Release Date: 11/13/1940
Distributed by: Walt Disney Productions/RKO Radio Productions
Studio: Walt Disney Productions
Running Time: 125 minutes
Director: Multiple Directors Per Segment
Producer: Walt Disney
Historical Significance:
-first animated movie to combine music and animation, originally an experimental film
-third to be produced by Walt Disney
-third in the Walt Disney Animated Classics canon
Background:
Fantasia, a Disney animated feature-length "concert" film milestone, is an experimental film integrating eight magnificent classical musical compositions with enchanting, exhilarating, and imaginative, artistically-choreographed animation. The conceptual framework of the individual pieces embraces such areas as prehistoric times, the four seasons, nature, hell and heaven, the themes of light vs. darkness and chaos vs. order, dancing animals, classical mythology, and legend.
Fantasia, a Disney animated feature-length "concert" film milestone, is an experimental film integrating eight magnificent classical musical compositions with enchanting, exhilarating, and imaginative, artistically-choreographed animation. The conceptual framework of the individual pieces embraces such areas as prehistoric times, the four seasons, nature, hell and heaven, the themes of light vs. darkness and chaos vs. order, dancing animals, classical mythology, and legend.
Program:
Introduction - Live-action photography of members of the orchestra gathering and tuning their instruments. Deems Taylor joins the orchestra to introduce the film's program.
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor – Live-action shots of the orchestra illuminated in blue and gold, backed by superimposed shadows. The number segues into abstract animated patterns, lines, shapes and cloud formations.
Nutcracker Suite – A selection of pieces from the ballet depicts the changing of the seasons from summer to autumn to winter, with no plot. A variety of dances are presented with fairies, fish, flowers, mushrooms, and leaves, including "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," "Chinese Dance," "Dance of the Flutes," "Arabian Dance," "Russian Dance" and "Waltz of the Flowers."
The Sorcerer's Apprentice – Based on Goethe's 1797 poem Der Zauberlehrling. Mickey Mouse, an apprentice of the Sorcerer, Yen Sid, attempts some of his master's magic tricks before knowing how to control them.
The Rite of Spring – A visual history of the earth's beginnings is depicted to selected sections of the ballet, from the planet's formation to the first living creatures, followed by the reign and extinction of the dinosaurs.
Intermission - The musicians depart and the Fantasia title card is revealed. After the intermission there is a brief jam session of jazz music led by the clarinet player as the orchestra members return.
Meet the Soundtrack – A humorously stylized demonstration of how sound is rendered on film. The animated soundtrack, initially a straight white line, changes into different shapes and colors based on the sounds played.
The Pastoral Symphony – A mythical ancient Greek world of centaurs, cupids, fauns and other figures from classical mythology. A gathering for a festival to honor Bacchus, the god of wine, is interrupted by Zeus who creates a storm and throws lightning bolts at the attendees.
Dance of the Hours – A comic ballet featuring Madame Upanova and her ostriches (Morning); Hyacinth Hippo and her servants (Afternoon); Elephanchine and her bubble-blowing elephant troupe (Evening); and Ben Ali Gator and his troop of alligators (Night). The finale sees all the characters dancing together until the palace collapses.
Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria – At midnight the devil Chernabog summons evil spirits and restless souls from their graves. The spirits dance and fly through the air until driven back by the sound of an Angelus bell as night fades into dawn. A chorus is heard singing Ave Maria as a line of robed monks is depicted walking with lighted torches through a forest and into the ruins of a cathedral.
Introduction - Live-action photography of members of the orchestra gathering and tuning their instruments. Deems Taylor joins the orchestra to introduce the film's program.
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor – Live-action shots of the orchestra illuminated in blue and gold, backed by superimposed shadows. The number segues into abstract animated patterns, lines, shapes and cloud formations.
Nutcracker Suite – A selection of pieces from the ballet depicts the changing of the seasons from summer to autumn to winter, with no plot. A variety of dances are presented with fairies, fish, flowers, mushrooms, and leaves, including "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," "Chinese Dance," "Dance of the Flutes," "Arabian Dance," "Russian Dance" and "Waltz of the Flowers."
