Fantasia 2000

 

Release Date: January 1, 2000

Watch Date: February 27, 2023

"Inspired by Walt Disney's vision of the original Fantasia as a work-in-progress, Fantasia 2000 continues that vision in a creative blend of classical music and the latest animated imagery, featuring 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' and seven new sequences. See whales soar through the clouds and into space in 'Pines of Rome'; laugh with a flock of flamingos as they try to persuade one of their own to behave in 'The Carnival of the Animals'; urge on Donald Duck, as Noah's assistant, trying to get animals into the ark in 'Pomp and Circumstance'; and root for four 1930s New Yorkers wishing for a better life in 'Rhapsody in Blue.' With technological tools and innovations that blend traditional animation with modern flair, this is a feast for your eyes, ears and heart."

    I did not like Fantasia. Bob did not like Fantasia. This is not a secret. We're not fans, and if we never watch it again, it'll be too soon.

    So why, why, did Bob choose to pick this as one of his films? Apparently, it was so that he wouldn't have to be dreading it for the rest of this marathon, having it looming over his head, a fate he would be marching towards for years. So we're here now, and we watched it, and what is there to say about it?

    I enjoyed it more than the first Fantasia. Maybe it's the lack of racism and the increase in whales - I love marine mammals and if you have something with them in it then it's far more likely to be a win in my books. Maybe it's the random celebrity appearances. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but it's just...better? I could see how you could love both, or prefer the first Fantasia to this one, I just don't.

    Because it's a movie in the early, the earliest you can get really, 2000s, they did of course incorporate some CGI into the mix alongside the traditional animation and it's not...terrible? There are moments that don't age well, but sometimes it flows seamlessly from one art style to the other. I don't hold any technological hiccoughs against them though, because look, the technology was new, and if you don't take risks and perform experiments like this - especially in an art piece like this - when are you going to, and how is the tech going to improve? Besides, there's no way that when this first came out it didn't look outstanding, and it's only in retrospect that you see a few bumps along the way.

    There's a cute way, using Mickey, to connect the old Fantasia with the new, and I quite enjoyed that, because Mickey interacting with the conductor for all of five seconds in the first one was probably my favorite part. Now, does it lead into a telling of Noah's Ark, probably as a tribute to the fact that the first Fantasia had a heavily religious song, and so should this one? Yes. Did I enjoy the Noah's Ark as much as 'Night on Bald Mountain'? No. But I bet there are lots of people who do, it's cute and charming, and Donald Duck is the best Disney character, and no you will never change my mind on that.

    All in all, I'm still not a huge fan of the Fantasia franchise, but since it doesn't seem likely we'll get another one until at least the year 3000, I can't fault it too much. Disney wants to do something experimental and artsy every once and awhile and Fantasia gives them the license to do that. I can only that by stretching their legs in such a way in shakes out some cobwebs, because why not mix metaphors, and gets us some brilliant more traditional Disney films afterwards. 

    But we're not at that point in the marathon yet, so I guess we'll see.