Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 (1940-1999) (Special Edition)

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

True, but some possibilities are easier than others -- I think it is possible that 21st century artists and audiences are more in their comfort zone with modern popular music, and perhaps it is a good thing that more challenging material in the form of classical music has been the template for the last two Fantasia outings. I don't know if you saw Taymor's recent Across the Universe, but I couln't help but feel much of what I was seeing felt overly-safe and naggingly familiar. A Fantasia comprised of Beatles' films would have to be a balanced affair emotionally, but it would also have to be, I feel, extraordinarily bold, even fearless, in conceptualizing and visualizing the material, and I haven't really seen that from the company since the Brizzi Bros were around.

Also, to stop us from going too far off on this tangent (look, the point was, Eisner was just a lowbrow tasteless idiot trying too hard to recapture his 60's college years, which is how we also got Hunchback, okay??), we did get a low, low budget movie version of the "Beatlemania" tribute concert, whose movie concept to make new music-video scenes illustrating the songs. If you've never heard of the movie, there's your answer.

(The reason, most critics panned, was that there didn't seem to be much point as we already HAVE the actual Beatles on film, which is more than can be said for Beethoven or Stravinsky. Or the Zemeckis "Submarine".)

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

True, but some possibilities are easier than others -- I think it is possible that 21st century artists and audiences are more in their comfort zone with modern popular music, and perhaps it is a good thing that more challenging material in the form of classical music has been the template for the last two Fantasia outings. I don't know if you saw Taymor's recent Across the Universe, but I couln't help but feel much of what I was seeing felt overly-safe and naggingly familiar. A Fantasia comprised of Beatles' films would have to be a balanced affair emotionally, but it would also have to be, I feel, extraordinarily bold, even fearless, in conceptualizing and visualizing the material, and I haven't really seen that from the company since the Brizzi Bros were around.

Originally Posted by EricJ

Also, to stop us from going too far off on this tangent (look, the point was, Eisner was just a lowbrow tasteless idiot trying too hard to recapture his 60's college years, which is how we also got Hunchback, okay??), we did get a low, low budget movie version of the "Beatlemania" tribute concert, whose movie concept to make new music-video scenes illustrating the songs. If you've never heard of the movie, there's your answer.

(The reason, most critics panned, was that there didn't seem to be much point as we already HAVE the actual Beatles on film, which is more than can be said for Beethoven or Stravinsky. Or the Zemeckis "Submarine".)

I'm awfully glad the concept wasn't franchised into a series of animated popular music videos, myself. The point of the original film was to make serious, artistic music more accessible to a popular audience...personally, I'd really like to see a completely new Fantasia project dedicated to doing the same for a serious, artistic, complex, "dead" music that's become about as mothballed (at least in the US) as orchestral composition ever was: jazz. I'd love to see what the animators could do with the ethereal modal sounds of "So What" from Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, or some of the avant-garde free/space jazz from Sun Ra's Heliocentric Worlds, or a completely new take on the Nutcracker using Duke Ellington's arrangements. I think such a film could be brilliant and do a lot for the popular appreciation of a music that's largely & undeservedly ignored.

[Roy Batty]

So, we're getting not only a censored edition of this classic (yes, not "edited", censored), but also stripped of the extra material from the previous DVD collection? (no, my player is not BD Live enabled, and, even if it were, I don't want to have to get online to access those materials every time. What if connection drops right when I want to watch them, or what if Disney decides to delete them after a while? They are not going to host them forever, I'm telling you. I like ALL my extra features on physical media, not on streaming.

Please, vote with your wallets and let Disney know this is not the way.

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by Roy Batty

So, we're getting not only a censored edition of this classic (yes, not "edited", censored), but also stripped of the extra material from the previous DVD collection? (no, my player is not BD Live enabled, and, even if it were, I don't want to have to get online to access those materials every time. What if connection drops right when I want to watch them, or what if Disney decides to delete them after a while? They are not going to host them forever, I'm telling you. I like ALL my extra features on physical media, not on streaming.

Please, vote with your wallets and let Disney know this is not the way.

