Film Review #33: Fantasia 2000

Talk about a film years in them making.  When Walt Disney first came up with the idea for Fantasia, he had wanted it to be a continually expanding and improving upon the original film.  Unfortunately, the film's poor box office results cancelled plans for a sequel.  It wasn't until the early nineties, when Roy Disney noticed that the film was growing in popularity and that The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast had done so well, that a sequel was greenlit.  And as the 90's wound down, audiences around the world awaited two long awaited sequels: The Phantom Menace and Fantasia 2000.  And as the future has dictated, neither of these films has been viewed as a classic by general audiences.  Nevertheless, I feel it is necessary to give Disney a kudos for all that this film offers: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

1st Piece: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

In an attempt to recreate the magic of "Toccata and Fugue", the Disney Animators tell the story of what appears to be colorful butterflies and evil black butterflies.  And herein lies the first problem with the film.   "Toccata and Fugue" had no plot whatsoever and simply gave the audience various impressions of the orchestra and illustrating what people pictured in their minds when they heard the music for the first time.  In this case, there is more of a plot.  I guess the opening is just one of those things you can't imitate.

Grade:  B-

2nd Piece: Pines of Rome 

If the first part of the film lagged and the extremely annoying cameo by Steve Martin made you turn off the video, I don't blame you, but mute the TV until the next guy comes on.  He introduces this piece, which is one of the two best pieces in the film.  It tells the story of whales who use the power of the northern lights to fly.  Such an odd idea, and yet, it works wonderfully.  The build up for the piece is brilliant and the animation, while a bit too CGI, is still really good.

Grade:   A

3rd Piece: Rhapsody in Blue

This part is easily the best.  The film combines one of the jazzier pieces of classical music with Al Hirschfeld's classic drawing style and tells the story of many people living and dreaming of a better life in Depression laden Manhattan.  The piece is fun for both kids and adults and is one of the ultimate highlights in Disney history.

Grade: A

4th Piece: Piano Concerto #2, Allegro, Opus 102

This piece is both good and bad at the same time.  You know the musicians are giving it their all, but the animators seem to be relying too much on computers at this time.  If you can tell, I'm not a big fan of 3D animation to begin with, and this one didn't need it at all.  Telling the story of Hans Christian Anderson's "Steadfast Tin Soldier", a broken tin soldier falls in love with a dancing ballerina and faces off against an evil Jack in the box.  While changing the ending of it like they did with The Little Mermaid, it still is a decent film.

Grade:  B-

5th Piece: Carnival of the Animals, Finale

When did I turn on "Animaniacs"?  Wait, I didn't?  Fantasia 2000 is still on?  Really?  Oh, um...well...this is underachieving at it 's finest.  A 90 second piece about a flamingo and his yo-yo.  Um...can I get my money back?

Grade:  C-

6th Piece: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Grade: A

7th Piece: Pomp and Circumstance

When I first heard that Donald Duck was going to be in a story about Noah's Ark, I was thinking the same thing as I did with the Animal one.  But happily, I was impressed with this piece.  Donald's comic antics are seamlessly blended a more comic approach to the music.  The story is genuine and the animation is still brilliant.  Well done, Donald.

Grade:  B

Finale: The Firebird Suite

A finale on par with "Night on Bald Mountain"/ "Ave Maria"?  No, but it is still pretty good.  Giving the message about preserving the environment from the hatred and pillaging ways of both hatred and man, the suite is brilliantly portrayed and the animation is breathtaking

Grade:  A

Final Grade:  B