Fantasia may be the best animated cartoon ever made, and Fantasia 2000 is a worthy, if disappointingly brief, follow-up.
"Fantasia" Extras:
In addition to the film, disc one includes audio commentaries with Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and others, plus archival interviews with Walt Disney himself. There is also a documentary, "The Making of Fantasia," that takes one behind the scenes into the Disney workshops, plus a THX Optimode series of audiovisual tests, and seventeen chapter stops. English is the only spoken language offered.
"Fantasia 2000":
The second disc in the box contains "Fantasia 2000," released in 1999 first to IMAX theaters and then more briefly to general circulation. It tries to maintain the "Fantasia" tradition but does so with more varied artistic styles. It is unexpectedly short at only seventy-four minutes, its predecessor being over two hours, but perhaps because of its variety it seems longer. It, too, has eight segments, one of them being a repeat of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" to maintain its ties to its progenitor. This time out, Maestro James Levine conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The program begins in much the same way as the original did, with a piece of abstract animation, this one set to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I liked this new piece a lot, but I was glad it was as brief as it was. This is followed by the most grand and enterprising episode of the bunch, humpback whales flying to the strains of Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome." The pictures are digitally rendered photo-realistically and make quite an impression on the eye and mind.
Next comes Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," done up in a graphic style totally opposite the whales. Based on the simple line drawings of famed cartoonist Al Hirschfeld, the "Rhapsody" is fittingly jazz-inflected in nature and tells the story of three interconnected characters in Depression-Era New York. Following up the "Rhapsody" is Shostokovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 illustrating a very slightly altered retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier." It's cute at best. In the next section my wife liked the silliness of a flamingo playing with a yo-yo in Camile Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals." I did, too. Then, there's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" again, followed by the most extravagantly animated sequence in the film, the tale of Noah and the Ark, with Donald Duck, accompanied by four of Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" marches. The movie concludes with a portrayal of Nature's rebirth, starring a fairy sprite and a noble elk, done to the tune of Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite." The animation style of the latter is again in contrast to the preceding Elgar piece, the "Firebird" done in soft pastels as opposed to the sharp relief of the Elgar.
"Fantasia 2000" Video:
"Fantasia 2000" is presented in something close to its theatrical-release screen ratio, 1.74:1, enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions. Needless to say, its picture, colors, and sound--Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 Surround--surpass the quality of the 1940 release. "Fantasia 2000" is spectacular in the extreme, and it is especially gratifying to see the excellence of the new print so well setting off the various visual styles.
"Fantasia 2000" Audio:
The audio is distinctly dispersed throughout the five channels, but purely orchestral sounds are realistically spread across the front speakers only, the rears used primarily for ambiance enhancement.
"Fantasia 2000" Extras:
Special features of the "Fantasia 2000" disc include a pair of audio commentaries, one with Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and producer Don Ernst and a second with segment and art directors. Then there is a documentary, "The Making of Fantasia 2000," much like the one on the "Fantasia" disc, plus a showcase program of clips from "Fantasia 2000" that plays like an extended trailer. Two bonus cartoons are also provided, the animated shorts "Melody" and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom," both made during the early fifties as part of an aborted series of features that tried to explain the process of music making. Finally, there is THX's Optimode and again seventeen chapter stops. English and French are the spoken language options.
Additional Extras:
The third and final disc in the anthology is called "Fantasia Legacy," and it works much the same way as the supplemental disc does in the "Toy Story" box; it contains a wealth of additional information on both of the "Fantasia" films. I won't even try to cover everything it contains. Let it suffice that it embraces over 160 minutes of complementary features, including storyboards, conceptual art, documentaries, still galleries, biographies, character designs, musical concepts, etc., all navigated through the use of a simple-to-use system of scene selections clearly outlined on the screen and in the booklet insert. The whole affair is first divided into choices between the two films, and from there you merely pick a segment of the film you want to know more about. Even so, my favorite part of the bonus disc is called "The Fantasia That Never Was" because it involves the bits and pieces of the original movie that never came to fruition. The only portion that didn't make it into "Fantasia" that is still intact is the Debussy "Claire de Lune" sequence, but the rest of the segments are recreated from storyboards and stills.
Parting Thoughts:
"Fantasia" may be the best animated cartoon ever made, and "Fantasia 2000" is a worthy, if disappointingly brief, follow-up. The three-disc package from Disney is about the best way to enjoy the films, but as I said earlier, you have the option to buy them separately. If you do, go with "Fantasia" first. It's one fantastic flight of fancy.
