D52 Week 38: Fantasia 2000!

Hard to believe it's only been eight months since I took a look at the original Fantasia (my first full-fledged D52 review, from an apparently happier time in my life!), and yet, here we are. Fastest fifty-nine years EVER! Of course, it wasn't the first time a sequel had been proposed: in the 80's, your friend and mine Wolfgang Reitherman proposed something called Musicana, "an ambitious concept mixing jazz, classical music, myths, modern art and more, following the old Fantasia format". And then this was ditched, because Recyclerman was physically unable to do anything potentially interesting by that point in that career. Why, the mere THOUGHT of doing that eventually killed him, so it was shelved. But then, in 1990, Roy Disney entered the fray, feeling the need to prove that he is every bit as much a Disney as his Uncle Waltie; and so, following in his footsteps, he produced a Fantasia film that ended up heralding the end of a period of critical acclaim and commercial successes for the studio. Just as Fantasia begets Dumbo and Melody Time, Fantasia 2000 begets Treasure Planet and Home on the Range. Thanks a lot, dudes.

Still, that shouldn't affect one's opinion on the quality of the Fantasiae themselves. After all, we should be fair, and impartial, right? So, come join me in being an impartial fairy, as I take a segment-by-segment look through Disney's first package-style film in quite some time! (It's easier to not be dreading a package film when I know that it won't be succeeded by, like, six more.)

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (Allegro con brio)

Remember how Fantasia 1941* opened with an obnoxiously long bit of abstract claptrap that surely would disappoint any of Those Kids Today who ended up watching it? Of course, it wasn't made with Those Kids Today in mind. This was in the past, where Those Kids Yesterday ran amok, so there's at least that excuse. But Fantasia 2000 was made much closer to the reign of Those Kids Today. And....well, yes, surely neither of these films were meant for kids in the first place. But it's Disney, and surely some of them will end up seeing this anyway, and my point is that this does a TERRIBLE job of hooking them. It didn't do much to hook me, either. My points from "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" still stand. On a technical level, this wild abstract animation is impressive, but there's no rhyme or reason to it, and it's kind of sad to think that much money was poured into something that is about as impactful as the visualization thingamajiggy on your media player of choice.

Pines of Rome

I have to wonder, as did Taylor: What in this composition, exactly, made the animators think, "Why, humpback whales soaring through the atmosphere, OBVIOUSLY"? And even worse still, they're awkward CGI whales, with a disconcerting mixture of ultra-realistic (for 1999) texturing right alongside big cute hand-drawn (?) cartoon eyes. These whales creep me the fuck out, frankly! And yet, it's hard to completely disregard the artistry of this segment; the inside of the iceberg and, later, the world above the clouds are absolutely GORGEOUS. But do pretty backgrounds alone make a successful segment? Not really. There's just not much else to this. Meh.

Rhapsody in Blue

I've mentioned it before, but it's certainly worth repeating: It's interesting what a very small percentage of Disney films are actually set in Disney's home country! And this has the odd effect, of course, of making those settings like this one, in New York City, seem strangely exotic by comparison. Okay, on one hand, using "Rhapsody in Blue" to specifically epitomize New York is hardly a stretch; that's just what everyone seems to do, period, regardless of the fact that Gershwin thought it represented America at large. A more curmudgeonly fellow could accuse this of being an unusually straightforward and even unimaginative combination of music and imagery in the realm of Fantasia. And yet....it seems impossible to dislike this! It's a sweet, even touching slice of life - or, more accurately, several different slices of life comprising, let's say, a life party sampler of sorts - with loose, retro-stylized animation providing a much-welcome break from the increasingly sterile visual homogenization that had developed as the Renaissance went on. This is different, it's charming as fuck, and it's the highlight of this film, at least in Jesse's loosely caricatured eyes.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major (Allegro)

As far as I can tell, this only exists to serve as a counterpoint to the far more successful stylized visuals in the previous segment. Y'see, while that worked fantastically, this proves that things aren't automatically awesome just because they're stylized. I dunno, perhaps I'm being short-sighted here, but I just couldn't find any reason to appreciate the awkward, stilted animation, which seems entirely too emotionless for an ostensible love story anyhow. It's not even the best Hans Christian Andersen adaptation with a disproportionately happy ending they've done! And it's just so very sad to see the Walt Disney Corporation still spewing the same hateful anti-rat propaganda they were spewing 44 years prior in Lady and the Tramp. I guess, even in 1999, everyone working there was still a 1950s housewife.

