Fantasia/2000 (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Directors:

James Algar
Gaëtan Brizzi

Writers:

Elena Driskill (concept for "Death & Re-birth of the Forest") and
Hans Christian Andersen (story) (segment "Piano Concerto #2")

Release Date:

31 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Music

Plot:

An update of the original film with new interpretations of great works of classical music.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | Whale | Symphony | Mickey Mouse | Donald Duck

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Leopold Stokowski	...	Himself - Conductor (segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice") (archive footage)
Ralph Grierson	...	Pianist (segment "Rhapsody in Blue")
Kathleen Battle	...	Featured Soprano (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)
Steve Martin	...	Himself - Introductory Host
Itzhak Perlman	...	Himself - Host (segment "Pines of Rome")
Quincy Jones	...	Himself - Host (segment "Rhapsody in Blue")
Bette Midler	...	Herself - Hostess (segment "Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102")
James Earl Jones	...	Himself - Host (segment "Carnival of the Animals")
Penn Jillette	...	Himself (as Penn)
Teller	...	Himself - Host (segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice")
James Levine	...	Himself - Host (segment "Pomp and Circumstance"), Conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Angela Lansbury	...	Herself - Hostess (segment "Firebird Suite - 1919 Version")
Wayne Allwine	...	Mickey Mouse (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)
Tony Anselmo	...	Donald Duck (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)
Russi Taylor	...	Daisy Duck (segment "Pomp and Circumstance") (voice)

Also Known As:

Fantasia 2000 (Philippines: English title) (USA) (alternative spelling)
Fantasia '99 (USA) (working title)
Fantasia Continued (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.44 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | IMAX 6-Track

Certification:

USA:G (certificate #36995) | Malaysia:U | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-6/4 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Hong Kong:I | Mexico:A | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | UK:U | Greece:K | Philippines:G

Company:

Richard Purdum Productions

Trivia:

Beethoven's 5th was the last sequence to go into production.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In "Rhapsody in Blue", the young drummer/construction worker is alternately sitting and leaning on a steel beam during a lunch break with his left foot on the beam and his right foot off, but his right foot doesn't dangle in the air, it stays in one place, as if meant to be braced against another beam.

Quotes:

Steve Martin: You know what's amazing is that many of these musicians are playing for the very first time. Thanks to Steve Martin's "Master Musician Home Study Course". More about that later.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Last Days of Ki (2005)

Soundtrack:

Firebird Suite - 1919 Version

An Almost Flawless Masterpiece

Although I was aware of the original plan to renew the Fantasia concept every so often, and that it was visualised as an ongoing project, I felt that going back after 60 years was too much, and that the original classic should be left alone. However, my initial scepticism was dispelled within seconds of the opening sequence. What we have here is a lush, vibrant fusion of animation and music, each fully complimenting the other to perfection. It's hard to pick a favorite sequence, but if really pressed, for personal taste alone, it would be the awesome sequence with the whales. Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence is the only carry over from the original, and a worthy match for it in the 2000 lineup is the Donald "Noah".

The only criticism I have of the film is the bridging sequences, featuring Steve Martin, Penn & Teller, Bette Midler and others. I would have preferred that they stuck to one presenter, preferably James Earl Jones or Angela Landsbury. They seemed to take the material and the project far more seriously than Martin and Penn & Teller who's humor detracted from the dignity of the movie as a whole.