TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Anssi Vartiainen Having spent a long time in the making, Fantasia 2000 is the next installment in the sequence of movies started by the original Fantasia all the way back in 1940. Walt Disney had originally intended for Fantasia to be a recurring thing, with people going in every few years to see new segments set next to old favourites. Unfortunately the original failed at the box offices, not being at all what the audiences had expected, and it took the studio almost six decades to make a new one.So how does it hold up? In some areas really well, in some areas not at all. There are a couple of really good segments, like Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, a thrilling jazz piece with an animation style inspired by Al Hirschfeld. Easily my favourite in the whole film and actually pretty close to being my all-time favourite as well. Fast, energized and oozing personality. The opening segment, Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven, is also an excellent update on the original opening segment, and is actually even a bit better, containing more colours and a stylized storyline.Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4 by Edward Elgar and The Carnival of the Animals, Finale by Camille Saint-Saëns are not as great, but both have some really good moments in them and are animated very well, with The Carnival of Animals being especially good with its fluidity and humour.And then there's of course The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas, the only segment from the original Fantasia, and it is of course a timeless classic. One of the greatest shorts ever made. Don't let anyone tell you differently.But then there are Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi, Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102 by Dmitri Shostakovich and Firebird Suite—1919 Version by Igor Stravinsky. The first two fail because the use of CGI, which has aged awfully. Shostakovich's piece, telling the tale of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, is especially bad in this regard, looking all rubbery and like it was ripped straight from a Playstation cutscene. Firebird Suite, on the other hand, is objectively looking rather nice segment, telling about a spirit of spring awakening after winter but running into problems when she encounters a dormant volcano. But, you kind of have to compare it to the original closing segment in Fantasia. That of Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky and Ave Maria by Franz Schubert. And I'm sorry, but it's not even close.The film also suffers from truly horrendous interlude announcers. Do Steve Martin and Pen & Teller sound like the kind of people you want to see cracking jokes just before you're about to be pulled into an art experience containing some of the best pieces of classical music ever composed? Of course not! Their levity pulls you straight out of the mood and you have to build it all back up again. Some announcers, like James Earl Jones, do a fine job of providing the needed gravitas, but most of them don't. It was a risky move from Disney, taking in all these people when the original film only had one, and it didn't pay off.All in all I'm glad Fantasia 2000 exists. It has some really good segments and has some of that magic that made the original one of Disney's all-time finest. It's not as good, but I'm glad they tried. Perhaps they don't need to wait another sixty years for the next one.

SnoopyStyle It's a reworking and remaking of the classic Disney Fantasia. The first superior aspect of this one compared to the original is the shorter length. Not all of it works but it works well enough to be compelling throughout. I love the George Gershwin section. It is obviously NYC but I also love the 1930s era. I love the animation style. I couldn't stop smiling and it has some great laughs. There is the redo of Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It looks a little brighter without taking away the animation style. Donald Duck in Noah's Ark is funny. Overall, there are some slower sections but I just love the Gershwin section so much.

Robert Reynolds This is an animated feature-length film from Walt Disney Pictures. There will be spoilers ahead:This is essentially done in the same structure as the original Fantasia, except that the last two segments don't form a type of connection of theme as A Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria did in the original. There are eight segments, as in the original and The Sorcerer's Apprentice is one of the segments included in Fantasia 2000, in keeping with Walt Disney's original intention to keep subsequent versions of the film some mix of old and new segments. Steve Martin does an overview and seven segments are introduced individually by hosts. The segments are, in order:Symphony No. 5 in C Minor-Beethoven, which features abstract animation resembling bats and butterflies and thus opening this with abstract animation in the same manner as the original.Pines of Rome-Ottorino Respeghi, is introduced by Itzhak Perlman, absolutely beautiful animation of whales moving about during migration.Rhapsody In Blue-Gershwin (Quincy Jones) my favorite segment, with the animation done to resemble the drawings of Al Hirschfeld and with a storyline, the interweaving of the stories of four people over a day in New York City.Piano Concerto 2 In F Major-Shostakovich, (Bette Midler) which is "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" by Hans Christian Andersen set to music.The Carnival of Animals-Saint-Saens (James Earl Jones) about flamingos and one of them having a yo-yo. It must be seen to be appreciated!The Sorcerer's Apprentice-Paul Dukas (Penn and Teller) the complete segment carried over from the original.Pomp and Circumstance-Elgar (conductor James Levine) the familiar marches paired with animation of Donald Duck trying to help Noah fill the Ark, with help from Daisy Duck, with the expected consequences.Firebird Suite (1919 version)-Stravinsky (Angela Lansbury) probably the most visually impressive segment, absolutely beautiful to look at, it follows a sprite who accidentally awakens a "firebird", with disastrous consequences. This final segment actually encapsulates the thematic elements of the last two segments in the original in terms of destruction and salvation.About the only problem I have with this is its length. I would have liked it to be longer than its 74 minutes. Even 90 minutes would have been preferable, though two hours (given that the original was slightly over two hours) would have suited me better. That's a minor quibble. It's a worthy successor.This film is available on DVD and Blu Ray. I've owned it on VHS, DVD and Blu Ray and Blu Ray is the way to go if you have that capability. Most Recommended.

myspecialparadise Uncle Walt would have hated this updated version of his Classic. I found it to be a total bore.It was nice to see Bette Midler, but Angela Lansbury ... not so much. I fear Ms. Lansbury lost a few fans when she decided to do an episode of Law & Order: SVU. One thing that was very good about the old studio system was that they would have never allowed her to play a part so negative to her career. Even in The Harvey Girls she came out smelling as a rose! Back to Fantasia 2000 ... a waste of money. It is true that when the original first came out it was bomb ... people hated it. However, it gained popularity in the 1960's ... considered to be one righteous trip, with or without mushrooms! I knew a guy that saw it on acid, he was never the same after that. No, I am not into that stuff ... bit it does show why Fantasia became a hit in the 1960s.Seeing Mickey as The Sorcerer's Apprentise was pretty cool, mainly because he didn't say anything ... always hated Mickey's voice! Creeps me out! All in all, stick with the original ... and leave this one to the spider webs and dust.