The Carnival of the Animals (Finale)

How in-depth can you even analyse a segment this short, really? Supposedly, this was inspired by the dancin' ostriches from Fantasia's excellent "Dance of the Hours" sequence, and it is WAY out of that league, sadly. On its own merits, though, it's a cute enough diversion for two minutes, no more, no less. "Who wrote this", indeed!

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

It's actually really weird seeing this next to all the more polished, more modern digital animation next to this. It's easy to see the benefits of both techniques. The modern animation is clean and crisp and it's able to do fantastic things, but there's something oddly captivating about all the charming little imperfections at work here, too. The fact that the mighty waves are so obviously paint, Mickey's ears in a bizarre fight to the death with his wizard hat, the fact that Yen Sid is just plain an oddly drawn motherfucker....it all combines to let you know what a massive, ambitious undertaking this was for the time. How can you not appreciate that? This is a good, quality piece, just like it was 59 years prior. Yes, it's still unnerving seeing Mickey go axe crazy, but eh, whatcha gonna do? For the sake of commenting on something new: Penn and Teller are a lot more fun when they're being very talented fake magicians, and not overly aggressive atheist libertarians, aren't they?

Pomp and Circumstance (Marches 1, 2, 3, and 4)

Poor, poor Donald Duck. He's never had a proper chance at big-screen stardom in a properly budgeted Disney flick. Sure, he got to partake in all that drug-induced Latinsanity, and Fun and Fancy Free gave him the opportunity to starve so badly that he truly thought it was an awesome idea to make a sandwich out of plates, which I'm sure he appreciated immensely. But now....I guess this is his answer to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"? Of all the things you could theoretically adapt with Donald Duck, um, the one Bible story that even Christians generally seem to regard as far-fetched nonsense wouldn't have even made my list of possibilities. It's not as good as Mickey's own segment - Mickey has all the luck, to the point that he even gets to see Daisy naked in the intro - but it's cute and well-done and appropriately sweet nonetheless. (It's probably for the best that Daisy never learns about Donald's hallucinogenic love affairs with sexxy Latin American women during his young-and-stupid days.)

The Firebird (1919 Suite)

Supposedly this was created with the intent of being "emotionally equivalent" to the "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" sequence from Fantasia, which seems like a surefire (HAHAHA) recipe for failure, right? After all, it's very hard to replicate history like that! But, honestly? I think I might like this better. I mean, sure, Chernie's an above average Cartoon Satan, but what else does he have going for him? He looks impressively devilish. That's it. This feels like it had a lot more substance to it. Just look at that ruined landscape! It's one of the most strikingly bleak things in the entirety of the Disney canon! And, well, the thing about Chernabog is....for as ostensibly evil as he be, he sure didn't do much. But the Firebird's impact is pretty evident. And while the procession of personality-free monks that served as the counterpoint to Boggy, they were entirely disconnected from his evil, evil hijinks. But Birdie's relationship with this sprite chick is pretty clear: Nature is pretty, and though it destroys itself sometimes, it's just as capable of repairing itself. (As long as Man isn't the one destroying it, of course. Stop keeping nature down, Man.)

Overall, a lot of the praises and criticisms I could heap onto Fantasia 2000 are much the same as the original Fantasia. It's a package film, so it's a mixed bag. Some of the segments are uninspired, and some are just plain too up their own ass with their abstract pretentiousness for their own good. But then, when there's a segment where everything clicks, it's genuinely powerful and majestic and, well, you actually understand for a second what Walt probably had in mind. If I had to choose between the two, Fantasia 2000 probably has a higher entertainment ratio....and it helps that the Cavalcade of Random Celebrities, by and large, have more personality than Deems Taylor. But then, what doesn't?

THOROUGHLY UNLIKEABLE AND UNNECESSARY DIRECT-TO-VIDEO DISNEY SEQUEL OF LAST WEEK, CUZ I'M SLOW: The music industry is dead!!! if you believe the doom-and-gloomery of music industry people who are now only sort of fabulously wealthy, as opposed to fabulously wealthy. No, Those Kids Today just don't care for music anymore - just listen to your local Top 40 radio station. They're far more interested in, like, I dunno, fashion or some shit. Such is the angle of Pantasia, a stunning and classy set of cartoon shorts, each exploring the intricacies of a different sort of leg-covering. Suggested tagline: "It's a trouser trove of cartoon magic!"










*It gets an extra, arbitrary year because Fantasia 2000 was first premiered in 1999 and, of course, I have to keep things consistent!