A few days ago I reviewed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Disney’s attempt at making an action-adventure film out of the classic Mickey Mouse sequence in Fantasia. Seeing that so-so movie really made me want to watch the original, and luckily Disney released Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 on Blu-ray last week.
I had a love/hate relationship with Fantasia growing up. I loved a few sequences, and hated a few others. Now that I’m older I can appreciate them all, but it’s still not a film I can just sit down and watch. Fantasia 2000 is a movie I’d never actually seen, and I had about the same reaction to it. I think it starts off really slow, and ends with much high quality sequences.
Regardless, Fantasia is a very important movie. Disney was always pushing technology forward to make his movies, and Fantasia brought about a slew of improvements to cinema sound. He wanted Fantasia to be an ongoing project, but instead it took sixty years for another to be released. Fantasia 2000 does have some great segments, like Rhapsody in Blue, Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3, and 4, and my favorite, Firebird Suite.
The Blu-ray
Disney hasn’t forgotten how to make a Blu-ray, that’s for sure. The picture and sound are wonderful, and there are enough discs and bonus features to please the most hardcore movie fan. The copy Disney sent me is a 4-disc set which includes both films on Blu-ray and DVD, audio commentaries, Destino (the recently finished animated short that Disney and Salvador Dali worked on together), and a ton of bonus features.
Disclaimer: This review was based on a free review copy. Read my blog disclosure statement for more.
