Rating: 
Summary: Finally, a glimpse into history
Review: The Disney studio has finally done the Old Master justice. Most of the studio's ambitious efforts on DVD to this point have focused on the new works, conceived and created long after the death of Walt Disney. With the Fantasia Anthology, the studio's history begins to come alive, and to hear and see participants of that history, including Mr. Disney himself, is a treasure in itself. Considering all the archive footage available - especially from the original Disneyland television series - it is hard to understand why we haven't been afforded a deeper look into the films already available on DVD, including Lady and the Tramp and Pinocchio. This three-disc anthology does just that, giving us a chance to see Disney's pride in the original film's creation and then his disappointment in its failure to enchant the public. But was it really failure? As we're told here, much of the failure was because of the lack of technology available in neighborhood movie theaters of the 1940s. Background material, interviews, peaks into the filming process, sequences that were filmed and cut, and sequences that made it only to the planning stages - all are included here and are much appreciated. We learn why and how Mr. Disney proposed and created a marriage of classical music and motion pictures. Fantasia is remarkable film, and is offered here, for the first time on video, in its original road show format. Fantasia 2000 is highly entertaining and shows with great clarity the advances in sight and sound afforded by time and technology. The third disc, Fantasia Legacy, ties it all together for the true fans of the DVD format and movies in general. The reproduction is remarkable. The sound quality is outstanding. Fantasia Anthology is a fantastic bargain and a welcome addition to any DVD library.
Rating: 
Summary: Stick to the Original
Review: First of all, the three star rating applies to this boxed set, not to the groundbreaking original Fantasia, which overshadows virtually every animated feature created before or since. Including those of the Disney studios. What makes this film so special is how it calls attention to the art form itself, and acknowledges it as such, rather than using it as a medium merely to convey a story contrived to justify its existence. Art and music justify themselves quite nicely; this, if anything, is the message of Fantasia, making it the most artistically noble work Disney ever produced.That being stated, one viewing of the studio's follow up, Fantasia 2000, conveys the message that the creators' hearts weren't quite in it in the same way. The celebrity-hosted introductions are trite, superficial, flippant and at times plain dumb. All the musical pieces are very abbreviated, almost to the point of butchery, as if the producers feared the audiences would not be able to stay interested in more lengthy classical work. To be fair, the section that most resembles a labor of love is "Rhapsody in Blue", a multi-character study of people seeking fulfillment in the hectic push of city life. That could have well stood on its own as a short. On the other hand, the computer animation utilized (most obviously in "Pines of Rome" and "Steadfast Tin Soldier"/ Shostokovich's Piano Concerto #2) is standard fare at best, not anything one could call groundbreaking. Beethoven's Symphony #5 is used in an attempt to recall the "absolute music" abstractions done in the original to Bach's Toccata & Fugue; it ends up looking like some pretty butterflies trying to escape from evil bats. Stravinsky's beautiful "Firebird" is about as stripped down as possible, and accompanies a would-be ecological fable of a wood sprite who generates life and a menacing volcano who threatens it. The piece shows much Anime' influence, with a tad less originality than we have seen in that form. And then you have a reprise of "The Sorceror's Apprentice", which is already included on the first disc, so there's no real point in watching it. The "Carnival of the Animals" section recalls "Dance of the Hours" from Fantasia #1, and is fairly amusing but is over before you know it. And then there's the Donald Duck/Noah's Ark/Pomp & Circumstances ..... you do the math. Let the kids watch it, and fix something to eat. Okay, so there are supplemental materials. I haven't waded through all of those yet, to be honest, but in one of the few I've seen they talk about how the Disney studios negotiated with Igor Stavinsky (who was alive at the time) for the use of his Rite of Spring in the original. He is quoted as saying the film was true to his vision. That is so not true: he disagreed with how his work was rearranged, and claims their vision of it involved "a dangerous misunderstanding" (quoted from the liner notes of a recording conducted by the composer). The piece was used in that form anyway, because it was not controlled by U.S. copyright laws. Hey, business was business, even in the cause of art. Needless to say, for those who really care about symphonic music, such false information could very well sound a sour note. The original Fantasia, with its limitations of the times and the liberties it took with the classics, is still to be praised as a daring, groundbreaking, magical film. The closest anyone came to equaling it was Bruno Bosetto's quasi-satirical "Allegro Non Troppo" (which did up a better serving of "The Firebird" than F-2000, by the way), a film well-deserving of DVD release. This viewer's advice: Put that bulky box back on the shelf and be plenty satisfied with a pristine (artifacts and all) digital transfer of the one-and-only Fantasia '41. It stands well on its own.
