The Movie Diorama The animation studio only just started becoming popular back in 1940, and so did the medium of film. Moving pictures edited sequentially to create a cohesive story, it was an art form that remained questionable as to whether or not people would leave their houses. Walt Disney himself decided to push the boundaries by making Fantasia. Typically music accompany film however the "House of Mouse" decided to reverse it by crafting film to accompany music. Six short animations providing imagery for the orchestral pieces of music that power these pictures. Safe to say this was incredibly experiment. There's no dialogue (aside from Deems Taylor introducing each segment), just a symphony or classic pieces conducted by Leopold Stokowski. The concept immediately had me hooked for the first few segments. One consisting of a montage of famous pieces from Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker', Mickey Mouse returning in arguably the most memorable segment of the program titled 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' and from there we have multiple tonal changes with each segment. It's certainly something I've not seen before, and for that I have to give it credit. It truly does deserve the critical acclaim that is has garnered throughout the years. However, I found Fantasia to have a slight novelty factor that made the "film" repetitive. After the intermission, you start to realise that you have another three segments to go through which nothing new will be introduced. I became numb to the revolutionary concept. The animated shorts are pleasant to watch that both entranced and enthralled me, yet I just felt like something was missing. It wasn't a "film" more so just an experiment to prove that the idea works. It's clear it does, so the next step would be to create a fully fledged story that involves classical music where there is emotional investment and a sense of wonderment. Experimentalism at its finest that evokes whimsical magic boasted by a euphoric selection of classical pieces and beautifully hand drawn animation.

patboldt Fantasia is the greatest thing that Disney ever made, there I said it. We all praise Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, but for 2D animated films, Disney is most creative with Fantasia. It's wonderfully brilliant because if you think about it, it's one of the first AMVs to ever be made. It sets classical music to animation and manages to make wonderfully brilliant imagery. But its more than that, the music has three forms in Fantasia 1.) Music that tells a definite story, 2.) Music that paints definite pictures, and 3.) music that exists simply for its own sake. Fantasia is composed of eight orchestral pieces which I will list below. 1.) Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach 2.) Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 3.) The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas4.) Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky 5.) The Pastoral Symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven 6.) Dance of the Hours by Amilcare Ponchielli 7.) Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky 8.) Ave Maria by Franz Schubert One can love Fantasia purely because of the brilliant music but it's the beautiful imagery that really makes Fantasia stand out. So much of the life experience can be seen in these orchestrations because of how fantastically wonderful and yet mysterious it seems. Walt Disney really created something that was breath-taking in that he made something that added beauty to the life experience. Disney is known for being great at adapting stories: taking a story that we already know and adding a new take on it. The illusion is that Disney is creating new stories, which just isn't the case most of the time. However, with that said, Fantasia is something that is completely original because they're adding visuals to musical compositions. You can't adapt that, it has to be created and Disney really goes above and beyond with it. Fantasia is beauty incarnate, there is no better way to describe it. Watching Fantasia is a truly indescribable experience. It's wonder, it's joy, it's sadness, it's mystery, it's fear, but most of all it's magic, and it remains my favorite Disney piece. Fantasia truly is magnificent and will be remembered for all time.

gea-79784 I thoroughly enjoyed Fantasia. I didn't know what i was getting myself into when i watched it, but I'm happy did. Fantasia is just such an exciting and creative idea, taking pieces of classic music and use that music to animate a film that goes along with the music perfectly. My favorite of the bunch was the segment that went through evolution on earth up to the extinction of the dinosaurs. It was just so cool how they did it and the music is amazing performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. The one segment about Mickey Mouse being an apprentice to a sorcerer is just an iconic part of Disney. I still have mickeys wizard hat from Disney i got when vacationing as a kid. Fantasia is a masterpiece that i enjoyed from beginning to end.

utgard14 Disney classic that I've always respected but have only come to really enjoy in the last ten years or so. When I was a kid, I found it a little on the dull side. It's a series of animated short stories set to classical music. It's hosted by composer and music critic Deems Taylor, whose monotone delivery and severe charisma deficiency tends to dry things out and, I think, hurts the pacing some. In my opinion, taking him out altogether would only improve the film but others may disagree.Of the stories, the best are Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria, The Pastoral Symphony, Rite of Spring, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Dance of the Hours. The other segments are all slight but enjoyable. There isn't a bad segment in this, unless we count the forgettable intermission.This is not for all tastes, obviously. It's longer than need be and perhaps a bit boring for younger children. Still, there's no harm in trying to make them watch it. Maybe they'll love it. Even if they don't, I'm sure most adults with taste will. It's a beautiful work of art, regardless of the minor nitpicks I talked about earlier. The animation and combination of music and poetic imagery is just gorgeous. Given when this came out it's all the more impressive. Definitely worth a look, for Disney buffs and really for everyone.