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Fantasia 2000 opens with perhaps the most famous concert music of all, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor. Similar to the first film, this initial segment follows abstract images that form the idea of the heavens, butterflies, bats and darkness. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, performs the musical selections. And as a new addition, celebrities introduce each piece, starting with Steve Martin and including Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Penn and Teller, and Angela Lansbury. The adopted use of TV-styled transitions unfortunately doesn’t help Fantasia 2000 feel more thematic, but rather like a television special. It’s clearly not an equal to the original 1940 classic. The second sequence is “Pines of Rome” by Ottorino Respighi, chronicling the journey of a young humpback whale calf as it learns to fly (due to a supernova). It’s separated from its parents, but manages to reunite with the entire school which bursts through the fluffy clouds in the sky to witness a lightning storm up close. The use of computer generated images is most noticeable with the adult whales, which have a texturing and photorealistic quality that greatly surpasses that of the traditional animation found in other segments. George Gershwin’s jazzy “Rhapsody in Blue,” hosted by Quincy Jones, paints a picture of life in the big city in the 1930s in the style of Al Hirschfeld's popular cartoons of the time. A construction worker dealing with the bustle of the metropolis is alternated with scenes of a bum scrounging for food. The backgrounds are mostly muted, single-color drawings, while the main characters are more detailed but equally monochromatic. While the music is definitely famous, it’s the one selection that doesn’t fit as nicely in the world of Fantasia, lacking the continuous, strong operatic nature of the other works. And although the art is purposeful in design, it’s also the least visually pleasing. On the other hand, since it features some of the most fast-paced piano notes, the synchronization with the animation is the most impressive. |
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Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major is the basis for the story of the The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen. It follows the adventures of a wooden soldier as he battles an evil jack-in-the-box for the love of a ballerina. With a hero, love interest, villain, and plenty of adventure-filled predicaments, this is by far the most dramatic and exciting sequence. It also features beautiful artwork, primarily CGI, and the most Disney-like, fully developed storyline. The Carnival of the Animals is one of the funniest segments, mirroring the visual hilarity of Fantasia’s “Dance of the Hours” through pink flamingos dealing with one of their own, fascinated by a yo-yo. The music is most reminiscent of a selection from the first film, although it’s incredibly short. Following this is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” the only sequence carried over from the original. It’s indeed memorable, but also takes screen time away from the possibility of further new animations (Fantasia 2000 is nearly an hour shorter than its predecessor). “Pomp and Circumstance,” Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4 by Edward Elgar narrate the story of Noah’s Ark, starring Donald Duck. As he assembles pairs of all the animals, he’s separated from Daisy and continually misses a reuniting by fractions of seconds. Probably designed to rival the original inclusion of Mickey Mouse, this is easily the most affecting segment of the entire film. Fantasia 2000 closes with the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky, about a magical sprite and her companion elk that accidentally awakens a volcanic Firebird that destroys the forest (in a FernGully-like manner). It’s a fitting conclusion that mirrors the appearance and retreat of Chernabog in the original. While this update is still a masterful achievement in sound in animation, it doesn’t quite match the power of the first feature. As a mere companion piece, it’s more than adequate. Considering Disney’s original idea had been to refresh Fantasia throughout the years with new sequences, and his nephew Roy Disney thought to carry this through in the early ‘70s, it’s nonetheless thrilling to see a new collaboration come to fruition nearly 60 years later with the same level of enthusiasm, talent and soundtrack conceptions that made 1940’s Fantasia such a monumental accomplishment. - Mike Massie
Click HERE to read the Review of Fantasia (1940) Click HERE to read the Review of Destino (2003)
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