Stick to the Original

First of all, the three star rating applies to this boxed set, not to the groundbreaking original Fantasia, which overshadows virtually every animated feature created before or since. Including those of the Disney studios. What makes this film so special is how it calls attention to the art form itself, and acknowledges it as such, rather than using it as a medium merely to convey a story contrived to justify its existence. Art and music justify themselves quite nicely; this, if anything, is the message of Fantasia, making it the most artistically noble work Disney ever produced.

That being stated, one viewing of the studio's follow up, Fantasia 2000, conveys the message that the creators' hearts weren't quite in it in the same way. The celebrity-hosted introductions are trite, superficial, flippant and at times plain dumb. All the musical pieces are very abbreviated, almost to the point of butchery, as if the producers feared the audiences would not be able to stay interested in more lengthy classical work. To be fair, the section that most resembles a labor of love is "Rhapsody in Blue", a multi-character study of people seeking fulfillment in the hectic push of city life. That could have well stood on its own as a short. On the other hand, the computer animation utilized (most obviously in "Pines of Rome" and "Steadfast Tin Soldier"/ Shostokovich's Piano Concerto #2) is standard fare at best, not anything one could call groundbreaking. Beethoven's Symphony #5 is used in an attempt to recall the "absolute music" abstractions done in the original to Bach's Toccata & Fugue; it ends up looking like some pretty butterflies trying to escape from evil bats. Stravinsky's beautiful "Firebird" is about as stripped down as possible, and accompanies a would-be ecological fable of a wood sprite who generates life and a menacing volcano who threatens it. The piece shows much Anime' influence, with a tad less originality than we have seen in that form. And then you have a reprise of "The Sorceror's Apprentice", which is already included on the first disc, so there's no real point in watching it. The "Carnival of the Animals" section recalls "Dance of the Hours" from Fantasia #1, and is fairly amusing but is over before you know it. And then there's the Donald Duck/Noah's Ark/Pomp & Circumstances ..... you do the math. Let the kids watch it, and fix something to eat.

Okay, so there are supplemental materials. I haven't waded through all of those yet, to be honest, but in one of the few I've seen they talk about how the Disney studios negotiated with Igor Stavinsky (who was alive at the time) for the use of his Rite of Spring in the original. He is quoted as saying the film was true to his vision. That is so not true: he disagreed with how his work was rearranged, and claims their vision of it involved "a dangerous misunderstanding" (quoted from the liner notes of a recording conducted by the composer). The piece was used in that form anyway, because it was not controlled by U.S. copyright laws. Hey, business was business, even in the cause of art. Needless to say, for those who really care about symphonic music, such false information could very well sound a sour note.

The original Fantasia, with its limitations of the times and the liberties it took with the classics, is still to be praised as a daring, groundbreaking, magical film. The closest anyone came to equaling it was Bruno Bosetto's quasi-satirical "Allegro Non Troppo" (which did up a better serving of "The Firebird" than F-2000, by the way), a film well-deserving of DVD release. This viewer's advice: Put that bulky box back on the shelf and be plenty satisfied with a pristine (artifacts and all) digital transfer of the one-and-only Fantasia '41. It stands well on its own.

A Work of Art

Fantasia is a very unique creation, there has never been another movie quite like it, before or since, and I think it's safe to say there never will be. Disney took a risk with creating something so dfferent from the norm; most of the American public is not likely to sit and listen to classical music for two hours, or watch a movie with no words. However, it was a very worthwhile risk, as Fantasia is a beautiful work of art, and has become a classic.
There is a certain captivating magic when the incredible sounds of the world's best musicians combine with the dazzling sights of the world's best animators. The imagery is full of fantasy, rich color, and graceful beauty. It's impossible not to be dazzled as the music washes over you, and you watch the stories of each of these little worlds unfold.

Misleading box, but it's still a masterpiece.

First, go click on the picture of the box so you can see a larger image. See how it says "Walt Disney's Original Uncut Version" at the bottom? Well, it's not. No, one scene in Fantasia was edited for every single home release as far as I know. It's in the scene "The Pastoral Symphony". When the female centaurs are getting all prettied up and ready for the male centaurs, you'll notice a very fuzzy extreme close up on one of them. What's going on in this scene? There's a black skinned centaur named Sunflower helping that one out. Go do a search for "Disney Sunflower Snopes" and it should show up. Why does Disney do this? Kids watching that part aren't really going to have any racist thoughts regarding the scene, or become a KKK member or anything after watching it. But there you have it, this isn't really "uncut" because of that. And this only enforces that there's a high chance of Disney not releasing Song of the South anytime soon. And this is a shame that they're going so P.C. that we're never going to be allowed to see how everything was originally released. If they can put out the Treasure tin sets, which have a lot of Asian and Spanish stereotypes, why is there such a problem with Song of the South and a black centaur?

Other than that, Fantasia is a masterpiece. While it didn't really help Disney out much financially, the animation that accompanies the music is flawless. You really admire the artists that worked on each short. While it took hundreds to work on one piece at a time, now it'd only take a couple of guys on a computer with the latest animation software a few days. It's funny that most of this looks better than a lot of recent Disney films. The colors, smoothness of the animation, and how it blends with the music is just breath taking.

The picture is as good as you're going to get for a movie this old. There's very little grain and dust on the print, and you'll hardly notice it with all the beauty on-screen. The audio is crisp and clear, so go nuts turning it up.

The special features are ok. The commentary is made up of interviews and clips from Walt and others. When some people speak on it, there's a little bit of static, which doesn't matter since it's taken from an early source. It's not going to interfere with hearing anything they say, but I just thought I'd mention it. It's still a very interesting commentary track. I listen to it from time to time and always learn something new. The documentary is pretty cool too, though a lot of it I've already heard from other Disney specials and such. If you want the real goods as far as extras go, get the Fantasia Anthology edition. The third disc on that sucker is amazing.

So if you're really expecting the "uncut" version, you'll be disappointed. I doubt it'll ever be released unless somehow Leonard Maltin can get that put out too. I mean, if he can get the Donald Nazi short put out in the newest wave of Disney Treasures, he's gotta have SOME chance of giving us the original Fantasia. Pick this up before it's out of print for another 10 years. It's a film to pass down the generations.