Fantasia Review

Fantasia


Release Date: 21st August 1941 - Australia


Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures

Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion
Pictures Australia


Genre: Animation/Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 124 minutes


Budget: $2,280,000

Box Office Gross: $83,320,408 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
FANTASIA is an anthology film featuring multiple animated shorts set to classical music. These pieces include "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Mickey Mouse, "The Rite of Spring" about the evolution of life on Earth up to the death of dinosaurs, and many others.


Cast
Leopold Stokowski - Himself - The Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra
Deems Taylor - Himself -
Narrative Introductions
The Philadelphia Orchestra - Themselves
Walt Disney - Mickey Mouse ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice") (Voice) (Uncredited)

Crew
Directors - Samuel Armstrong
("Toccata and Fugue in D
Minor & The Nutcracker
Suite"), James Algar ("The
Sorcerer's Apprentice"), Bill
Roberts and Paul Satterfield
("The Rite of Spring"), Ford
Beebe, Jim Handley,
David Hand ("Meet the
Soundtrack") (Uncredited),

Hamilton Luske ("The Pastoral
Symphony"), T. Hee ("Dance of the Hours") and Wilfred Jackson ("Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria")
Director ("Meet the

Soundtrack")/Producer

(Uncredited)/Production

Supervisor - Ben Sharpsteen
Director/Animation

Supervisor - Norman

Ferguson ("Dance of the Hours")

Story Direction - Joe Grant and
Dick Huemer

Story Development - Phil Dike ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" & "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria"), Lee Blair ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor"), Sylvia Moberly-Holland, Norman Wright, Albert Heath, Bianca Majolie and Graham Heid ("The Nutcracker Suite"), Perce Pearce and Carl Fallberg ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice"), Otto Englander, Webb Smith, Erdman Penner, Joseph

Sabo, Bill Peet and Vernon

Stallings ("The Pastoral

Symphony"), Campbell Grant

and Arthur Heinemann ("Night on

Bald Mountain/Ave Maria")

Story Development and
Research ("The Rite of
Spring") - William Martin,
Leo Thiele, Robert Sterner
and John McLeish
Story Development ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor")/Character Designer ("The Nutcracker Suite") - Elmer Plummer

Concept/Designer/Visual Development ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor") - Oskar Fischinger (Uncredited)

Producer - Walt Disney (Uncredited)

Cinematography - James Wong Howe (Uncredited)
Choreographer ("The Nutcracker Suite") -

Jules Engel (Uncredited)
Art Directors - Robert Cormack ("Toccata

and Fugue in D Minor" & "The Nutcracker

Suite"), Bruce Bushman, Arthur Bryam,

Curt Perkins and Al Zinnen ("The Nutcracker
Suite"), Tom Codrick, Charles Philippi,

and Zack Schwartz ("The Sorcerer's

Apprentice"), John Hubley, Dick Kesley

and McLaren Stewart ("The Rite of Spring"),

Ken Anderson, Yale Gracey, Hugh Hennesey,

Gordon Legg, Lance Nolley and Herbert

Ryman ("The Pastoral Symphony"), Harold

Doughty, Ernie Nodli and Kendall O'Connor

("Dance of the Hours"), Kay Nielsen,

Charles Payzant, Thor Putnam and Terrell

Stapp ("Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria")

Character Designers - John Walbridge ("The

Nutcracker Suite"), John P. Miller and Lorna

S. Soderstrom ("The Pastoral Symphony"),

James Bordero ("The Pastoral Symphony" &

"Dance of the Hours"), Martin Provensen, 

Duke Russell and Earl Hurd ("Dance of the

Hours")

Character Designer/Background Artist

("The Nutcracker Suite") - Ethel Kulsar

Background Artists - Dick Anthony ("The Pastoral

Symphony" & "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave

Maria"), John Hench and Nino Carbe

("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" & "The

Nutcracker Suite"), Claude Coats ("The

Sorcerer's Apprentice" & "The Pastoral

Symphony"), Charles Conner ("Dance of the

Hours"), Merle Cox, Ray Lockrem,

Robert Storms, ("Night on Bald Mountain/

Ave Maria"), Al Dempster ("The Sorcerer's

Apprentice" & "Dance of the Hours"),

Joe Stahley ("Toccata and Fugue in D

Minor"), Stan Spohn and Eric Hansen ("The

Sorcerer's Apprentice"), Ed Levitt, Brice Mack

and Ed Starr ("The Rite of Spring"), Roy Forkum,

Ray Huffine, Gerald Nevius and Art Riley ("The

Pastoral Symphony")

Animation Supervisor ("The Rite of Spring")/

Animator ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor")/

Effects Animator ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice")

(Uncredited)/Special Animation Effects ("Night

on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria") - Joshua Meador
Animation Supervisor ("The Pastoral

Symphony")/Animator ("The Nutcracker

Suite") - Art Babbitt
Animation Supervisors - Fred Moore
("The Sorcerer's Apprentice" & "The Pastoral

Symphony"), Bill Tytla ("The Sorcerer's

Apprentice" & "Night on Bald Mountain/

Ave Maria"), Wolfgang Reitherman ("The Rite

of Spring"), Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson,

Don Towsley and Ward Kimball ("The Pastoral

Symphony")

Conductor - Leopold Stokowski
Musical Direction - Edward H. Plumb

Musical Film Editor - Stephen Csillag

Recordists - William E. Garity,

J.N.A. Hawkins and C.O. Slyfield


Awards

1942 Academy Awards
Honorary Awards - Leopold Stokowski (and his

associates), Walt Disney, William E. Garity and

J.N.A. Hawkins (Won)

Review
One of Disney's great animated classics, FANTASIA mixes classical music and animation and is an extraordinary film. It's unlike anything you have ever seen before. I give particular praise to four of its eight animated segments, which are: "The Nutcracker Suite", "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria", "Dance of the Hours", and last but not least, my favourite of all, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". This segment starred Mickey Mouse and is the most famous and best piece of all the sequences in the original FANTASIA.

With all its beautiful images and a dash of creativity, FANTASIA is one of the most groundbreaking films Walt Disney has ever made. I describe it as a work of art. It will never have to be forgotten by anyone, especially families and Disney lovers. To fans of this animated feature, you can now buy or hire FANTASIA and its sequel, Fantasia 2000, on Blu-ray & DVD.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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