I can see why it was a failure with audiences at the time though. Mickey Mouse is featured in every ad and poster released then, so people probably thought they were gonna see a feature length mouse adventure.
and some of it's a little boring. naturally, the best bit is Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring because of the pretty darn amazing and scary dinosaurs. Night on Bald Mountain is scary as well, and the rest are fun.
the animation is of course excellent. it does suffer from a sort of "disney look" to some of the cast, but that's to be expected.
for years this was the "lost Grail" of Disney movies on VHS, as no one had a copy. and when it was finally found, well, the real VHS and laser disc release in 1991 was nice to see. definitely worth watching, but I can't say I'm a huge fan.
Ah, condemned by faint praise ^_^
ReplyDeleteFantasia is my favorite Disney movie, but I grant that it's not for everybody. It is primarily an art piece demonstrating the really high end of what Disney could accomplish... The perfect marriage between music - from the masters conducted by one of the greats - and moving image. The individual pieces ranged from abstract art to Mickey Mouse comedy, from epic drama to genteel ballets that would have fit into Bambi two years later.
It works, but only if that's what one wants to see from Disney. Speaking unfacetiously, most people don't. Of the studio's two releases that year, it was Dumbo that proved more popular. Fantasia is really more of a cult classic.
I want to like it more than I do. I like his original idea of doing new segments every year as well.
ReplyDeleteI do like all the pieces. and I'm no huge Disney fan or foe, by any means (except of the Lion King, I hate that). I agree with you assessment of the whole thing.