Fantasia 2000

The original idea behind Fantasia was a film that contained animated shorts set to classical music.  Then every few years they would rerelease it with the less popular shorts removed and new ones put in their place.  The idea is interesting as eventually you should have a great set of shorts.  But the second iteration did not come until 2000.

The idea to make the sequel came from Roy Disney after Michael Eisner took over as CEO.  I would speculate it was a way to try and bring some of the original Walt ideas back into the company so that Eisner felt like the right fit.

Just like the original idea, Fantasia 2000 contained a short from the original.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice remains in this version of Fantasia and with it only being a few minutes long does not take away from the experience of needing new shorts.  In fact I think a second short from the original might have been a good idea as well.

This being another anthology film there are good parts and bad.  I personally like Symphony No. 5, The Carnival of the Animals, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Pomp and Circumstance.  I felt these had good visuals, good stories, humor, fun, and great music.

There are many different styles in this film, as expected.  I feel like they tried to be varied and represent some classic art styles.  They picked great pieces of music and some good celebrities of the time to introduce them.  Overall, I feel this was a better effort than the original, but at the same time it does not have those iconic scenes that many people associate with Fantasia.  There are no hippos in tutus or dancing flowers.  Instead, we are given better stories, better art, but not many people cherish Donald acting out the story of Noah’s Ark.

Run Time – 74 Minutes

73rd Academy Awards – 0 Nominations

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Beauty and the Beast 9-29-1991

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 6-21-1996

3. Lady and the Tramp 6-22-1955

4. Aladdin 11-25-1992

5. Tarzan 6-18-1999

6. Mulan 6-19-1998

7. Peter Pan 2-5-1953

8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 3-11-1977

9. One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1-25-1961

10. The Lion King 6-15-1994

11. Hercules 6-13-1997

12. Dumbo 10-23-1941

13. The Fox and the Hound 7-10-1981

14. Oliver and Company 11-18-1988

15. Cinderella 2-15-1950

16. The Little Mermaid 11-17-1989

17. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

18. Sleeping Beauty 1-29-1959

19. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 10-5-1949

20. The Jungle Book 10-18-1967

21. The Great Mouse Detective 7-2-1986

22. Fantasia 2000 6-16-2000

23. Robin Hood 11-8-1973

24. The Rescuers Down Under 11-16-1990

25. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

26. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

27. Dinosaur 5-19-2000

28. The Aristocats 12-11-1970

29. Pocahontas 6-23-1995

30. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

31. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

32. The Sword in the Stone 12-25-1963

33. The Rescuers 6-22-1977

34. Alice in Wonderland 7-26-1951

35. The Black Cauldron 7-24-1985

36. Melody Time 5-27-1948

37. Bambi 8-13-1942

38. Fantasia 11-13-1940

39. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944