It's so fascinating to see the directions Disney went in their theatrical features. First they did a fairy-tale, then they did a book, then they did a full on artistic experiment. From two very structured, story based features, it's very interesting to see that Disney would full on ditch all of that for their third original feature. Keep in mind, this was also in 1940, it's not that the art film didn't exist at this time, but it wasn't as common as now. In fact, at the time Fantasia was hated by many, some viewing it as pretentious, and one critic even comparing it to Nazism. Of course, since then, and even at the time, the film had many fans and admirers, and has garnered the status of both a classic and a masterpiece. So... which side do I fall on?
I'll admit, sometimes you get a stupid idea in your head and you want to humour yourself. "Can I make it through art college?", "How many songs will it take to make me hate Nostalgia Critic's The Wall?", and the most recent thought, "Can I write a review on Fantasia?". Like a Saiyan warrior staring at death, the challenge excited me. Of course, March is usually the month I reserve for Disney movies as well, so this worked out perfectly. The problem is that, Fantasia is not a traditional film in the slightest. Even some of the more "out there" films I looked at like The Little Prince, Yellow Submarine or Night is Short, Walk on Girl, they all had a central plot and main characters. Fantasia has none of those, the only reoccurring character is the host, and the movie has several segments, all of which are based around classical music. It's not that they don't have a story or characters, but that really isn't the focus. I think the closest I've ever come to reviewing this kind of movie is, oddly enough my first ever review on this blog, Fun and Fancy Free. That movie was a package film of two shorts with wrap-around segments, whereas this film is seven segments and the host introducing each one. So, I'm going to look at the segments individually, so forgive me if this review is a bit longer than usual.
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor opens the program. It's more or less a collection of abstract images that may come to one's head when hearing the music. It does take a while to get into the animated segment of the piece, but when it does get there, it's really cool. It starts with the parts of the instruments moving to the music, and it goes on into something even cooler, and I'm not even left wondering how we transitioned from one image to another, I guess that is how you know the abstract theme was done properly. I think this is a great way to open the movie, and if I were to nitpick, I would say they should have gotten to the animation quicker, but I'm not watching this in 1940, so that is probably hindsight and modern understanding talking.
The Nutcracker suite is next and, this one is more or less six separate segments on its own. It begins with fairies placing the morning dew on the plants and a spiderweb. I think this segment is beautifully done, and the timing that has to have gone into this bit is crazy, putting the movements of the fairies in sync with the music could not have been easy. Following this are the Dancing Mushrooms and... I'm gonna be honest they make me a little uncomfortable. I mean, kids probably won't notice it, but I can't really disassociate the images from racist caricatures of Asian people. Maybe that's just me, and the modern day sensitivities, but I found it really hard to enjoy this bit, despite the really good animation. Next, we get some twirling flowers down a river, honestly I think the segment could have ended here and been fine. This bit is okay, nice animation and timing, but it's not very interesting. Full honesty, this is usually the segment I find myself falling asleep at, so I usually forget about the next bit in the piece, the fish. It's just fish swimming around to the music. Granted it does have some classic animation foolery, like you think you're looking at some piece of aquatic plant life, but then it's revealed to be two fish, that's nice. Otherwise, it's just fish swimming around, and I like fish don't get me wrong, but again, this bit really isn't interesting.
I think the most memorable bits of this segment come in at the ending, because we get some more dancing flowers with the most iconic part of the piece, barring the opening, and then we get some more fairies changing the seasons to autumn and winter. The dancing flowers were kind of strange for me to watch, the animation on some of them didn't look quite right to me, but it was still a fun bit. The final bit was probably my favourite though, the timing, the animation and the music were all just perfect. Overall, this bit does run a bit long, and it does have some lesser moments, but it's still pretty solid.
