

The Nutcracker Suite by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.Animated lines, shapes and cloud formations reflect the sound and rhythms of the music. Live-action shots of the orchestra illuminated in blue and gold, backed by superimposed shadows, fade into abstract patterns. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach.Master of ceremonies Deems Taylor enters the stage (also in half-light, half-shadow) and introduces the program. Program Title screen in the original theatrical trailerįantasia opens with live action scenes of members of an orchestra gathering against a blue background and tuning their instruments in half-light, half-shadow. In 1990, Fantasia was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Fantasia has grown in reputation over the years and is now widely acclaimed as one of the greatest animated films of all time in 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it as the 58th greatest American film in their 100 Years.100 Movies and the fifth greatest animated film in their 10 Top 10 list. A sequel, Fantasia 2000, co-produced by Walt's nephew Roy E. The Fantasia franchise has grown to include video games, Disneyland attractions, and a live concert series. When adjusted for inflation, Fantasia is the 23rd highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S. Since 1942, the film has been reissued multiple times by RKO Radio Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution with its original footage and audio being deleted, modified, or restored in each version. While acclaimed by critics, it failed to make a profit owing to World War II's cutting off distribution to the European market, the film's high production costs, and the expense of building Fantasound equipment and leasing theatres for the roadshow presentations.

between 19 the first began at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on November 13, 1940. The soundtrack was recorded using multiple audio channels and reproduced with Fantasound, a pioneering sound system developed by Disney and RCA that made Fantasia the first commercial film shown in stereo and a precursor to surround sound.įantasia was first released as a theatrical roadshow that was held in 13 cities across the U.S. As production costs surpassed what the short could earn, Disney decided to include it in a feature-length film of multiple segments set to classical pieces with Stokowski and Taylor as collaborators. Music critic and composer Deems Taylor acts as the film's Master of Ceremonies who introduces each segment in live action.ĭisney settled on the film's concept in 1938 as work neared completion on The Sorcerer's Apprentice, originally an elaborate Silly Symphony cartoon designed as a comeback role for Mickey Mouse, who had declined in popularity. The third Disney animated feature film, it consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. $76.4–$83.3 million (United States and Canada) įantasia is a 1940 American animated musical anthology film produced and released by Walt Disney Productions, with story direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer and production supervision by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen.
