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

[Leonidas King]

Was it normal to feel bored to death in the first 7 minutes of the original Fantasia? The musical number was great. But the imagery they chose for it was super tedious to look at. Though it took off perfectly after when the animation started appearing and started going with the flow of the music.

[whbinder]

Originally Posted by MoneyLover

That's really bad. If only somebody tried...

Interestingly. My German Blu-ray has an option for BD-Live. Of course I can't access it here in the U.S.

[Jim Purcell]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Was it normal to feel bored to death in the first 7 minutes of the original Fantasia? The musical number was great. But the imagery they chose for it was super tedious to look at. Though it took off perfectly after when the animation started appearing and started going with the flow of the music.

You mean the part with the shadows of the musicians? Yeah that did seem to take a lot of time.

The overall sequence though, i liked it. For some reason my mind kept thinking of epic space battles with all the winking lights and formations of violin bows...

I was sort of surprised it took nearly 15 minutes to get beyond the intro.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

So the DisneyView border for Fantasia was created by the lead matte artist on The Empire Strikes Back? Nice. Talk about sparing no expense...

(Well, um...he DID work on Tron and Pete's Dragon, too.)

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Was it normal to feel bored to death in the first 7 minutes of the original Fantasia? The musical number was great. But the imagery they chose for it was super tedious to look at. Though it took off perfectly after when the animation started appearing and started going with the flow of the music.

Even when I was seeing it for the first time when I was five, Deems Taylor's narration was still intact, and I understood exactly what he was talking about:
"It's the imagery of what goes through your mind as you first hear the music--At first, you might be conscious of the orchestra, and then you might imagine waves or ripples..."
(Which was pretty much what Walt Disney thematically had in mind, and on Walt's personal commentary #2, you can hear him pretty much name off his own ideas we see onscreen.)

Since nobody knew what Fantasia was, period, it was meant to be the introduction to the entire concept, and if it's a bit long, well, they could've picked something shorter.
Now, the equally "introductory" Beethoven's 5th in F2K, THAT was pointless and uninspired.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

I tried to find the combo in store...but the guy who worked there said that I can only buy it online...I hate buying online. Mainly as I have no credit card. Well, the best I can hope for is as a Christmas present.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Was it normal to feel bored to death in the first 7 minutes of the original Fantasia? The musical number was great. But the imagery they chose for it was super tedious to look at. Though it took off perfectly after when the animation started appearing and started going with the flow of the music.

I was more surprised by the fact that they had turn Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor into an ochestral number. That was the first time I had ever heard it done that way the first time I saw Fantasia back in the early 80's. It sure sounded different but I quite enjoyed it.

[whbinder]

Originally Posted by Nerdkiller likes BD

I tried to find the combo in store...but the guy who worked there said that I can only buy it online...I hate buying online. Mainly as I have no credit card. Well, the best I can hope for is as a Christmas present.

Shockingly, the guy who works retail was illl informed. You can get it at stores.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by Jim Purcell

You mean the part with the shadows of the musicians? Yeah that did seem to take a lot of time.

The overall sequence though, i liked it. For some reason my mind kept thinking of epic space battles with all the winking lights and formations of violin bows...

I was sort of surprised it took nearly 15 minutes to get beyond the intro.

Yeah thats it. I got super bored by just watching the images. In those first minutes I would rather take my eyes off the screen and space out by just listening to the orchastra. Seriously.

Originally Posted by EricJ

Even when I was seeing it for the first time when I was five, Deems Taylor's narration was still intact, and I understood exactly what he was talking about:
"It's the imagery of what goes through your mind as you first hear the music--At first, you might be conscious of the orchestra, and then you might imagine waves or ripples..."
(Which was pretty much what Walt Disney thematically had in mind, and on Walt's personal commentary #2, you can hear him pretty much name off his own ideas we see onscreen.)

Since nobody knew what Fantasia was, period, it was meant to be the introduction to the entire concept, and if it's a bit long, well, they could've picked something shorter.
Now, the equally "introductory" Beethoven's 5th in F2K, THAT was pointless and uninspired.

It was just a super boring introduction IMO. It took off great after though.

BTW, this is my first time experiencing any Fantasia film.

[silentblu]

Got done watching Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. They look and sound fantastic.

Ave Maria ending Fantasia could bring anyone to their knees.

[Crimson King]

Can't believe movie critics Pauline Kael and Richard Schickel disliked the classic 1940 original. These films are a perfect marriage of sight & sound IMO!

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

Can't believe movie critics Pauline Kael and Richard Schickel disliked the classic 1940 original. These films are a perfect marriage of sight & sound IMO!

Disneysonic. Slightly ahead of its time.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I was more surprised by the fact that they had turn Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor into an ochestral number.

Stokowski was famous for his orchestral transcriptions of Bach. They're fabulous in a Technicolor soaked sort of way. You don't find that sort of thing anymore. Classical musicians are all about "historically informed performance practice" now. I really like Stokowski's theatrical view of conducting.

