Contents



1999



Fantasia 2000 (1999)
 
Directed by 
James Algar   (segment "The Sorceror's Apprentice")  
Gaetan Brizzi   (segment "Firebird Suite")  
Paul Brizzi   (segment "Firebird Suite")  
Hendel Butoy   (segments "Pines of Rome", "Steadfast Tin Soldier, The")  
Francis Glebas   (segment "Pomp and Circumstance, Marches #1, 2, 3 and 4")  
Eric Goldberg (I)   (segments "Rhapsody in Blue", "Carnival of the Animals")  
Pixote Hunt   (segment "Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Allegro con Brio")  
  
Produced by 
Donald W. Ernst    
  
Music by 
Paul Dukas   (from "L'apprenti sorcier")  
Edward Elgar   (from "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1")  
George Gershwin   (from "Rhapsody in Blue")  
Ottorino Respighi   (from "Pines of Rome")  
Camille Saint-Saëns   (from "The Carnival of the Animals")  
Dmitri Shostakovich   (from "Piano Concerto No. 2")  
Igor Stravinsky   (from "The Firebird")  
Ludwig van Beethoven   (from "Symphony No. 5 in c minor, Op. 67")  
  
Film Editing by 
Jessica Ambinder-Rojas    
Lois Freeman-Fox    
Julia Gray    
Craig Paulsen    
Gregory F. Plotts   (as Greg Plotts)  
  
Art Direction 
Dan Cooper (I)    
Susan Goldberg    
Dean Gordon    
Michael Humphries    
Carl Jones (II)    
  
Sound Department 
Gregory King ....  supervising sound editor  
Robert L. Sephton ....  sound editor  
  
Special Effects 
Dave Bossert ....  visual effects supervisor  
Arthur Jeppe ....  digital artist: VIFX  
Thomas C. Meyer ....  technical director: CGI software  
Lisa L. Pollaro ....  digital compositor: VIFX  
  
Other crew 
Nancy Beiman ....  animator (segment "Rhapsody in Blue")  
Brett Drogmund ....  production assistant  
Stuart M. Ellis ....  inbetweener  
Julia Gray ....  assistant film editor  
Geoffrey Harvey ....  3-D artist: Rhythm & Hues Studio  
Fred Hermann ....  assistant production manager  
Nicole Herr ....  digital restoration artist  
Paul Edward Jackson ....  IMAX digital film restoration  
Ted Kierscey ....  supervising effects animator  
Kevin Larkin ....  production assistant  
Keith Lesser ....  production assistant  
James Levine (I) ....  conductor  
Mike Miller (VI) ....  production assistant  
Erin Riordan ....  assistant production manager  
Sergi Sagas ....  computer graphics technical director  
Kurt Schaefer ....  IMAX digital to film output  
Ken Semer ....  IMAX digital to film output  
Beth Sherwood ....  assistant production manager  
Tom Sito ....  additional artwork  
Erik Smith ....  production assistant  
Amy Taylor ....  production assistant  
  
 
 
 
 


                             FANTASIA/2000
                    A film review by Christopher Null
                      Copyright 2000 filmcritic.com
                             filmcritic.com

Little known fact: When Walt Disney released FANTASIA in 1940, it was intended to be a permanent work in progress. Each time you saw it, you would see something new combined with something old and familiar.

It didn't quite happen that way. The original FANTASIA became a classic, although a static one. 60 years later, that's about to change. With the release of FANTASIA/2000 we get eight animations set to music: seven new pieces and one classic. Oh, and this time it's presented on IMAX -- the first ever animated feature for the large format.

Already the chatter of parties, people want to know, "How does it stack up against the original?" Comparison is difficult, but on the whole, I prefer the new version, mainly because the overall animation is better fit to the music.

FANTASIA/2000 is good, but it isn't uniformly great. The segments range from the abstract (Butterflies dancing to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony) to the modern (A NYC-themed "Rhapsody in Blue") to the bizarre ("Pines of Rome" can be described in only two words: Flying whales) to the stupid ("Carnival of the Animals" and its flamingos-with-yo-yos animation).

Then there's something old, the classic "Sorcerer's Apprentice" story with Mickey Mouse and the magic brooms, plus at least two new classics: Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 playing for a recreation of "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" fairy tale, and the grand finale, a gorgeous Mother Earth vs. volcano story set to "The Firebird Suite."

FANTASIA/2000 also features interstitial narration from the likes of James Earl Jones, Steve Martin, and Bette Midler. This is amusing, but in decades of moviegoing, I can say I've never seen anything so frightening as the image of Angela Lansbury projected to a height of 80 feet.

Like all IMAX films, FANTASIA/2000 is never short of fascinating while making you mildly nauseous. Like the original, it's really not a kid's film, but it is another Disney classic for the vaults.

RATING:  ****
|------------------------------|
 \ ***** Perfection             \
  \ **** Good, memorable film    \
   \ *** Average, hits and misses \
    \ ** Sub-par on many levels    \
     \ * Unquestionably awful       \
      |------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: G

Director: James Algar, Gaetan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Pixote Hunt Producer: Donald W. Ernst

http://www.fantasia2000.com/

--- Christopher Null - null@filmcritic.com - http://www.filmcritic.com




Have I seen this movie: No
Will I see It: Whenever it becomes available on video
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