Fantasia 2000

It's a reworking and remaking of the classic Disney Fantasia. The first superior aspect of this one compared to the original is the shorter length. Not all of it works but it works well enough to be compelling throughout. I love the George Gershwin section. It is obviously NYC but I also love the 1930s era. I love the animation style. I couldn't stop smiling and it has some great laughs. There is the redo of Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It looks a little brighter without taking away the animation style. Donald Duck in Noah's Ark is funny. Overall, there are some slower sections but I just love the Gershwin section so much.

Top quality animation and a sense of humour make this sequel/add-on a formidable animated movie in its own right. The running time of 74 minutes is a bit of a let-down. I would have liked to have seen more pieces and more imagination. And be warned, The Sorcerer's Apprentice remains. As this was the original's ONLY real selling point they decided to stick it back in there, so you're really only get just over an hours worth of new footage. Which feels like a bit of a rip-off.

But my favorite segment is the one with Donald Duck, in fact they were all cool, especially the one with the volcano. The music matches the story perfectly and it has some truly beautiful animation. Far superior to those ugly CGI crap we get these days. And the TV show style introductions were more watchable than the dubbed Deems Taylor segments in the original.

This was the first animated movie to be made for IMAX screens and the digital picture is amazing. See this preferably on an IMAX screen or on DVD. Watching it on VHS would only insult the brilliant animation. It's sad that Disney has abandoned traditional hand-drawn animation for theatrical projects. It's what the studio was built on after all. But Disney is shadow of its former self, we all know that.

Just as good as the original Fantasia, but loses points for not being longer and more ambitious.

The celebrity hosts spoiled it for me. The animation and the music are gorgeous; hosts were unnecessary. Walt Disney didn't bother having Clark Gable or Rita Hayworth host the original.

"Fantasia 2000" is a beautiful sequel of the classic animation "Fantasia" (1940). The conductor is James Levine and each segment is introduced by the actor Steve Martin, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, the actress Bette Midler, the entertainer Penn & Teller, the actor James Earl Jones, the conductor Quincy Jones and the actress Angela Lansbury. The audio is in DTS and THX and the program is the following:

(1) Symphony No. 5 in C minor-I. Allegro con brio, by Ludwig van Beethoven.

(2) Pines of Rome, by Ottorino Respighi.

(3) Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin.

(4) Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro, by Dmitri Shostakovich.

(5) The Carnival of the Animals, Finale, by Camille Saint-Saëns.

(6) The Sorcerer's Apprentice, by Paul Dukas.

(7) Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4, by Edward Elgar.

(8) Firebird Suite – 1919 Version, by Igor Stravinsky.

My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Fantasia 2000"

We had two kids at home and I went to rent to one thinking it was a typical Disney movie. I was wrong, but the kids still liked it.

I was surprise by the musical choice in this one. Great classical pieces. And the animation is very well done. Some segments better than others.

I got to see this one on a regular tv-set, but I guess you should try to see it on an IMAX screen, or at least a cinema screen.

Out of 100, I gave it 81. That's good for *** out of ****.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on June 15th, 2002.