Released on Nov. 13, 1940, Disney’s Fantasia was an explosion of sights and sounds for audiences of all ages. Celebrating its 85th anniversary this week, it fills the screen with spectacular animation and music.
Walt Disney himself said, “In a profession that has been an unending voyage of discovery in the realms of color, sound and motion, Fantasia represents our most exciting adventure.”
The film is a confluence of classical music, color, animation, and storytelling.
Classical Music
Fantasia brought classical music to a wide audience and introduced many composers to those who might never have heard of them. The sections include music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, Paul Dumas, Igor Stravinsky, Ludwig van Beethoven, Amilcare Ponchielli, Modeste Moussorgsky, and Franz Schubert.
The music itself might inspire viewers -- especially young ones -- to study music and possibly find an instrument to play that will give them satisfaction. Or possibly there is a budding artist or animator that will be inspired by the brilliant art and animation in the films.
Color and Emotion
The music is the accompaniment of the colorful and ingenious animations that play out on the screen. Dancing flowers, fairies, and even mushrooms bring out emotions in viewers as the art follows along to the music.
It was all rather fantastical for 1940, but they are all memorable sites and characters, especially those dancing to the music of The Nutcracker, a ballet with which most people are familiar.
Creativity
Nothing was needed to create the scenes except brilliant imaginations, creative animators and artists, and the backdrop of the music that has lasted for generations. Some scenes are simply beautiful colors or animations in conjunction to the sounds, while others are full stories created to go along with the music.
That includes dancing hippos!
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Mickey Mouse plays “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” in both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. This was such a popular chapter in the first film they brought it back to include in the second film, and “Sorcerer Mickey” is a popular character among Disney fans.
Hope and Life Over Despair and Death
The final two scenes represent evil and good. Set to “Night on Bald Mountain,” darkness lives and demonic spirits abound.
This is a frightening scene, however it is offset by the ending with “Ava Maria” and a procession of monks heading toward a cathedral bringing Christian redemption.
As it is written in ChurchPop, "The Catholics get the last word. It’s really beautiful!”
According to the Watching God blog at Patheos, “Though Disney was a practicing Protestant and spoke often about his own personal faith, he mostly kept religion out of his work — with one huge exception.” That is Fantasia.
Paul Asay goes on to write in Watching God:
"Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows,” Disney wrote for a collection of essays called Faith is a Star.
“Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil, and that is what our pictures attempt to do."
The Scenes and Sound Continue in Fantasia 2000
Fantasia is a cross between a concert and an animation journey, and Fantasia 2000 continues where the first film left off 65 years earlier.
Whereas in the first film, the scenes were introduced by Leopold Stokowski, the episodes in Fantasia 2000 are introduced by a variety of celebrities, among them Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones, James Earl Jones, Penn and Teller, Bette Midler, and Angela Lansbury.
The music in this film includes Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5” while the birth of the cosmos fills the screen.
Ottorino Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” includes humpback whales swimming and flying. George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Saint-Saëns’ “The Carnival of the Animals” pair humor and color with the orchestra.
As with the first film, the ending is about life, death, and renewal, set to Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite.” A sprite accidentally wakes up the fire spirit, causing the destruction of the forest. However, she eventually restores the forest to its original and beautiful state.
Two Visually Stunning Films
Walt Disney stated in 1941, "it is our intention to make a version of Fantasia every year.”
That didn’t happen, but Fantasia 2000 is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Fantasia 2000 did not get the great reviews of its earlier counterpart, however it is still a beautiful film filled with imaginative imagery and music that stirs emotions.
While they both show scenes of fantasy, both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 end with hope and goodness over despair and evil.
Image: Shutterstock
Francine Brokaw is a longtime journalist whose articles have been published in national and international publications. She is accredited by the MPAA and is a long-standing member of the Television Critics Association. She also hosts Beyond the Red Carpet on YouTube.
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