Fantasia (1940)

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

Directors:

James Algar (uncredited), Samuel Armstrong (uncredited)

Writers:

Joe Grant (story direction), Dick Huemer (story direction)

Stars:

Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor, Corey Burton

8 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Leopold Stokowski	...	Himself - Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra
Deems Taylor	...	Himself - Narrative Introductions

Storyline

Disney animators set pictures to Western classical music as Leopold Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" features Mickey Mouse as an aspiring magician who oversteps his limits. "The Rite of Spring" tells the story of evolution, from single-celled animals to the death of the dinosaurs. "Dance of the Hours" is a comic ballet performed by ostriches, hippos, elephants, and alligators. "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria" set the forces of darkness and light against each other as a devilish revel is interrupted by the coming of a new day.

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Plot Keywords:

classical music | disney | mouse | orchestra | apprentice | 

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Taglines:

The ultimate in sight and sound

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 June 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

Walt Disney's Fantasia

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,280,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$980,798, 10 February 1985, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$76,408,097

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min (2000 roadshow restoration) 125 min (original 1940 roadshow release) 80 min (1942 cut) 120 min (VHS release) 115 min (1946 cut)

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (RCA Sound System) (as Fantasound)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tenth of Disney's Untouchables to be released on home video.

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Goofs

In the full-length introduction to the "Nutcracker Suite", heard only in the roadshow version of "Fantasia", Deems Taylor states that this music is from a longer ballet called "The Nutcracker", which "nobody performs it anymore". The full-length "Nutcracker" had not been performed in the U.S. yet in 1940, but in both Russia and England it had been staged in 1934, and had already been staged in Russia twice before that, in 1892 and 1919. However, although the "Nutcracker Suite" was immensely popular even in 1940, the full-length ballet was still a long way off from becoming the annual phenomenon it now is in the United States.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Deems Taylor: How do you do? Uh, 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, "Fantasia". What you're going to see are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists. In other words, these are not going to be the interpretations of trained ...

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Crazy Credits

This is the second Walt Disney feature-length film ("Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was the first) on which the credit "Walt Disney presents" never appears. It appeared on all the other feature-length films that Disney personally produced.

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Alternate Versions

For its first re-release in September 1946, the film was re-edited to a running time of 115-minutes. "Tocatta and Fugue" was restored to the film, but most of the interstitial footage was shortened, dubbed over, or removed. This cut of the film is the most common, and most subsequent versions of the film are based on this edit.

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Connections

Referenced in The Middle: The Wonderful World of Hecks (2014)

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Soundtracks

Jam Session Sequence
(uncredited)
Played by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra without a conductor

User Reviews

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.