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 opening abstract segment, set to Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth, directly mirrors the opening of Fantasia which also began with an abstract section, set to Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

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Goofs

In "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", the handle on the Jack-in-the-Box is usually on his left. In the shot of him creeping towards the soldier and dancer it is on his right.

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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

"Pines of Rome"
Written by Ottorino Resphighi
Performed by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

User Reviews

Pretty good, but I wish it was longer.

Top quality animation and a sense of humour make this sequel/add-on a formidable animated movie in its own right. The running time of 74 minutes is a bit of a let-down. I would have liked to have seen more pieces and more imagination. And be warned, The Sorcerer's Apprentice remains. As this was the original's ONLY real selling point they decided to stick it back in there, so you're really only get just over an hours worth of new footage. Which feels like a bit of a rip-off.

But my favorite segment is the one with Donald Duck, in fact they were all cool, especially the one with the volcano. The music matches the story perfectly and it has some truly beautiful animation. Far superior to those ugly CGI crap we get these days. And the TV show style introductions were more watchable than the dubbed Deems Taylor segments in the original.

This was the first animated movie to be made for IMAX screens and the digital picture is amazing. See this preferably on an IMAX screen or on DVD. Watching it on VHS would only insult the brilliant animation. It's sad that Disney has abandoned traditional hand-drawn animation for theatrical projects. It's what the studio was built on after all. But Disney is shadow of its former self, we all know that.

Just as good as the original Fantasia, but loses points for not being longer and more ambitious.