Rating:
Summary: Glorious Beauty
Review: The 2 words I can think of to describe both movies is "Awe Inspiring". The senses are filled with wonderful things- beautiful artwork,and music that touches one's emotions. While I do believe there is something for everyone in these movies it is NOT filled with cutesy, childish animation and you will be disappointed if that is what you expect. Mickey Mouse has one segment in the first movie which is repeated in the second and Donald Duck shows up in "Fantasia 2000" but even these are more sophisticated than usual.Knowing how each movie was made- "Fantasia" was all hand drawn while "Fantasia 2000" is mostly computer generated did not make a difference to me. I set aside the facts and totaly immersed myself in the results which were splendid. That's how these movies should be watched. Let yourself go and enjoy what is being offered. I think you will love BOTH movies as I did.
Rating: 
Summary: I agree, great set of disks... but some quality problems
Review: I agree that this is a wonderful set and I'm glad to have it. The extra features on the third disk are great as well. The only beef I have is in some of the image quality on the Fantasia (1940) disk. There appears to be slight image flaws throughout the film... like what you would see if an old print were used to transfer the film to DVD. Also... in the Ave Maria portion of the film, the image on left side of the frame seems to roll off the side of the print leaving a black fuzzy area for several seconds. I expect better from Disney. The Fantasia 2000 transfer however seems just fine.
Rating:
Summary: Get children and adults together for a change!
Review: The original Fantasia was a landmark for movie-making, and it did something unique: It got (and still continues to get) children to listen to Classical music; at the same time, adults can watch, or close their eyes and enjoy some greats musical masterpieces. I have seen the movie several times, and today, I watched while my 7 year old daughter sat curled up in my lap while she watched the beautifully re-mastered cartoon images, and said, joyfully, "I know that song!" My 9 year old son sat next to us, and both sat thru the movie, and enjoyed the entire production. They are both looking forward to watching Fantasia 2000 after school, tomorrow. My children are watching, listening, and enjoying great works of Classical music, and the video games downstairs are getting some rest. I have to tell everyone how thrilled I was to see them choose great music, fun video for them to watch, and choosing to abandon Sega and Nintendo for a few days. The single of the original Fantasia, or the box set are worth a place in every parents collection of DVD's that they can let the children watch alone, or cherish the time spent as a family, watching together.
Rating:
Summary: Disney's Work of Craft
Review: Fantasia is an extraordinary and truly unique motion picture experience. Animation, before and since, has held a role in telling stories on screen, but too often the art of the animation itself takes a back seat to the story or situation it presents. Walt Disney understood this, and so offered the public another idea with Fantasia: an exploration of animation as a high art in and of itself. The film is a collection of seven shorts, set to various works of classical music, each considered masterpieces themselves. The music was conducted by Leopold Stokowski, who, at the time, was to classical music what Disney was to animation: a showman who knew how to bring his medium into the mainstream public. Also, this was the first film to try a stereo, "surround sound" approach to the sound, as Disney wanted to blend the essences of a movie and a concert. Disney had a seperate team of animators on each short, so the styles differ from piece to piece. There is, in fact, very little connective thread among the works, but each offers itself to the art of animation in its own way: Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor", originally written for organ and best known for its ominous opening melody, becomes in Fantasia a flowing abstract as it follows a listener's perception and feeling of the music. Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" is stripped of the ballet's story, and given over to the dancelike beauty of nature: mushrooms, falling leaves, graceful fish, flowers on the water's surface, and the fairies gracing the world with morning dew and bringing the changing of the seasons. This is easily the most beautiful and breathtaking sequence in the film. Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is a Mickey Mouse short that began the whole endeavor. Eager to bring Mickey back to the spotlight after Donald Duck had taken over, Disney planted him in the tale of a lad who knew enough of his master's skills to start the magic going, but not enough to stop it. Stravinsky's "The Rite Of Spring" was a ballet depicting a ceremony among a clan of primitive humans. Disney's crew uses the music to illustrate the history of life on Earth, up to the extinction of the dinosaurs. A scientifically dated piece, to be sure, but arresting visuals complement Stravinsky's innovative score. Beethoven's 6th Symphony, the "Pastoral Symphony", gets set in the countryside of Ancient Greece, and the supernatural creatures that inhabited it: centaurs, winged horses, even gods like Dionysis, Zeus, and Artemis make an appearance. Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours" is taken as just that: a ballet that effortlessly segues morning, afternoon, evening, and night. It is a testament of the animators' talent that they could make dancers such as hippos, elephants, and alligators to lithe and graceful. And hilarious. The final segment is the battle of Good and Evil, set to Moussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" and Schubert's "Ave Maria". The "Bald Mountain" sequence is the most powerful, disturbing, nightmarish animation ever to come from Disney's studio; not fully scary as much as truly harrowing. The Schubert is lush, soft, and holds comfort and hope. The greatest flaw in the film is here, not in the animation, but the music: new English words were written into Schubert's melody. But this is the sole detractor. For the DVD edition, the original version, freed from the later cuts and revisions, has been restored and remastered. Despite the age and poor quality of the original master, the film is more beautiful then ever, in both sight and sound. The featurette is insightful, as are commentaries by Roy Disney, James Levine (who conducted Fantasia 2000) and Walt Himself. This is probably the greatest animated film of all time. Anyone interested in animation - or quality filmmaking - should know this one by heart.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for every DVD library
Review: If you love great music...buy this. If you appreciate amazing animation...buy this. If you are a fan of Walt Disney...buy this. There shouldn't be any DVD library out there without this 3-DVD set. Not only are the two films simply amazing, but all of the supplemental material provided makes this one of the must-own DVD sets on the market today. To be able to watch Fantasia and hear Walt Disney's comments throughout...priceless (I feel like a MasterCard commercial). The amazing animation...just the thought that all of the original Fantasia was all animated by hand...24 frames per second, thousands of cells - wow. Fantasia 2000...get yourself surround sound if you don't have it already for this one. The IMAX experience can't be beat, but the digital duplication on this replicates the quality fabulously. I could go on and on, but I'll keep this brief. In a nutshell...buy this!
Rating:
Summary: Fantasia 1000 and a half
Review: Fantasia is by far one of the greatest animated films ever to be put to screen. It's a shame the sequel is only a minor comparison, with it's pointless celeberty appearences and shortened musical pieces. Fantasia's only low point was the dinosaur peice, which was long and not artisticly interesting. Fantasia 2000 has three bad peices, Beethoven's ninth (not really abstract if it has a story), Donald's Arch (the dignafied march doen't really fit Donald's crazy antics), and the flamigo/yo-yo peice (who's idiotic idea was this?). However, The Pines of Rome, Firebird, the Toy Soldior peice and Rahpcity in Blue are all good examples of different styles of animation and different variations of music. Fantasia 2000 isn't nearly as good as the original (although Pines of Rome and Firebird come close), but it's worth a look at. The anthalogy itself is incredable, with tons of various special features and wonderful sound quality. If you like either Fantasia, this DVD set is for you. It's a wonderful buy.
Rating:
Summary: Just Wonderful!
Review: The items on the 3rd disk are worth the price alone! The movies are great and seeing the original 1940 version of Fantasia is just breathtaking. Disney really did a good job with this set. You learn all there is to know about this magnificent piece of film!
Rating: 
Summary: Disney is sick
Review: Bare chested women, gigantic demons, paganistic animals. This is truly the most sickening thing I've ever had the displeasure to watch. This is NOT a kid's film like they advertise, if you're an adult then fine. But don't let your kids watch this!
|