[The Blu Knight]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

Can't believe movie critics Pauline Kael and Richard Schickel disliked the classic 1940 original. These films are a perfect marriage of sight & sound IMO!

In Many Opinions, indeed.

[OneWayFilms]

I never saw this before, so I can't comment on how much better than before, but I can certainly say how beautiful it is now on Blu. The colors, the music, the images...ALL INCREDIBLY BEUATIFUL.

However, I must confess, it's hard to watch in one sitting without falling asleep. I can only watch it at night and that music keeps putting me into a hypnotic trance. I have to watch this in pieces.

[Hi-Def Steve]

Originally Posted by silentblu

Got done watching Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. They look and sound fantastic.

Ave Maria ending Fantasia could bring anyone to their knees.

My personal favorite part of Fantasia.

[johnns]

Watched Fantasia 2000 last night. I actually saw it in theatres before I saw the original and haven't seen it since then. This time, I was suprised at how much it came up short (quite literally) of the 1940 predecessor. The Rhapsody in Blue and Firebird Suite sequences are the stand outs, but they can't begin to reach the creativity and sheer power of even the lesser sequences in Fantasia. I was left with a feeling that the movie was pandering to a mainstream families that have little appreciation of finer art and short attention spans - an audience I don't think they aquired anyway considering the box office reciepts.

[silentblu]

Originally Posted by johnns

Watched Fantasia 2000 last night. I actually saw it in theatres before I saw the original and haven't seen it since then. This time, I was suprised at how much it came up short (quite literally) of the 1940 predecessor. The Rhapsody in Blue and Firebird Suite sequences are the stand outs, but they can't begin to reach the creativity and sheer power of even the lesser sequences in Fantasia. I was left with a feeling that the movie was pandering to a mainstream families that have little appreciation of finer art and short attention spans - an audience I don't think they aquired anyway considering the box office reciepts.

I got that feeling too, especially watching it right after Fantasia. It had been awhile since I had watched either. To start 2000 we get whales flying through the sky. Then some of the choices for hosts threw things off, but eventually you get past it. With that said, Fantasia 2000 holds to the vision of Fantasia and that is probably what matters.

I liked what they did for Pomp & Circumstance. Had a nice laugh seeing the unicorn, dragon and wyvern laughing at everyone loading the boat. Also had a perfect ending.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I'll be generous and just assume the story is a telephone-wire bastardization of a true event - it wasn't Davis, Thomas, Johnston, and Kimball who refused to work on the Donald Duck version of Pomp and Circumstance...

The story came from one of the animators who worked on the Pomp and Circumstance animatic. I remember him saying the meeting was with Roy, but I might be misremembering- it might have been Eisner. Take it however you want, but I knew and worked with Marc Davis and heard his opinions of the modern Disney films. The story isn't out of character from what I heard Marc say with my own ears. He had plenty of good things to say about the artists, particularly Andreas Deja. But he had very little good to say about the films themselves. Of course the old guys were generally diplomatic in public. (Kimball excepted. He seems to have spoken his mind. I only met him once.)

[MelloFellow13]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

I watched Fantasia last night. I've felt it before and it's just been reinforced that it's by far the inferior of the two. I like the seasons bit, and Chernobog, and of course the Dukas. But...on the whole I find the rest of it a bit tedious. It doesn't help that the orchestra sounds really small and tinny--yes, I know it was a marvelous achievement for the time, but it still sounds bad. I say this as someone who loves and listens to lots of serious music. I like most of the musical choices (not a huge fan of Beethoven really, but I like the rest), and I find the Ave Maria bit pretty tedious. Perhaps because I'm not religious, I dunno.

I look forward to F2000, which I think was far more creative visually, and honestly had far better music. I'll take Elgar and Respighi (even chopped up Respighi) and Saint-Saens and Gershwin over Beethoven anyday.

I agree on all counts (including Ave Maria). I own over 20 SA-CDs and the F2K versions of Rhapsody in Blue and The Firebird might even be better than my SA-CD recordings.

And if you think a chopped up Pines of Rome is bad, I'd hate to hear what you think of the butchering Stokowski made of Rite of Spring. I actually studied Rite in school and it drives me insane since I have the whole thing practically memorized. Incredible work of art. Still, the visuals for Rite of Spring are great and save it for me, and Firebird is great on F2K.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by silentblu

I got that feeling too, especially watching it right after Fantasia. It had been awhile since I had watched either. To start 2000 we get whales flying through the sky. Then some of the choices for hosts threw things off, but eventually you get past it. With that said, Fantasia 2000 holds to the vision of Fantasia and that is probably what matters.

I liked what they did for Pomp & Circumstance. Had a nice laugh seeing the unicorn, dragon and wyvern laughing at everyone loading the boat. Also had a perfect ending.

Too short, though. Not to be a downer, I just think Fantasia 2000 feels a bit rushed. The inclusion of Destino helps the package considerably.