Project Disney- Fantasia

Project Disney: The plan is to tackle all of the Disney films, re-reading the classic stories and tales that inspired many of them and to look at how the changes the filmmakers made, the new elements they introduced and the essential elements they kept. We will, of course, be talking about the films as movies as well, saying why we enjoy them and what some of our favorite moments are, but our focus will be on looking at them as adaptations. For the films that are not drawn from any one work we’ll be looking at some of the possible literary influences that we see in the stories. Inspired by Project Disney hosted by Picture Me Reading.

This week we are going to talk about Fantasia based off of Sorcerer's Apprentice - 1797 poem Der Zauberlehrling by Goethe.  This poem is neat... it is easily found on the internet, you can read it here.  The poem was passed around the Disney studio and the staff was asked to answer twenty questions on how to bring the poem to life, and along came Mickey! The Sorcerer Mickey... my favorite Mickey out of all of them.  A few years ago when I went to Disneyland I heard there was an area you could take pictures with Mickey in different rooms.  They were random so you never knew which Mickey you got.  NOT ME.. I demanded ok I asked politely if I could get my pictures with the Sorcerer Mickey.. and I got my wish!  Fantasia is one of my most favorite Disney movies out of all of them.  The artwork and music makes it wonderful.  I have noticed most kids don't really love it though.  I have tried to show my little cousin this movie and she loses interest fast.

I love this poster.  Disney tried to market to college students and give them a psychedelic time. The poster includes the names of all the composers. There are a few really outstanding songs/art in this film.  One I really love is the Nutcracker Suite.  This shows the seasons changing, and features fairies, fish, mushrooms, and flowers! The clip here only has the fairies but you can just see how beautiful it is.
 


 Next up the Sorcerer's Apprentice. One of my all time favorite Disney moments. I just love the story told .. with Mickey wanting to be a wizard and not wanting to clean up. Casting a spell on the broom to help him... which turns into a disaster. I also love the Wizard in this video. He comes back and grabs his hat from Mickey.. but you can tell he cares about Mickey. It's great!

The Pastoral Symphony ... I just love the art work for this. The features Greek icons... centaurs, cupids, fauns, Gods! It's great. This isn't my favorite music in the film. But the beauty of the scenes
make up for it.

 

Dance of the Hours is so fun!! Madame Upanova and her ostriches (Morning); Hyacinth Hippo and her servants (Afternoon); Elephanchine and her bubble-blowing elephant troupe (Evening); and Ben Ali Gator and his troop of alligators (Night) then they all get together! The music is perfect with the animation.. this is the part of Fantasia I remember loving the most as a child.

Last we have of course Night on Bald Mountain. WOW!! Such a masterpiece. The music, the animation= FLAWLESS. I always remember this video from A Disney Halloween.  To me this is classic Disney at it's best. When it could show evil and scary things. I think if this came out today parents would have a fit.
 
 

If you haven't taken the time to watch this film you should. Each clip as you can see above wordlessly tells beautiful stories. I personally think it's a classic and entertaining.  I only own it on VHS (yea you read that right) and need to pick it up on DVD soon! 

Check out my other Project Disney posts:
Snow White
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Treasure Planet
Sleeping Beauty
The Great Mouse Detective 
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Princess and the Frog
Pinocchio 
Beauty and the Beast
Lady and the Tramp
Alice in Wonderland
The Rescuers
The Rescuers Down Under
Tangled
Oliver and Company
Mulan
The Little Mermaid
Bambi
101 Dalmatians
Frozen
Fantasia 2000
The Jungle Book
The Emperor's New Groove
The Sword in the Stone
Aladdin
Atlantis
The Aristocats
The Lion King
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Robin Hood
Hercules
Pocahontas
Dumbo
The Black Cauldron
Mary Poppins
Lilo and Stitch  
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Make Mine Music
Tarzan
Fox and the Hound
Melody Time