[.ca] Fantasia 2000 (Full Screen)

Amazon.com Essential Video:
More ambitious in scope than any of its other animated films (before or to come), Disney's 1940 Fantasia was a dizzying, magical, and highly enjoyable marriage of classical music and animated images. Fantasia 2000 features some breathtaking animation and storytelling, and in a few spots soars to wonderful high points, but it still more often than not has the feel of walking in its predecessor's footsteps as opposed to creating its own path. A family of whales swimming and soaring to Respighi's The Pines of Rome is magical to watch, but ends all too soon; a forest sprite's dance of life, death, and rebirth to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring too clearly echoes the original Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria sequence. But when it's on target, Fantasia 2000 is glorious enough to make you giddy. Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a perfect narrative set to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2, and Donald Duck's guest appearance as the assistant to Noah (of ark fame) set to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance marches is a welcome companion piece (though not an equal) to The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the one original Fantasia piece included here. The high point of Fantasia 2000, though, is a fantastic day-in-the-life sequence of 1930s New York City set to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and animated in the style of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld; it's a perfect melding of music, story, and animation. Let's hope future Fantasias (reportedly in the works) take a cue from the best of this compilation. The music is provided by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, interspersed with negligible intros by Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Itzhak Perlman, James Earl Jones, and others. --Mark Englehart

Wow!! So Many Words To Express What I Think!!:
At first I kind of thought it was annoying. 'Why do they always have to copy somthing that is such a beautiful thing?' But then I realized, that they did'nt push a side the old Fantasia, but they put it right infront of them and said: We have to be led by this. The goal was be as good as the first one was. And I must say: They actualy got there. They had a wonderful combination of diffarent styles of music, with diffarent types of graphics. Which what made it a wonderful thing to watch. Its just amazing. The people who worked on this movie are really really talented. It is very recommended, and worth watching.

Stravinsky's Firebird suite played like Wagner's Parsifal?:
Okay! Most of this film is outstanding. I liked the Pines of Rome sequence, the Steadfast Tin Soldier, and the Pomp and Circumstance as well as the others except for the Firebird. There are some things for me to complain about during that sequence. First of all, in my own opinion, Disney has been more incorrigible than he was with any other film of his. That Firebird moviette sounds like what Richard Wagner did when writing his Parsifal: Terrifying music where it does not belong, and contrasting it after so lovely a melody. All of the faster music, if very little, is terrifying for no good reason and places a terrifying character in a place where it does not belong. I think that Disney has hurt my feelings here. This part is more for fans of Wagner's Parsifal, which, also, has a hurtful mood.As I said, there's terrifying music even in the festive sections there too. Toward the end, instead of normal rejoicing, instead, I hear a small reprise of that terrifying Firebird Dance which goes right into a really strange kind of rejoicing, the kind when the music is so slow that it sounds more like romance. This is not a fight for triumph, this is just rejoicing in the mode of Wagner. Now I know why Wagner hated jews. He probably wanted to make rejoicing slower than what it normally is: bustle and jollity, but instead I get rejoicing in love song mode. On any of the other pieces on this video, Disney and Levine made more sense, but not here. Disney took Stravinsky like someone who hated jews and took bustle, jollity, and festivities in a slow tempo. That's not the Stravinsky I know. I hate to be rude, but next time James Levine conducts Stravinsky's Firebird suite, he should make the final section of the Finale sound faster than it was here. The tempo here should've sounded more like Claudio Abbado, Paavo Jarvi, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, or even Stravinsky himself. They all respect Stravinsky more than do Walt Disney and James Levine. A fast tempo is exactly what Stravinsky's Firebird Suite needs for the last section of the finale.

One of my favourites of all time!!:
This is a great movie..but maybe that is only becuase I love classical music. Although, the music was changed(butchered) to met the needs of time, the compilement of the music was fantastic. Yes, I watched the original Fantasia when I was little and thought it was great, but that doesn't mean that we must compare the original to this one! Yes, the segments were shorter, but jeez, come on, some of those segments in the original Fantasia were a bit too long and easily forgetful...i.e. Stravinsky "rite of spring" and Beethovens "Pastoral symphony." These segments are great ways for children to see something fun,discover the beauty of classical music, and even have a tender parent-child conversation about. This movie was made for the children of today(not adults), not of yesteryear, so stop griping about it. Personally my favourite segment is The Stedfast Tin Solider with Shostakovich's Piano Concerto 2, followed by Daisy and Donalds segment with Elgars Pomp and Circumstance..but they were all great!! As a person learning of the classical music genre, this film has helped me have points to jump off and do research and find music!

Great:
This is a great movie. There's great music, cool animation, a feast for all of your senses. It's really a wonderful and unique experience, different even from the first Fantasia. It may not be for everybody, though. On discerning reviewer (bra1n1ac) didn't care for it because there were famous actors doing the intros to the pieces. Of course, these ae talented professionals, but if you don't care for good performances then this moght not be for you. Bra1n1ac also claims that this film can never be a masterpiece, so I looked at his other reviews. He gave five stars to Scooby Doo: Zombie Island and Scooby Doo: The Witch's Ghost. I highly reccommend this movie to everyone, except maybe people who consider Scooby-Doo to be the ultimate animatoin masterpiece.

A great followup to a Disney classic.:
Alive with music and brilliant animation the new Fantasia2000 film is not an instant Disney classic but it is a definate must see. It is not as good as the original but it is just as vibrant and colorful. This film has something that the original did not have, celebrities. Steve Martin, Better Midler, and Angela Lansbury introduce some of the musical pieces. The animation is really beautiful to watch. I highly reccomend this film.