In 1940 Disney created my favorite animation of all time with the original version of Fantasia. I was already predisposed to loving music. Couple that with some classy and creative animation and a young kid is hooked forever. At least I was.

Originally, Disney planned to have Fantasia as a never-ending creation with new segments being substituted with each new release of the film. This never happened until Fantasia 2000.

After missing out on seeing this latest version of Fantasia on IMAX during its theatrical debut release, I later checked it out during the twilight show at the closest multiplex. The film was scheduled for a very short run. There were only four other people in the theater—two mothers with their children. I was a little leery sitting right behind a rambunctious 2-year-old, but the upper back middle is my favorite section, so I plopped myself down. I figured that this new Fantasia would be a tremendous test to see if it could appeal to a 2-year-old.

Fantasia begins impressively with floating clips from the original appearing on screen, and then Beethoven’s magnificent 5th Symphony comes in, with abstract blue clouds with pink puffs, followed by white steam and colorful triangles that become butterfies. Not a bad beginning, and somehow the images and music kept the 2-year-old quiet. Steve Martin then humorously introduces a pretty fair violin player—Itzhak Perlman, who in turn introduces the Chicago Symphony (conducted by James Levine). This world-class orchestra performs all the classical works, except for the one original selection that was done in 1940.

Each piece has its charms. The flying humpbacks gracefully moving with the “Pines of Rome” are extremely lyrical, and the antics of the yo-yo-playing flamingo are certain to please the young kids. Unfortunately, “The Carnival of the Animals” excerpt used for the flamingo cartoon is little more than a brief comic respite. The kids will want more of this, and when they get Fantasia on DVD or video, this will be a spot that is played again and again.

Fantasia could not be valid without Mickey’s classic “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” intact, and it has never looked better. A few enhancements have preserved this timeless piece about a magician’s helper who gets into trouble by attempting the easy way. Especially effective is the transition piece in which a modern, slick Mickey uses the powers of THX sound to search for his old friend Donald Duck—warning him about his upcoming part. At one point, offscreen, we hear Mickey apologize for opening Daisy’s dressing-room door by mistake. That caused a little chuckle, probably more from the adults.

The Disney people have done an excellent job in updating Fantasia. It moves a little faster than the older version, probably with modern attention spans in mind. Especially effective are the guest hosts of each piece that create variety and add to the quickened pace. My favorites were the wacky magicians Penn and Teller, who introduce Mickey Mouse and “L'apprenti sorcier”—what else?

Like the original version of Fantasia, there is a balance in animation styles. While the opening is definitely abstract, the second pictures the humpback whales realistically until we see the fantasy of them flying through the air. Still, the whales do appear as real as animation can make them. The opening line drawing for Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” is as good as anything I’ve seen since Woody Allen’s Manhattan to celebrate Gershwin's music and the NYC skyline. We have an animation piece based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story about “The Steadfast Soldier,” appropriately underscored with the Shostakovich piano concerto, and we have Donald Duck silently act as the animal tour guide on Noah's Ark (this scene matches “Pomp and Circumstance” surprisingly well).

Fantasia 2000 is a worthwhile experience, and could be just the thing to help educate a young person about classical music. I didn't hear much ruckus out of the 2-year-old sitting right in front of me when first seeing it in the theater, so Disney has done something right again. It's worth a shot to turn a young person on to the great classics of music.


Music in order of appearance:
Ludwig van Beethoven (from "Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67")
Ottorino Respighi (from "Pines of Rome")
George Gershwin (from "Rhapsody in Blue")
Dmitri Shostakovich (from "Piano Concerto No. 2")
Camille Saint-Saëns (from "The Carnival of the Animals")
Paul Dukas (from "L'apprenti sorcier")
Edward Elgar (from "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1")
Igor Stravinsky (from "The Firebird")