Fantasia (1940)

The critic praises the 50th-anniversary re-release for restoring the film's original look, sound, and aspect ratio after years of poor presentations. He highlights Disney's pioneering ambition in illustrating classical music with innovative animation techniques.

The review calls the film an exciting new departure in entertainment that captivates the senses and stimulates the imagination through its novel combination of music, color, and animation. It deems the experiment original and provocative, recommending it as enchanting for those open to its fanciful approach.

The review describes the film as a successful experiment lifting animated cartoons and classical music into a higher realm of appeal, with strong segments like the Nutcracker Suite and Rite of Spring. It notes the technical innovations in sound and the wide-ranging entertainment value across its musical selections.

The critic calls Fantasia a true cinematic masterpiece with gorgeous, painstaking hand-drawn animation that serves as ideal, thoughtful screen time for children. They single out its integration of classical music, including the Rite of Spring segment depicting evolutionary history and the Pastoral Symphony Greek mythology sequence.

The critic credits Fantasia with introducing him and many others to classical music, noting how its once-derided or kitsch segments now seem camp or innovative despite changing fashions.

The review praises Fantasia's ambition as Disney's grand folly and one of its masterpieces for introducing children to classical composers like Stravinsky, despite some uneven segments. It notes the Blu-ray transfer looks excellent with strong filmic representation and colorful animation.

The piece highlights the 1940 Fantasia as a classic combining surreal fantasy with symphonic selections, noting its value as part of a limited-time Blu-ray release alongside Fantasia 2000 and various Disney documentaries.

The film takes eight separate pieces of music conducted by Stokowski and matches them visually with Disney's fancy, including abstract shapes for Bach and a Mickey Mouse cartoon for The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It is not a homogeneous whole like previous Disney films and dallies too long in places, but offers an exciting hint of what Disney might do with human figures.

The critic finds the 50th anniversary re-release a remorselessly kitsch experience overall, though some sequences like the Sorcerer's Apprentice and certain abstractions remain magical and watchable.

The piece examines the mixed critical and commercial reception of the 1940 release despite its visual ambition, noting how it failed to meet Disney's hopes of elevating animation as high art. It discusses the film's lasting influence and the studio's later reissues that helped secure its classic status.

The critic finds the film a 'conglomeration of tastelessness' overall, with most attempts at illustrating classical music resulting in embarrassing kitsch. Only the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence with Mickey Mouse is singled out as a respectable success.

The critic hails Fantasia as a classic and cinematic oddity that showcases breathtaking imagination in every frame, making it unlike any other film of its era and a joy decades later. They particularly single out the Rite of Spring segment for its grand visuals and intricate effects, while praising the extensive extras for illuminating the film's turbulent production history.