Fantasia 2000

What’s the Story?

FANTASIA 2000 begins with glimpses and sound clips from the original floating into view, and then suddenly we are in the midst of Beethoven's Fifth, accompanied by an abstract battle between groups of triangles. Then Steve Martin comes on to make a joke, and we're off to the next episode, whales in moonlight, to Respighi's "Pines of Rome." The light on the water, the stillness, the dignity and grace of the whales in the water and as they float up into the sky are magnificent. Other segments include a rollicking Al Hirschfeld-inspired look at 1930's New York, to the music of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," a very romantic "Steadfast Tin Soldier" set to Dimitri Shostakovich's second piano concerto, and a mystical tale about death and rebirth in the forest, to Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite." From the original, we get Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice, even more sensational on the huge screen, with glowing colors and dazzling detail. And Donald finally gets his chance, as Sir Edward Elgar's famous "Pomp and Circumstance" accompanies not a procession of graduates to their diplomas but a procession of animals to Noah's ark. Celebrities like Angela Lansbury, Quincy Jones, and James Earl Jones provide smooth transitions.

Is It Any Good?

Disney called the original Fantasia "a grand mixture of comedy, fantasy, ballet, drama, impressionism, color, sound, and epic fury," and that well describes the very worthy successor. As the first theatrical release designed exclusively for IMAX screens, it fills the eyes of the audience with splendor. Now in wide release in standard theaters, it is still a delight, even better in one respect because you can see the entire screen and catch some of the details that are lost in the vast expanse of the IMAX experience.