1940- "Fantasia"

"Fantasia"-Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney. It is the third feature-length film produced by the Walt Disney Company.Fantasia features animation set to classical music and no dialogue—only spoken introductions by the host, American composer and music critic Deems Taylor, before segments. The music was recorded under the direction of Leopold Stokowski and seven of the eight pieces were performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Animated artwork of varying degrees of abstraction or literalism was used to illustrate or accompany the concert in various ways. The film also includes live-action segments featuring Leopold Stokowski, the orchestra, and Deems Taylor.Fantasia was notable for featuring what were then considered avant-garde qualities and for being the first commercial film released instereophonic sound—using a process dubbed "Fantasound".

Fantasia was originally released by Walt Disney Productions itself rather than RKO Radio Pictures, which normally distributed the Disney films, and exhibited as a two-hour and twenty minute roadshow film (counting the intermission) with reserved-seat engagements. The film opened to mixed critical reaction and failed to generate a large commercial audience, which left Disney in financial straits.^[1][2]

Fantasia was eventually picked up by RKO for release in 1941 and edited drastically to a running time of 81 minutes in 1942. Five subsequent rereleases of Fantasia between 1946 and 1977 restored various amounts of the deleted footage, with the most common version being the 1946 rerelease edit, which ran nine minutes shorter than the original 124 minute roadshow version. A 1982 reissue featured a newly recorded digital soundtrack conducted by composer Irwin Kostal, but was taken out of circulation in 1990 after a restored version of the original Stokowski-conducted soundtrack was prepared. The original version of Fantasia was never released again after 1941, and although some of the original audio elements no longer exist, a 2000 DVD release version attempted to restore as much of the original version of the film as possible.

Fantasia, despite its initial commercial failure, went on to become one of the most popular films of all time^[3] and is today considered a classic film.- Information from wikipedia.org

First off, I never knew Fantasia is as old as it is. I never saw it until I was around 6 or 7 years old. I remember buying it at a video store with my mom thinking it was all about Mickey Mouse.

The narrator explains at the beginning that the majority of the animation are the artist's interpretations of the music, and that they don't necessarily tell a definite story. He also explains that the composer of "The Nutcracker Suite" detested it, despite how famous it was. The fairies in the artwork are so beautiful, and I always loved the little dancing mushrooms.

"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is one of the most iconic Mickey Mouse cartoons. It is where they get the Sorcerer Mickey from anyway. However, I feel like not many people have watched it. (There is going to be a full movie version of this story being released to theaters soon.) I love the part where Mickey is controlling the stars and the ocean. It is one of the best Mickey moments in history.....in my opinion at least.The part where the broom multiplies from the splintered wood is a bit creepy. And....the sorcerer is Moses! LOL Not really, but he DOES part the water.

I never liked the animation sequence with the dinosaurs. It's just kind of creepy and makes me want to turn the video off. I do like the mythological setting though. The little baby Pegasus is so cute! My mom never liked it, so I never really got to watch it when I was little. Zeus just randomly comes out of nowhere and starts throwing crap! I find it humorous, but puzzling nonetheless. The hippo and alligator ballet to "The Dance of the Hours" is another one of my favorites!

This is the first time I have watched "Night on Bald Mountain/ Ave Maria". I do not particularly like this piece, but it has the scariest Disney villain ever......Chernabog. It is explained that it is a scenario demonstrating "the profane and the sacred".

Fantasia is a good film, but not my favorite. I feel like you have to have a great appreciation for music to enjoy 120 minutes of orchestration interpretations. This is not a film to watch with the family. It is still a Disney classic, but will not be one that I watch over and over again.