In addition to the film, disc one includes audio commentaries with Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and others, plus archival interviews with Walt Disney himself. There is also a documentary, "The Making of Fantasia," that takes one behind the scenes into the Disney workshops, plus a THX Optimode series of audiovisual tests, and seventeen chapter stops. English is the only spoken language offered.
"Fantasia 2000":
The second disc in the box contains "Fantasia 2000," released in 1999 first to IMAX theaters and then more briefly to general circulation. It tries to maintain the "Fantasia" tradition but does so with more varied artistic styles. It is unexpectedly short at only seventy-four minutes, its predecessor being over two hours, but perhaps because of its variety it seems longer. It, too, has eight segments, one of them being a repeat of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" to maintain its ties to its progenitor. This time out, Maestro James Levine conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The program begins in much the same way as the original did, with a piece of abstract animation, this one set to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I liked this new piece a lot, but I was glad it was as brief as it was. This is followed by the most grand and enterprising episode of the bunch, humpback whales flying to the strains of Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome." The pictures are digitally rendered photo-realistically and make quite an impression on the eye and mind.
Next comes Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," done up in a graphic style totally opposite the whales. Based on the simple line drawings of famed cartoonist Al Hirschfeld, the "Rhapsody" is fittingly jazz-inflected in nature and tells the story of three interconnected characters in Depression-Era New York. Following up the "Rhapsody" is Shostokovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 illustrating a very slightly altered retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier." It's cute at best. In the next section my wife liked the silliness of a flamingo playing with a yo-yo in Camile Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals." I did, too. Then, there's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" again, followed by the most extravagantly animated sequence in the film, the tale of Noah and the Ark, with Donald Duck, accompanied by four of Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" marches. The movie concludes with a portrayal of Nature's rebirth, starring a fairy sprite and a noble elk, done to the tune of Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite." The animation style of the latter is again in contrast to the preceding Elgar piece, the "Firebird" done in soft pastels as opposed to the sharp relief of the Elgar.
"Fantasia 2000" Video:
"Fantasia 2000" is presented in something close to its theatrical-release screen ratio, 1.74:1, enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions. Needless to say, its picture, colors, and sound--Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 Surround--surpass the quality of the 1940 release. "Fantasia 2000" is spectacular in the extreme, and it is especially gratifying to see the excellence of the new print so well setting off the various visual styles.
"Fantasia 2000" Audio:
The audio is distinctly dispersed throughout the five channels, but purely orchestral sounds are realistically spread across the front speakers only, the rears used primarily for ambiance enhancement.
"Fantasia 2000" Extras:
Special features of the "Fantasia 2000" disc include a pair of audio commentaries, one with Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and producer Don Ernst and a second with segment and art directors. Then there is a documentary, "The Making of Fantasia 2000," much like the one on the "Fantasia" disc, plus a showcase program of clips from "Fantasia 2000" that plays like an extended trailer. Two bonus cartoons are also provided, the animated shorts "Melody" and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom," both made during the early fifties as part of an aborted series of features that tried to explain the process of music making. Finally, there is THX's Optimode and again seventeen chapter stops. English and French are the spoken language options.
Additional Extras:
The third and final disc in the anthology is called "Fantasia Legacy," and it works much the same way as the supplemental disc does in the "Toy Story" box; it contains a wealth of additional information on both of the "Fantasia" films. I won't even try to cover everything it contains. Let it suffice that it embraces over 160 minutes of complementary features, including storyboards, conceptual art, documentaries, still galleries, biographies, character designs, musical concepts, etc., all navigated through the use of a simple-to-use system of scene selections clearly outlined on the screen and in the booklet insert. The whole affair is first divided into choices between the two films, and from there you merely pick a segment of the film you want to know more about. Even so, my favorite part of the bonus disc is called "The Fantasia That Never Was" because it involves the bits and pieces of the original movie that never came to fruition. The only portion that didn't make it into "Fantasia" that is still intact is the Debussy "Claire de Lune" sequence, but the rest of the segments are recreated from storyboards and stills.
Parting Thoughts:
"Fantasia" may be the best animated cartoon ever made, and "Fantasia 2000" is a worthy, if disappointingly brief, follow-up. The three-disc package from Disney is about the best way to enjoy the films, but as I said earlier, you have the option to buy them separately. If you do, go with "Fantasia" first. It's one fantastic flight of fancy.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]5667[/release]