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The Fantasia Anthology

The Fantasia Anthology

List Price: $69.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superb sound quality, and a delight for my 2 toddlers
Review: The sound quality is amazing! You need a good high-end system with a high-quality decoder (not the one included in your DVD Player) to really hear how good this recording is!

My two sons just love it, Classical music combined with the annimated movie is a magic mix! Both of them are really captivated during on all the tracks but the last two.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: DTS Problems
Review: What's up with the crackling sound in the left surround speaker when in DTS mode? Am I the only one with this problem?

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I hate being misled
Review: Advertised as "Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.0..", the sound here is in stereo only.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantasia Flies
Review: For the first time ever, Fantasia is available on DVD in a special, uncut edition! Restored and remastered, this special 60th anniversary DVD truly captures Walt Disney's unique inspiration - complete with the intermission and narration - which have not been included in the film since its original theatrical release! Fantasia created the mold for blending music and movie magic into an exhilarating movie-going experience. Unforgettable images are brought to life by some of the world's best music - the comedy of Mickey Mouse as a troublemaking sorcerer's apprentice, the beauty of winged fairies and cascading snowflakes, even plump hippos performing ballet in tutus!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic! DVD does not get better than this...
Review: Well it seems that some people are disappointed with Disney's three disc box set, but to be honest I really can't see why. Quite simply, this is as in-depth and as stunning as DVD can get really.

Apart from the fact that both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are two of the best animated films ever made, the sheer quality of the discs had my jaw dropping to the floor on numerous occassions. Not only are we presented with THX sound, Dolby Digital and DTS which will give anybody's sound system a good working out, but the clarity of the picture is in all honesty the best I've ever seen on DVD so far.

For a film that's 60 years old, the quality of the print for Fantasia is especially impressive, with nearly every sequence full of lavish, deep colours that never fail to impress. It proves that with enough work, a film even this old can still look stunning today. Even the soundtrack comes across as powerful, although naturally the digitally recorded sound of it's successor simply blows the original out of the water.

Indeed, Fantasia 2000 is just as impressive as the original, even if it's far shorter in running time. As for the DVD, well I am being totally honest here when I say that it reduced me to tears on several occassions, particulary in the power of the quite superb classical music used. I may only have a Dolby Pro Logic sound system, but never, and I mean never has it produced quite as startling power before. The climax of Respighi's wonderful Pines Of Rome had my front room full of sweeping, majestic emotions, matched only by Stravinsky's awesome The Firebird, where my subwoofer exploded into the kind of life I thought it didn't possess. Amazing.

So, THE FANTASIA ANTHOLOGY is quirte possibly the finest DVD project ever produced. Crammed full of extras which will take an age to get through, it's quite simply unmissable for any movie fan.

Finally, a note to people thinking of buying the Region 2 version of this set - don't! If you're player can play Region 1 discs, this version has extra features not on the Region 2 version. None of the commentaries are on Region 2, and it also lacks THX or DTS!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Fantasia
Review: This is the perfect Fantasia DVD. I know some poeple did not like it going straight back to the menu after the last frame of Ave Maria. Thats how the film ended. It faded right out after Ave Maria. The credits were added later (Its so obvious and the people walking off stage must have been taken from the intermission scene.) And no that is not Deems Taylor voice. The original audio stems have been long lost. Anyway this is the best Fantasia. I mean the sound is excellent, the picture is superb. I mean you can make out people's face in the orchestra. If you have a two input televion, and the old and new release, have them both at the same spot paused. Then go htrough the input and make a comparison. What a difference. I;'m very glad I did not have to wait until I had kids before they released this. This is excellent.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fantasia worthy, but not fantastic
Review: Sixty years ago, Fantasia offered to the public something extraordinary: the world's first music videos of great classic music. Panned by the public desiring another "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", Fantasia lingered on in Walt Disney's originial vision; it being a continuing series updated and reupdated through the years. Finally succeeding with this vision, in comes the powerhouse Fantasia 2000. After seeing it in the theater, and nearly moved to tears at some of the segments, I eagerly awaited the Disney DVD release of both.

My anticipation has exceeded the actual product in some ways. After spending literally hours searching through the rich and excellent "Ultimate Toy Box: Toy Story and Toy Story 2", a bar had been set by that release. In my fair opinion, Fantasia strives towards that, but doesn't quite reach it. While Pixar seems to provide the public with what it wants in a DVD release, Disney still seems to struggle with giving away everything, making a good release, but not extraordinary, as the Fantasia series demands. After all, it's Disney who still proudly lists as an extra feature item on DVDs, "decorative artwork on DVD". Please.