Next we have the iconic piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice. This is what everyone knows Fantasia for, the image of the sorcerer and his red robed apprentice, played by Mickey Mouse, which would make this the first ever feature film that features the mouse in a prominent role. Which is funny, you would think they'd have one of his shorts in the Academy Award Review movie, there's a lot to explain there. Anyway, this segment feels a lot like a classic theatrical short, the kind that Disney was good at making, the shorts like The Old Mill and The Skeleton Dance. Unlike the previously reviewed movie Gulliver's Travels, this segment feeling like a theatrical short is actually a positive aspect since, well this is already a short segment. I think this segment has become iconic for good reason, it's pretty good, though I will warn you all now, there are some rapid flashing moments so be cautious if you are sensitive to that kind of thing.
Following that is the Rite of Spring, the segment that features the dinosaurs. I'm gonna be honest, this is my least favourite segment. I'm not a fan of the music and the visuals are... mostly unpleasant to look at. It's not bad on an objective level, but I found myself wanting to skip over this segment.
Before the next segment, we get a little look at the "Soundtrack" the part of the film reel where the sound is recorded. This bit is cute and charming, but I think Norman McLaren had a better look at the soundtrack. That man actually drew on the soundtrack, and it's very fascinating. The actual next segment is the Pastoral Symphony, and it is amazing. From the first image in all the bright and beautiful colours I was in love with this bit. Of course, there was some controversy because of a certain character design, but ultimately, the scene was cut. To avoid a long discussion about preservation of art and cultural sensitivity, I'll just quote The Critic and say "Nothing of value was lost."
The Dance of the Hours is a... weird segment to me. I don't know, I just don't really get why it had to be animals for this bit, but whatever. The bit as a whole isn't really bad, I think they get the theme across fairly well, and the music is brilliant. I guess there did have to be a more cartoony segment in this movie. It isn't my favourite, but I thought it was more entertaining than the Rite of Spring segment.
The final piece is the Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria bit. I just love this segment, big surprise I'm sure. My favourite kind of classical music is the more intense kind, so pieces like Night on Bald Mountain, the 1812 Overture, but I also like more energetic pieces like Entry of the Gladiators, or my personal favourite, Orpheus in the Underworld. So, immediately I'm going to be drawn to the more intense music of the segment, but barring that, I love the animation. I love how Chernabog's shadow distorts whatever looms over it. Close-ups of the demon's face and the intense music make this a much darker and scarier segment than the rest. Some of the lighting and characters look more like they were drawn with charcoal, and some of the ghosts in the beginning look more like photographs placed in rather than drawn in. The segment also doesn't stay with the dark black colours, it has some blues and oranges and other colours, and they still look sinister.
The Ave Maria bit is nice, I like how the backgrounds almost look like stained glass windows at times, and it is nice to have something like this to calm down after the intense climax of the Night on Bald Mountain. I'm just not a huge fan of the piece. The animation is beautiful though.
The whole film is structured like a live orchestral show, complete with the host introducing each piece, the band warming up, and an intermission. I like this, and I do wish more movies did something like this. The host was also alright, not a show stealer, but he fit in nicely.
Fantasia is not a movie for everyone. It will probably not be as interesting to a lot of kids watching, but then again they might get into the segments like The Sorcerer's Apprentice, or The Pastoral Symphony, or even The Night on Bald Mountain. Then again, this movie wasn't made for kids, it was for adults who could appreciate the art of music and the art of animation coming together. That being said, it does often come across like sitting through a string of music videos to songs that you're mixed on. Honestly, I don't think I can get as into Fantasia as others, but I think it's still really good. The good segments can be really good, great even, and even the segments I wasn't fond of weren't terrible. Your mileage is going to vary with this movie, it's not going to be a film you're gonna love or hate only like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That all being said, I can definitely agree with this film being a must watch for any film or animation lover. I don't think there's been a film like this since, well there was Fantasia 2000, but I'll save that for a later day. As for the original Fantasia, I can recommend it, I don't think I got into it enough for a High Recommendation, but I can say it's worth checking out.
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