Fantasia

No I have not forgotten about this writing project. And I'm not giving up on it. I get into slumps in my writing. But that doesn't mean I just stop. So...




Walt Disney's Fantasia. Disney's third animated feature film. This film is filled with beautiful instrumental music, accompanied by wonderfully imaginative animation. It showcases such classic creatures as dinosaurs, the mighty Zeus and even Mickey Mouse himself. It even inspired Disney's long running and much beloved show Fantasmic! It is also one of the most boring films Disney has ever produced.

My apologies to those who disagree. If you revere Fantasia as a great Disney classic much beloved by you and your family since childhood I have no intentions to take that away. I'm not trying to convince anyone not to like this film. I just don't understand how anyone can.

Fantasia tells five different stories or "segments" through animation set to classical music. Now while the result may be beautiful to watch and to listen to it's not exactly thrilling. The last two films Disney released had songs you could sing along with, villains who could cackle and threaten and characters with names. The colorful personalities of the characters were key elements that drew the attention of young children. The fact that Fantasia has no dialogue makes me wonder how many kids actually sat through the whole two hours.

Not to mention the fact that in between the segments the audience is shown the orchestra and given an explanation of what is about to be shown to them. I can only assume this is for the adults. Because I can't imagine children were all that enthralled by long winded explanations filled with names of composers they had no idea who they were, all told in a monotone voice. Of course I could be wrong. I'm just guessing.

I saw Fantasia a long time ago. I'm not quite sure how old I was. The only story I really remembered was the sorcerer's apprentice. And I'm pretty sure that's what most people remember. Especially since parts of it are shown in Fantasmic! and the image of Mickey wearing the sorcerer's hat is used for many different adds and visual displays. Mickey Mouse is memorable. And certain images and various moments from the segments came back to me as I watched. And while I think I can better appreciate how beautiful the animation is I don't feel I was any more entertained as an adult than I was as a child.

I don't know maybe I'm just missing the appeal. Maybe it's a bit over my head. Maybe I saw it at the wrong time. Or I just don't have the attention span for it.

I will say I love Fantasmic! and am grateful for the inspiration the film provided.

But overall not one of my favorites.

My rating of the film: 4/10

Films in order of preference so far:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Fantasia