I watched "Fantasia" a couple of weeks ago, and it's been on my mind a bit since. This isn't a film with a flowing narrative; it consists of a series of animations set to popular classical music. There are segments which have a little story to tell, but none flow into each other. It seems like the animators were just told to animate what they feel (if I recall, that is exactly what the host, played by Deems Taylor, says), and that is what this film seems like to me – the animator's emotions and experiences whilst listening to timeless music.
Some of the segments left little to no impact on me. That is not to say that the animation in such segments wasn't stunning, as it is throughout. All were beautiful and the music is fantastic. Instead of focusing on all of the segments, I'm going to focus on those I remember most, the ones I enjoyed the most. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," based on the piece of the same name by Paul Dukas, shows Mickey Mouse (voiced by Uncle Walt himself) as the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer. The sorcerer has Mickey do chores like mop the floor and so on, while Mickey idolises his mentor to the highest degree. However, one evening when the sorcerer goes to bed, Mickey doesn't feel like filling the well with water, so he dons his mentor's hat and brings a broomstick to life, making him do all the work. However, this leads to hundreds of brooms flooding the place, and Mickey having to figure out how to stop them. The animation is beautiful, as is most done by Disney, and the timing is magnificent. It's just a fun little cartoon. It's easy to see why sorcerer Mickey is one of Disney's biggest trademarks, heck I even have a pair of the furry years ant hat from Disneyland! My favourite segments would have to be "Rite of Spring" and "Dance of the Hours." The former is just so poignant and breathtaking, and the music just seems to match the tone the segment is trying to set. The animation, especially on the lava and water and during the t-rex attack, is just phenomenal. I have no idea how they paced this thing, but by God they did it will. It's also heartbreaking! These poor animals just drop dead! I liked these creatures; they had so much character even though they spoke nary a word! It ends on such an ambiguous note, with such subtlety and intrigue. It's just lovely. "Dance on the Hours" is a rather baffling affair, but my God it looks beautiful. The lighting, the colours, the designs on the animals. How did they make a hippo so graceful? I have no idea, but then again that seems to be the magic of Disney. They can make the impossible possible. The little romance between the hippo and alligator is just adorable; sometimes things can be said without uttering a word.
People are going to smite me for this, but I didn't see what was so special about "The Night on Bald Mountain." It's beautiful and thought provoking, the music was nice ... and that's it. The only thing massive about the last segment to me was Chernabog himself; I mean, he is the devil. The devil is one scary guy. Other than that, after all I'd heard about Bald Mountain, it just seemed underwhelming. In my opinion, "Rite of Spring" would've been a better finale. It's much more evocative to me.
Overall, "Fantasia" is pretty damn good. I don't find it as amazing as other Disney fans do, but it is gorgeous to look at, and groundbreaking to boot. There is this sort of charm about it, this air of grandeur. It is worth checking out.
8/10.
Some of the segments left little to no impact on me. That is not to say that the animation in such segments wasn't stunning, as it is throughout. All were beautiful and the music is fantastic. Instead of focusing on all of the segments, I'm going to focus on those I remember most, the ones I enjoyed the most. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," based on the piece of the same name by Paul Dukas, shows Mickey Mouse (voiced by Uncle Walt himself) as the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer. The sorcerer has Mickey do chores like mop the floor and so on, while Mickey idolises his mentor to the highest degree. However, one evening when the sorcerer goes to bed, Mickey doesn't feel like filling the well with water, so he dons his mentor's hat and brings a broomstick to life, making him do all the work. However, this leads to hundreds of brooms flooding the place, and Mickey having to figure out how to stop them. The animation is beautiful, as is most done by Disney, and the timing is magnificent. It's just a fun little cartoon. It's easy to see why sorcerer Mickey is one of Disney's biggest trademarks, heck I even have a pair of the furry years ant hat from Disneyland! My favourite segments would have to be "Rite of Spring" and "Dance of the Hours." The former is just so poignant and breathtaking, and the music just seems to match the tone the segment is trying to set. The animation, especially on the lava and water and during the t-rex attack, is just phenomenal. I have no idea how they paced this thing, but by God they did it will. It's also heartbreaking! These poor animals just drop dead! I liked these creatures; they had so much character even though they spoke nary a word! It ends on such an ambiguous note, with such subtlety and intrigue. It's just lovely. "Dance on the Hours" is a rather baffling affair, but my God it looks beautiful. The lighting, the colours, the designs on the animals. How did they make a hippo so graceful? I have no idea, but then again that seems to be the magic of Disney. They can make the impossible possible. The little romance between the hippo and alligator is just adorable; sometimes things can be said without uttering a word.
People are going to smite me for this, but I didn't see what was so special about "The Night on Bald Mountain." It's beautiful and thought provoking, the music was nice ... and that's it. The only thing massive about the last segment to me was Chernabog himself; I mean, he is the devil. The devil is one scary guy. Other than that, after all I'd heard about Bald Mountain, it just seemed underwhelming. In my opinion, "Rite of Spring" would've been a better finale. It's much more evocative to me.
Overall, "Fantasia" is pretty damn good. I don't find it as amazing as other Disney fans do, but it is gorgeous to look at, and groundbreaking to boot. There is this sort of charm about it, this air of grandeur. It is worth checking out.
8/10.