Fantasia has been my all-time favorite film since I was a child. I've owned it on VHS, DVD, I'll be picking up the BD tomorrow, and I'll probably buy it again. I thoroughly appreciate good supplements but there's no way I'm going to let their relative paucity with this release---or the continued four-decade-plus absence of offensive racial sterotypes---sway me from purchasing what looks to be a brilliant restoration and presentation of a seventy-year-old film that's a classic of animation and the studio's greatest contribution to the history of cinema. Vote with my wallet? You can bet your sweet bippy.

[Top Dollar]

Any word if there's an ironpack coming in the future of this?

Sucks about the streaming extras.

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Going to be hard to replace Donald struggling to ring that gong on the Mickey Mouse Club in my mind as the most iconic Donald (and I've always wondered if Daffy's rivalry with Bugs in Friz Freling's "Show Biz Bugs" in 1957 was inspired by Donald's similar rivalry with Mickey during the opening of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1954). To me, that's Donald, or Donald in those great 40's and 50's shorts as the world's worst Uncle. Still, the F2k short is easily the best Donald short in about 50 years, and that's saying something.

When I was 6 years old & living in the Chicago area I was lucky enough to have a local station running the Mickey Mouse Club in syndication five afternoons a week. Donald's running gong gag was seminal Duck. I've often wondered if it in any way inspired the Simpsons' chalkboard and couch gags...

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Joe Cain

When I was 6 years old & living in the Chicago area I was lucky enough to have a local station running the Mickey Mouse Club in syndication five afternoons a week. Donald's running gong gag was seminal Duck. I've often wondered if it in any way inspired the Simpsons' chalkboard and couch gags...

I only saw Walt's Mickey Mouse Club in re-runs in the 70's as a very young boy, and the re-runs weren't around very long at that - but the running gag at the end of the credits was always something to look forward to. That was pretty much my introduction to the real Donald (irrascible, violent, human), aside from say the more restrained and responsible version we have today.

[HD Goofnut]

Will be picking this up tomorrow with the $10 coupon.

[jtwise]

couldn't one, use the upgrade coupon and the stand alone coupon to get 20 off?

[DiscoDan]

Originally Posted by jtwise

couldn't one, use the upgrade coupon and the stand alone coupon to get 20 off?

no

[hurm]

How is the packaging? Does anyone have photos?

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by DiscoDan

no

I think Best Buy allows you to stack manufacturer discounts with their own coupons, though -- such as a Rewards Zone coupon. $10 Best Buy Reward Zone Coupon + $10 Upgrade coupon = Fantasia/Fantasia 2000/Destino for about $7.00.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by hurm

How is the packaging? Does anyone have photos?

I think it's a two disc set with a slipcover, but I am not100% on that.

[cawilli]

Originally Posted by Roy Batty

So, we're getting not only a censored edition of this classic (yes, not "edited", censored), but also stripped of the extra material from the previous DVD collection? (no, my player is not BD Live enabled, and, even if it were, I don't want to have to get online to access those materials every time. What if connection drops right when I want to watch them, or what if Disney decides to delete them after a while? They are not going to host them forever, I'm telling you. I like ALL my extra features on physical media, not on streaming.

Please, vote with your wallets and let Disney know this is not the way.

Buddy, life is too short to moan about 30 seconds of offensive material being edited out of a fantastic movie. Get some perspective.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I think it's a two disc set with a slipcover, but I am 100% on that.

Four disc set with a slpicover.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I think Blockbuster allows you to stack manufacturer with their own coupons, though -- such as a Rewards Zone coupon. $10 BB Reward Zone Coupon + $10 Upgrade coupon = Fantasia/Fantasia 2000/Destino for about $7.00.

What? Since when does blockbuster take best buy reward zone coupons?
Either I read that wrong or something.

-Brian

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Four disc set with a slpicover.

I appreciate the clarification on that.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Either I read that wrong or something.

-Brian

Corrected.

[JackKnightStarman]

Got it today with Sorcerors Apprentice. In the flyer in the advertisement book that comes with it was a ad for Dumbo 70th anniversary, coming in 2011. I thought that was interesting

[Roy Batty]

Originally Posted by cawilli

Buddy, life is too short to moan about 30 seconds of offensive material being edited out of a fantastic movie. Get some perspective.

Oh, so...

a) I need perspective, because, obviously, if I had it I wouldn't be complaining

b) If I decide to complain nonetheless, I will not be "complaining" but "moaning"

c) Perspective makes censorship ok

Buddy, I think you need to give more respect and credit to other people's opinions.