The Sorcerer's Apprentice – Based on Goethe's 1797 poem Der Zauberlehrling. Mickey Mouse, an apprentice of the Sorcerer, Yen Sid, attempts some of his master's magic tricks before knowing how to control them.
The Rite of Spring – A visual history of the earth's beginnings is depicted to selected sections of the ballet, from the planet's formation to the first living creatures, followed by the reign and extinction of the dinosaurs.
Intermission - The musicians depart and the Fantasia title card is revealed. After the intermission there is a brief jam session of jazz music led by the clarinet player as the orchestra members return.
Meet the Soundtrack – A humorously stylized demonstration of how sound is rendered on film. The animated soundtrack, initially a straight white line, changes into different shapes and colors based on the sounds played.
The Pastoral Symphony – A mythical ancient Greek world of centaurs, cupids, fauns and other figures from classical mythology. A gathering for a festival to honor Bacchus, the god of wine, is interrupted by Zeus who creates a storm and throws lightning bolts at the attendees.
Dance of the Hours – A comic ballet featuring Madame Upanova and her ostriches (Morning); Hyacinth Hippo and her servants (Afternoon); Elephanchine and her bubble-blowing elephant troupe (Evening); and Ben Ali Gator and his troop of alligators (Night). The finale sees all the characters dancing together until the palace collapses.
Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria – At midnight the devil Chernabog summons evil spirits and restless souls from their graves. The spirits dance and fly through the air until driven back by the sound of an Angelus bell as night fades into dawn. A chorus is heard singing Ave Maria as a line of robed monks is depicted walking with lighted torches through a forest and into the ruins of a cathedral.
Animation Style and Production:
From November 1938 to October 1939, artist Oskar Fischinger worked on the film's first segment, the Toccata and Fugue. He was a pioneer in producing abstract animation set to music, but Disney felt his designs were too abstract for a mass audience. Fischinger left the studio in apparent disgust and despair, as he was not used to working in a group and with little control. An Arabian dancer was brought into the studios to study the movements for the goldfish in Arab Dance.
To obtain ideas for The Rite of Spring, animators studied comets and nebulae at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California and drew portraits of prehistoric animals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. A herd of iguanas and a baby alligator were brought into the studios for observation. In December 1939, Stravinsky visited the studios to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice, hear Stokowski's arrangement of The Rite of Spring and view the sketches, storyboards and models for the segment. For inspiration on the routines in Dance of the Hours, animators studied real life ballet performers including Marge Champion and Irina Baronova.
Béla Lugosi, most known for his role in Dracula, was brought in to provide reference poses for Chernabog. As animator Bill Tytla disliked the results, he used colleague Wilfred Jackson to pose shirtless which gave him the images he needed. The Ave Maria sequence was completed and spliced into the film just four hours before its premiere. Over 1,000 artists and technicians were used in the making of Fantasia, which features more than 500 characters.
This Disney production was an ambitious experiment to try to popularize classical music, especially by accompanying it with animation. Originally, the film was to consist of only The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment, but it was expanded to include the full anthology of shorts. And it was slightly controversial for its depiction of bare-breasted centaurettes in the Pastoral Symphony segment and other stereotypical racial depictions. [Adhering to the Hays Production Code and its strict rules, the figures were garlanded with flower bras for cover-up after swimming topless (still uncensored) in a waterfall and pond (seen from a distance). Also, in later releases of the film, in the Pastoral Symphony segment (again), two black Nubian/zebra centaurs who attend the Bacchus celebration were edited out, along with a female pickaninny centaurette with braided hair named Sunflower who shines the hoof of a white female centaurette. The black centaurette was first abruptly cut from the film and as technology improved, the scene was edited or 'resized' by zooming in on the frames with the character in them so that she was not seen in the shot.]
Other segments, such as Ride Of The Valkyries, Swan of Tuonela, and Flight of the Bumblebee were storyboarded but never fully animated, and thus were never put into production for inclusion in future Fantasia-style releases.
