Fantasia (Walt Disney's Masterpiece)

This movie was clearly way ahead of its time when it was released in the early 1940s and I'm not surprised that it was a box-office flop at that time as it struck me while watching this that this must be the "Sgt. Pepper's" of animation at that time. Another major reason for the lack of success was that the logistics of the times were not up to scratch as few theatres were equiped with stereophonic sound and probably fewer audiences still were able to stand what amounts to more than 2 hours of a collection of music videos and yet it's unmistakeable that this is simply a work of art and this movie alone convinced me that Walt Disney was a genius. Some of the scenes were like Mickey on an acid trip and this movie was clearly targeted at an adult audience more so than say a "Snow White" was clearly targeted at kids. I thoroughly enjoyed these classical music MTVs except for Bach's "Toccata and Fugue In D Minor" which was arranged for orchestra by Stokowski instead of in the original solo pipe organ arrangement which would have been better and the "Meet the Soundtrack" segment both of which should have been left off and would not have been missed. The rest of the videos though were excellent and I found myself better appreciating the original compositions when listened together with the brilliant animation that although is almost 70 years old now still looks very impressive to me although I'm sure the brilliant digital restoration had a large part to play in it as well. My favourite was the Beethoven 6th Symphony video with Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" coming in a close second. Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" video was charming too and Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" was just hilarious! The "Night On Bald Mountain" video was chilling and would give any death metal video ala the band Death a good run for its money in terms of scare value too. What I really liked the best about this DVD though is the brilliant sound quality with Dolby Digital, DTS Surround Sound in 5.0 channels with THX quality which makes it better for me to listen to the classical music tracks off the DVD than off my cds on my high end stereo! The picture quality has been restored very well too and so the minor imperfections were few and far between and you really had to look real hard to find them. The special features were a real treat too with the featurette "The Making of Fantasia" the standout item there. Great picture and sound quality and brilliant content make this my best and favourite music video DVD and to think this was decades before MTV and much, much better too. Highly recommended!

I don't know whatever happened to my other copy, but it's awesome to have it now on Blu-ray!! Fast shipping in time for my son to get this as a Xmas gift!! My children and I love this movie and the music actually inspired my son to start playing the violin and clarinet.

This remastered version of the 1940 original is well worth the money. The visuals and the music are both outstanding.

