Directed by Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Shatterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson
Written by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer
Premiered November 13, 1940
126 minutes
Rated G
Synopsis
Composer and music critic Deems Taylor narrates and Leopold Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra as they play classical music over a collection of animated shorts.
Note: With the segmented films, I will be going further into plot points in my motley musings.
Before We Begin
There are two types of people in this world: those who love Fantasia and those who have to defend themselves for not loving Fantasia. I belong to this second group.
Fantasia was one of the first Disney movies I ever owned. My dad bought it because, well, he liked to turn down the sound and watch it while listening to the Grateful Dead, possibly under some sort of herbal influence. ("Possibly"). It was on a lot. I also owned very few movies and for some reason, I felt it was only fair to watch them equally. So even though I never really cared for Fantasia, I watched it. Well, until the last segment. Then I shut that shit off.
When I finally learned about Fantasia's rich and complex history and about its rabid fanbase, my opinions cooled even more. "Really? People consider that one to be one of the best? But it's so boring."
Will I feel the same this time around? I'm betting yes.
Mötley Müsings
• Old ass VHS in the black clamshell case. That's how you knew it was special.
• Color by TECHNICOLOR.
• Damn. We even have to wait for the orchestra to warm up. Strap in. We have two hours to go.
• New form of entertainment. "What you’re going to see are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists." Music videos. Totally.
• Segment #1 -- "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" written by Johann Sebastian Bach (c. 1740)
• This is, like Deems Taylor said, "music for music's sake". Here are a series of abstract images--rolling hills, lines, horizons, starbursts...abstract stuff. But first, here is the orchestra playing.
• I've probably just seen this too much. I'm taking it for granted. I'm sure this was mind blowing to a 1940s audience.
• Segment #2 -- "Nutcracker Suite" written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaicovsky (c. 1740)
• Tchaicovsky hated the Nutcracker. Hmmm.
• This one I like because it has FAIRIES and I'm a GIRL.
• That dandelion is beautiful.
• Culturally insensitive mushrooms!
• So, no bullshit, my dad just called me and when I told him I was watching Fantasia he told me "it's better with weed."
• Sexy fish. Why not.
• Bitchy statement: it would be way cooler if they did a whole cycle of the seasons. More structure. If I had some weed, I wouldn't care.
• But it is lovely. Easily the most beautiful of all the segments.
• Segment #3 -- "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" written by Paul Dukas (1896-97)
• Mickey Mouse! In case you forgot this was a Disney movie (and you might've.)
• The sorcerer's name is Yen Sid. Which is "Disney" spelled backwards. Not that anyone ever says it. #themoreyouknow
• It's a shame things get so saturated. I'm actually liking this.
• Segment #4 -- "The Rite of Spring" written by Igor Stravinsky (1913)
• Stravinsky was the only composer who was still alive to see what Disney did with his music. He hated it. So do I. This is why I immediately associate dinosaurs with boredom.
• "It's a coldly accurate reproduction of what science thinks went on during the first few billion years of this planet's existence."
• Bored.
• Bubbling lava is nice, but I get it. There's no life yet. Just volcanoes.
• Did you know Igor Stravinsky had an affair with Coco Chanel? #themoreyouknow
• Oh my Christ, I swear the real evolution of the Earth took less time than this segment.
• Out of all the music featured in Fantasia, this piece is my least favorite. It's very harsh and manic and just fucking unpleasant.
• Yes. Dinosaurs ate food. I GET IT.
• And I am supposed to be excited for this dinosaur fight. However, in 1940, it's not like they had the technology to put a scene like this in a live action movie. Jurassic Park was fifty years away.
• UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
• Truly, my disdain for "The Rite of Spring" comes down to: "I don't like dinosaurs. They're icky." I thought it when I was five and I'll think it when I'm 95.
• Segment #4 -- Intermission. Since everyone in the theater now needs a drink, we get a short little interlude where each musical instrument is introduced as well as visual representation of its specific sound.
• This is pandering, but I am grateful to it for lightening the mood after "The Rite of Spring".
• Like the bassoon.
• Segment #5 -- "The Pastoral Symphony" written by Ludwig van Beethoven (1808)
• My favorite!!!! Unicorns! Centaurs! Pegasi! Cherubs! Girly stuff to decorate many 1980s girls' bedrooms!
• Are they women? Are they mermaids? Centaurs. Centaurs with bare breasts. It doesn't count unless you see a nipple.
• 1930s skinny brow. 1930s lashes and eyelids.
• Let's parade ourselves to get the menfolk! I don't care. I still enjoy the shit out of it.
• Oh no! Someone's not paired up! FIX IT NOW.
• PARTY! Damn, that is a lot of wine.
• So....the dark skinned centaurs has zebra bodies.
• Ho, ho, it's all just an ordinary day in mythological Greece!
• Rainbows!
• But seriously, this movie is just too long.
• Segment #6 -- "Dance of the Hours" written by Amilcare Ponchielli (1876)
• It's fun. Fatties doing ballet. Hilarious.
• But I am antsy. And we're only to the elephants.
• Fantasia...come on, man.
• Segment #7 -- "Night on Bald Mountain" written by Modest Mussorgsky (1867)/"Ave Maria" written by Franz Schubert (1825)
• For real, when I was a kid I only got a few moments into this sequence before shutting off the tape. I wasn't a "scaredy cat" kid either, but there was only so much I could take and scary music paired with dancing demons was too much for me. It wasn't until years later that I finally watched through to the "Ave Maria" portion.
• Let's get something straight about Chernabog. He is not a villain. We don't see him do anything villainous. He summons some bats and evil spirits. He makes them dance. He torments them. But who cares about the feelings of evil demons? He enjoys being in control. But he doesn't cast any evil spells, he doesn't serve a poison apple, he doesn't steal puppies with the intention of making a fur coat, he doesn't usurp the throne by murdering his brother. He doesn't even leave a bunch of cats on the outskirts of town so he can inherit money. Chernabog is scary. No one can deny that. But can we stop calling him a villain, please?
• Harpies with red nipples! Harpies with red nipples! Alert! Alert!
 |
This is a screenshot from a G rated
Disney animated feature.
|
• Also, Chernobog is "defeated" by church bells. Weak.
• It'll all be over soon. Town folk with lanterns.
• UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Final Thoughts
But, at least at the time of its initial release, it didn't. It was actually a pretty big bomb. And after FIVE rereleases, the damn thing still managed to stay under the radar of the viewing populace. Nobody gave two shits about dancing mushrooms. That is, until 1969. I don't know who exactly was in charge of the Disney corporation at the time (with Walt having died three years earlier), but someone knew that there was counter culture of hippie youth who would take drugs and see "head movies". And that same someone realized that Fantasia was pretty damn psychedelic and there was a pretty good chance that it would usher LSD raddled minds into the theaters. If you think it happened by accident, take a look at this poster.
Look at that thing! It's an acid nightmare waiting to happen. (I wonder how many "bad trips" are owed to "Night on Bald Mountain"). It's because of this drug association that the Disney company finally made money off of Fantasia and from then on, it was heralded as a masterpiece of American animation.
Look, there is nothing else like Fantasia. It was an original idea. Even though Disney only had two other animated features at the time, I appreciate the fact that he was already thinking outside the box. He was trying to do something different, much like the guys in the early 2000s. Why limit yourself to one genre? To one type of movie when animation allows you to do anything?
So I "get" Fantasia and I can respect it for its uniqueness. That's why I can't put it at the Bottom of the Barrel.
 |
| Hop Low |
Favorite Moment/Song -- "The Pastoral Symphony"
No comments:
Post a Comment