Fantastic animation back then and forever Fantasia is one of those movies I have grown to love more and more every time I watch it. It's so unlike anything else Disney did before or after, and it's even unique compared against other animated movies. I find fascinating the fact that the visuals follow the music, something very different from the typical approach, where the movie is put together and the music comes in as an element of the post-production stage.
Then, the visuals themselves depart in radically different directions. Some tag alongside the metaphors hinted at by the pieces (Beethoven's Pastoral, for example, is visually accompanied by mythological figures that perfectly embody the idea behind the composition), and then other segments are quite simply abstract, to say the least.
When you put the whole thing together, with the whole introductions preceeding every piece, the result is a work of art, that you cannot judge by the same standards we've grown used to when watching Nemo, Beauty and the Beast or other less contemporary animation standards, such as Snow White. Fantasia created a genre on which it stands almost by itself, untouched, except by some excerpts of movies from the Japanese genius Miyazaki.
Best animation of its day -- And still a good one.
Many of the vignettes here are now classics. Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice: that's become an icon by itself. Dance of the Hours, with hippo ballerinas? I just laughed myself silly watching that, no matter how many times I've seen it before. Night on Bald Mountain - I must have been about four the first time I saw that, and I still remember how it scared the goobers out of me. That one scene, near the end, when the demon in charge is completely lit from the front, that's that one that sticks with me. For its time, it was about the most creative thing on the screen. The 'Disney Look' is a bit dated now, but it's true to the time in which it was made.
I think today's kids might still like it, and it's a sneaky way to start them enjoying classical music. See it again with an adult's eyes, or see it again with a child's eyes. Just do yourself a favor and see it again.
//wirdweirdNot for young viewers The Fantasia dvd is a beautiful collection of music and of some of Disney's cartoons spliced together. I have to say that although it is a Disney Collection-my kids really did not pay attention to it too much when I bought it last year, along with the Fantasia 2000 DVD -they are just starting to watch it now-they are 3 3/4 and 5 1/4 years old. It is a beautiful collection, but may not be for younger viewers to watch-they dont understand the concept of it all and may not keep their attention for very long.