if you are a fan, you will love it...again

THERE HAD NEVER BEEN A MOVIE LIKE THIS AT THE TIME. IT CAME OUT A COUPLE OF YEARS AFTER I WAS BORN, MY BROTHER WANTED TO SEE IT. I WAS TOO YOUNG, BUT REMEMBER HIS KNOWING ABOUT IT....SO I WAS MAYBE THREE OR FOUR. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTIRELY TOO YOUNG TO VIEW PARTS OF IT. LUCKILY, I DID NOT SEE IT TILL I WAS AN ADULT....WELL, I AM NEARLY 76, AND WAS TAKEN SHRIEKING FROM THE THEATRE AFTER THEY TOOK THE TWO OF US KIDS TO SEE SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. I NEVER FORGOT SEEING THE QUEEN ONSCREEN, CHANGING INTO HER WITCH-PERSON. ON A BIG SCREEN, THIS WAS TERRIFYING. I MENTION THIS, BECAUSE TODAY'S CHILDREN ARE STILL CHILDREN FIRST. THEY NEED TO BE PREPARED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REALITY AND IMAGINATION UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. WE THOUGHT THAT "LOST IN SPACE" TV SHOW...WAY BACK IN BLACK-AND-WHITE-TV DAYS....A LOW-BUDGET, LAUGHABLE THING NOW....WELL, WE THOUGHT OUR LITTLE THREE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WOULD ENJOY IT ALSO. ONLY YEARS LATER DID WE ASK HER WHY SHE WOULD LEAVE HER ROOM AND SLEEP BEHIND THE SOFA, ALL HUDDLED UP WITH NO BLANKET. WE WOULD FIND HER IN THE MORNING. SHE SAID THAT SHE DID NOT WANT TO BOTHER ANYBODY, BUT THAT THERE WERE "CREATURES" IN HER ROOM, SO SHE JUST LEFT! MY HEAVENS! WHAT DID WE, BOTH DEGREED EDUCATORS NOT THINK THROUGH! SO: WHILE FANTASIA - THE ORIGINAL - IS INCREDIBLE AND WONDERFUL AND FANTASTIC, IT MIGHT BE WISE TO DECIDE BY FIRST VIEWING THIS, AS TO HOW TO PREPARE ANY OF YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE THEY SEE IT. "NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN," AND "THE RITE OF SPRING," ARE BOTH ADULT FARE. TOTALLY ADULT. AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SOMEWHAT SOPHISTICATED MIND TO UNDERSTAND THESE. THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL FILMS EVER MADE, WITH SPLENDID MUSIC, OF COURSE. IT SHOULD BE APPRECIATED BY EVERY PERSON. THE TSCHAIKOVSKY "NUTCRACKER SUITE," WITH LITTLE MUSHROOMS CIRCLING AROUND, THE "DANCE OF THE HOURS," WITH A HIPPOPOTAMUS IN A TUTU AND AN ALLIGATOR AS THE ASSISTING MALE....(PLOP!) WELL, THE ENTIRE THING IS JUST TERRIFIC. A HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND JUST TOLD ME RECENTLY THAT SHE WAS TERRIFIED OF "THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE" WITH MICKEY MOUSE. THE MUSIC FRIGHTENED HER AND THE UNENDING LINE OF BROOMS. I THOUGHT IT WORTHWHILE TO GO INTO THIS MUCH DETAIL. KIDS LOVE HARRY POTTER. BUT NO KID SHOULD BE VIEWING SWEENEY TODD. SO USE DISCRETION AND MONITOR WHAT PARTS YOUNG CHILDREN SEE AND SAVE THE REST FOR LATER......MAYBE HANG ON TO THE DVD AND NOT HAVE IT AVAILABLE IF YOU HAVE VARIOUS AGES OF CHILDREN.....YOU SHOULD, AS A PARENT, ALWAYS WANT WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR KIDS, RIGHT? AN INVALUABLE FILM BUT FOR THE RIGHT AGES OF THE VIEWERS. NANCY MORSE

I had been wanting to see Fantasia for quite some time. I finally took the plunge and ordered the Blu-Ray version and was thoroughly delighted. I thought it was not only innovative but absolutely brilliant. I caught myself laughing out loud many times, then wondering how such a movie could be made at a time when there was no CGI. Minds far more creative than mine went into these sublime scenes. I was especially happy find out a portion of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale" was included (my favorite Beethoven symphony) .I watched it just last night 6/25/25 and may just watch it again in the next night or two. 10 stars!

recomendo el vendedor. por lo demàs fantasia es un clasico que cautivará incluso lo màs pequeños (< 2 años), con la allianza de la musica y las animaciones. encantó el baile de los cocodrilos y el de las setas ;) EDITO : después de 2 años tengo que reconocer que no tuvo el éxito esperado, especialmente por las largas explicaciones y la falta de un hilo conductor entre las escenas que no sea solo los grandes clásicos de la música clásica. No lo aconsejo para niños demasiados pequeños.

Classical music mixed with art and a little bit of culture equals the indescribable delight that is Fantasia! With each sequence given an introduction by host Deems Taylor, the music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, and the animation synchronized with each note and beat, there's nothing bad to say about this film. Walt Disney's choice in the musical pieces used for this picture truly show that he was quite a knowledgeable and creative man. The selected musical pieces used in Fantasia include Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, the famous Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas, Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, Dance of the Hours by Amilcare Ponchielli, Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky, and the closing piece of Ave Maria by Franz Schubert. The 60th anniversary version of this film, which is the version I got, has a behind-the-scenes look into the making of Fantasia which includes never before seen clips of Walt Disney himself talking about the efforts that went into making the movie, as well as old animators who worked for the big man sharing their thoughts and experiences as they contributed to its creation. For those who love Disney and classical music, this movie is a must have!

ファンタジアのミッキーが大好きな私にはたまりません！

Brilliant idea. Classical concert (including 15 min interval!!). Visual effects reflecting thoughts going through mind while watching.

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