From November 1938 to October 1939, artist Oskar Fischinger worked on the film's first segment, the Toccata and Fugue. He was a pioneer in producing abstract animation set to music, but Disney felt his designs were too abstract for a mass audience. Fischinger left the studio in apparent disgust and despair, as he was not used to working in a group and with little control. An Arabian dancer was brought into the studios to study the movements for the goldfish in Arab Dance.
To obtain ideas for The Rite of Spring, animators studied comets and nebulae at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California and drew portraits of prehistoric animals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. A herd of iguanas and a baby alligator were brought into the studios for observation. In December 1939, Stravinsky visited the studios to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice, hear Stokowski's arrangement of The Rite of Spring and view the sketches, storyboards and models for the segment. For inspiration on the routines in Dance of the Hours, animators studied real life ballet performers including Marge Champion and Irina Baronova.
Béla Lugosi, most known for his role in Dracula, was brought in to provide reference poses for Chernabog. As animator Bill Tytla disliked the results, he used colleague Wilfred Jackson to pose shirtless which gave him the images he needed. The Ave Maria sequence was completed and spliced into the film just four hours before its premiere. Over 1,000 artists and technicians were used in the making of Fantasia, which features more than 500 characters.
This Disney production was an ambitious experiment to try to popularize classical music, especially by accompanying it with animation. Originally, the film was to consist of only The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment, but it was expanded to include the full anthology of shorts. And it was slightly controversial for its depiction of bare-breasted centaurettes in the Pastoral Symphony segment and other stereotypical racial depictions. [Adhering to the Hays Production Code and its strict rules, the figures were garlanded with flower bras for cover-up after swimming topless (still uncensored) in a waterfall and pond (seen from a distance). Also, in later releases of the film, in the Pastoral Symphony segment (again), two black Nubian/zebra centaurs who attend the Bacchus celebration were edited out, along with a female pickaninny centaurette with braided hair named Sunflower who shines the hoof of a white female centaurette. The black centaurette was first abruptly cut from the film and as technology improved, the scene was edited or 'resized' by zooming in on the frames with the character in them so that she was not seen in the shot.]
Other segments, such as Ride Of The Valkyries, Swan of Tuonela, and Flight of the Bumblebee were storyboarded but never fully animated, and thus were never put into production for inclusion in future Fantasia-style releases.
Awards and Nominations:
At the 14th Academy Awards in 1942, Disney called Fantasia a mistake. "We all make mistakes. Fantasia was one but it was an honest mistake. I shall now rededicate myself to my old ideals"
Fantasia ranked fifth at the 1940 National Board of Review Awards in the Top Ten Films category. Disney and Stokowski won a Special Award for the film at the 1940 New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Fantasia was the subject of two Academy Honorary Awards on February 26, 1942 — one for Disney, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins and the RCA Manufacturing Company for their "outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia," and the other to Stokowski "and his associates for their unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Walt Disney's production Fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form."
In 1990, Fantasia was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."The film is featured in three lists that rank the greatest American films as determined by the American Film Institute.
At the 14th Academy Awards in 1942, Disney called Fantasia a mistake. "We all make mistakes. Fantasia was one but it was an honest mistake. I shall now rededicate myself to my old ideals"
Fantasia ranked fifth at the 1940 National Board of Review Awards in the Top Ten Films category. Disney and Stokowski won a Special Award for the film at the 1940 New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Fantasia was the subject of two Academy Honorary Awards on February 26, 1942 — one for Disney, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins and the RCA Manufacturing Company for their "outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia," and the other to Stokowski "and his associates for their unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Walt Disney's production Fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form."
In 1990, Fantasia was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."The film is featured in three lists that rank the greatest American films as determined by the American Film Institute.
Funny Tidbits You Didn't Know:
- The idea behind Fantasia came out of a chance meeting between Walt Disney and conductor Leopold Stokowski, who suggested to Walt that he produce a feature that would match animated sequences to classical music.
- Composer Igor Stravinsky, whose composition provided the inspiration for the musical segment, "Rite of Spring," was the only living composer whose work was used in Fantasia.
- In the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence, the name of the sorcerer is Yen Sid, which is Disney, spelled backwards.
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