD, and fast-forward over these chapters. 5/10.

Overall, 9/10, one of the best films of 2000, one of the most miraculous animated films ever made. It was not well received by critics or audiences, and i think this was a huge mistake. remember, the first fantasia bombed, too. maybe someday in the future, when the minds of Americans become more intelligent and complex again, Fantasia 2000 will get its due.