Fantasia (1940)

For my third entry in this blog, we explore the wonders of Fantasia from 1940. I imagine that for many hardcore Disney movie fans, Fantasia is probably a staple childhood classic, but as someone who didn’t grow up watching many Disney movies, it didn’t appear on my radar until adulthood.

Non-Spoiler brief review:

Fantasia is an “animated musical anthology film”. It consists of 8 segments, each with an orchestra playing classical music in the background. The Master of Ceremonies introduces each segment and acts as our tour guide through the movie. This is a great movie, in my opinion, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes animation (or classical music) and wants to watch something a little different than a standard plot-centric animated movie. It covers all sorts of themes and subject matter. Great 2D animation is accompanied by equally great orchestral musical accompaniment.

What does this mean? Well, to really deep dive into any movie, there’s always Wikipedia or other resources available at your fingertips for a plot review, so I will try not to make my reviews just a basic play-by-play. I want to bring my own perspective and share what I notice, what I like, what stands out to me, or what I dislike or wish was different, etc. You get the idea.

For Parents:

What is appropriate or inappropriate for children can be subjective, but sometimes can also be pretty obvious. In one of the segments, an illustration, if you will, is made of how the universe and Earth came into being. In the Master of Ceremonies’ introduction to the segment, evolutionary theories are presented as fact rather than theory. Now, where you fall on this and what you want to teach your kids about it is up to you. I’m just giving you a heads up. I find it can be a good opportunity to spark a conversation about creationism, origins of the universe and evolution.

Perhaps the most famous scene is the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, starring Micky Mouse. This scene contains spells and magic that some families may wish to avoid. A few more parental content cautions: there are segments where the animated females are drawn in a way that hints at nudity. Not in a perverse way, in my opinion, but an artistic way in line with historical art dating back to ancient times. There are also portrayals of mythology, and in the final segment, (spoiler warning…) Satan, demons, and evil are depicted in animated form, but the scene does lead to the defeat of evil. This scene may be scary for some children.

Detailed review, with some spoilers:

As with most of these golden age of Disney animation films, I love this movie. Do I love every aspect, scene, and sequence? No, not necessarily. But, as I’ve always believed, no movie is perfect. I can love something without loving everything about it. When I tried to think about what I would have done differently if I had created the movie, I couldn’t think of many things. The animation of that segments are flawless, and the music is spot on.

Speaking of music, I don’t claim to be a musical expert, but I think the music in this movie is absolutely incredible. The animation scenes go perfectly with them, and I can’t imagine watching this movie without the orchestral score. The conductor, Leopold Stokowski does a phenomenal job conducting this masterpiece of a film.

This film must have been quite the undertaking for Walt Disney and his staff to take on in 1940. Fantasia is absolutely gorgeous at every turn. It’s full of dark, light, good, evil, funny, sad, scary, exciting, you name it. All the emotions come out in this animation. It had to be an innovative idea at the time, and I still don’t think there’s much to compare to it.

We’re first brought into the film with the orchestra members gathering their instruments and warming up. I’d point out that even the lighting used to highlight the host and the background was amazingly well done. It really sets the mood. You get a feeling that you’re at a live concert for a night on the town. I can only imagine what it was like to watch this living in 1940, probably aware that the US may be entering the Second World War at any time. Interestingly, there were apparently events where they would pair the cartoon segments with an actual live orchestra. That’s what I would love to see: a showing of this classic film accompanied by live music.

I won’t go into all the animated segments, but all are great to watch, and the professionalism of the character animations, backgrounds, and compositions is second to none. I look at this film as probably a sandbox, if you will, for Walt’s animators to play in and stretch their imaginations. A project where they were encouraged to push the boundaries of their talents and abilities.

If you’ve ever watched a documentary on Walt Disney, that’s exactly what he did with his staff. He pushed them to create and be the best animators that they could be, and it shows in these movies. A standout of course is Micky in his feature film debut playing a sorcerer’s apprentice, who, trying to save himself some work, makes a big mistake. That one might be my favorite segment of the movie, but I also loved the segments with more abstract colors and shapes rather than traditional characters. The segment titled “Dance of the Hours” might be my favorite segment for the comedy factor.

Bottom line:

My overall rating for this movie is an 8.5 because there’s something for everyone. It’s a great attempt at melding classical musical selections with what, at the time, was a fairly new 2D animation form of entertainment. Just go stream it, rent it, or whatever you do. Don’t call yourself a fan of animation if you refuse to watch this one. Blessings, my friends.

You can find Fantasia streaming on platforms like Disney+ etc. Here are links to the Blu-ray and DVD if interested. (Note: there are other additions from these links as well if you want to look into a hard media of this movie, such as special editions, etc).

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy the Blu-ray or DVD through this link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for the support!