Fantasia 2000

At the stroke of midnight of the year 2000, Disney released the first sequel that was in line with what Walt Disney originally envisioned. Performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fantasia 2000 consisted of the same idea as its predecessor, plus celebrity appearances to introduce them. It starred Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Bette Midler, Penn & Teller, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, and Angela Lansbury.

The segments consisted of Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, which was paired with abstract shapes and patterns resembling butterflies and bats. Afterwards was the Pines of Rome, with humpback whales being able to fly and a calf is separated from its parents in an iceberg. Then it’s Rhapsody in Blue with 1930s New York City as a setting. Followed by Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 set to the “Steadfast Tin Soldier. Next is The Carnival of the Animals, starring a Flamingo with a yoyo. A retelling of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice follows. Then, it’s Pomp and Circumstance with Noah’s Ark, starring Donald and Daisy. The film finishes off with Firebird Suite where the Spring Sprite awakens the spirit of a volcano.

I complained that the first Fantasia felt too long, even though it wasn’t actually that long. Fantasia 2000 is comparably shorter and uses its time fairly well. Most of the sequences are very good and the one that isn’t (Carnival of the Animals) is fairly ok, it’s just that it’s a stupid concept. The Pines of Rome sequence is amazing and majestic, but it’s funny in that it’s the farthest thing you can get from Pines. Or Rome.

My biggest complaint about this film is the amount of stupid jokes and star power. Setting up for the Pomp and Circumstance sequence, Mickey gets the conductor to stall for time so he can find Donald. He’s in the shower. In the first film, Mickey thanked Stokowski and left. It was short, sweet, and poignant this is just bad padding that doesn’t work at all. Also in the first film, music critic and composer, Deems Taylor introduced every segment. Since he was an actual composer and critic, it actually fit to give him that role. And he was always serious about what he was doing. Here, the amount of stars not only introduce it, but some tell bad jokes and can’t stop praising the film. When you have the people starring in the film praising how good the film is during the film, it distracts from the enjoyment of it.

But that’s just the interludes. Watching the musical sequences is always enjoyable, even for the one that’s just too silly.

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