Movie #197 - Fantasia / 2000

Fantasia / 2000
1999 - Rated G - 1 hr 14 min
Director: James Algar, Gaetan Brizzi, et al.
Starring: James Levine, Steve Martin, Leopold Stokowski, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones

This movie came in a two-pack with Fantasia, so now we own it.  I'd never seen it before, but it's more of the same.  Animated classical pieces, a bit more modern and a bit more enhanced.  They do include the Sorceror's Apprentice here as well, but it's the exact same version.  I guess this is only irritating if you watch both Fantasia movies back to back.

It's a nice tribute to the "revolutionary" idea of Leopold Stokowski and Walt Disney back in 1940, but I'm glad they're not making more of these.  It's a nice way to get kids to listen to classical music, though.  Ellie had a blast with these.

Movie #196 - Fantasia

Fantasia
1940 - Rated G - 2 hr 4 min
Director: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, et al.
Starring: Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor

Watching this again for the first time in literally years, I learned some things.  Apparently, Fantasia wasn't supposed to be just one movie.  It was meant to be a "new way of going to the symphony" and should have been a series of different "feature films." Mickey was supposed to get some other great roles, not just the Sorceror's Apprentice, but it never panned out.  I'm not sure what stopped them after 1940, but it took until 1999 for Roy Disney to revive the concept for Fantasia / 2000.

If you haven't seen this, it really is like going to a symphony.  There's an emcee and a conductor and an orchestra, then there's some music.  And each piece is animated. Sometimes just with colors and shapes and randomness, then other times with a story. Who doesn't love the hippo/ostrich/crocodile ballet?

And that's that.  What was meant to be an innovative concept fell by the wayside. I guess it wasn't as popular as it was hoped to be. It's fun, but I'm pretty sure one (or now two) of these was enough.