Don't get me wrong, this set is loaded with goodies. Outtakes from the originial, interviews with the animators, and running commentaries all add to the enjoyment of the movies. I spent more time with the actual movie DVDs then with the supplmental disc, which I found a bit lacking and uninteresting in a way. My favorite segment in 2000 was the "Rhapsody in Blue", and was fascinated with the development and story behind it, but cannot imagine returning to view that again as I have with other DVDs.

A longtime Disney fan, I probably come to expect more from this innovative company than the average consumer, thus the basis of my review. But I do believe they can give the public more with their DVD releases, which would only aid us in falling in love with their movies more.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Disney at it's prime, unfortunatly not all of the time!
Review: I've expected a lot from these 3 DVD's but after viewing 'em all I was a bit dissapointed.

The first DVD: Fantasia is still beautifull ;) but the extra features on the DVD were almost non-existent. Nevertheless a price to own on DVD.

The Second DVD: Fantasia 2000 was rather dissapointing in it's overall aspect. The movie approx. 68 mins is about half the original Fantasia's length. 1 Feature shows the original The Apprentice. There was only 1 Feature I loved but that one was worth the DVD! ;) There were many extra features but not impressive..

The third DVD: Fantasia Legacy well... it has to be examined closer. Excessive features but from as far as I've seen: not easy accessible.

If you don't own the orginal Fantasia (it's the 60th anniversery version) on DVD yet, well buy that box. If you do own it, well then it's up to you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 60th anniversary disc: something added, something taken away
Review: I have an old VHS version of the original Fantasia, and decided to buy the 60th anniversary edition to replace it. The musical segments are wonderful of course, but I have two items to mention. The first thing I noticed is that the Deems Taylor voice is different. As I have read in another review, it turns out that another voice has been dubbed over Deem's voice because not all the original audio could be found for the restoration. Not a very serious concern since you are watching it for the musical parts. The second item, and the one I cannot understand, is why the theatrical trailer has been cut from this disc. After the last frame of "Ave Maria", the movie cuts back to the DVD main menu. What happened to the trailer with the orchestra members walking off and the scrolling screen credits? I feel this is just as much a part of the movie as all the rest. It is a rather jarring juxtaposition to go so quickly from the music to the menu if you are used to seeing the trailer. I see from the description of the 3-disc anthology (which I haven't seen) that it is included on that disc, so I don't understand why isn't it on this one. Maybe Disney is trying to punish me for not buying the fifty dollar boxed set. Consider this disc a mixed blessing. The music is better than ever, but a disappointing and senseless cut makes the disc less than it could have been.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fatasia is Beautiful - Even Better on DVD!
Review: I saw Fantasia 2000 before a saw the original. And I love both of them, but I think I love the original just a little bit more. After I saw 2000, I wanted to go buy the original. But it wasn't around. When I found out it was coming out on DVD, I rushed out to buy it. The "Making of Fantasia" feature is great!

1. Toccata & Fugue - Rousing music, good choice for opening. But I'm not a big fan of abstract animation.

2. Nutcraker Suite - Although most people like the Sorcorer's Apprentice best, I like this one the best. The music is so catchy! This peice's fantasy characters make me feel like a little kid again.

3. The Sorcorer's Apprentice - Ummm . . . Its O.K. Its good to own since its hisotric in Micky Mouse history.

4. Rite of Spring - This segment rocked! Why doesn't anyone like it? If featured breakthrough technology for the '40s! And the dinosaurs were so accurately drawn according to science at that time!

5. Intermission & Sound Track - Was this stuff necisary?

6. Pastoral Symphony - Great music, mythological characters. I guess it depends on your conscience for wether or not to like this one.

7. Dance of the Hours - LOL! This piece was great! I never knew Fantasia had the "Camp Granada" song! And the hippos and croc are so cool!

8. Night on Bald Mountain - Disney went overboard on this one. It's pretty demonic. It's up to you one wether to watch that one or not. I know he wanted the biggest battle of good vs. but this was too much.

9. Ava Maria - Kinda hokey and religous. It's alright. but the multi-plain camera was put to good use.


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