Of course, Disney were up against it from the start. The original FANTASIA, while not a great film as such, nor a commercial success, was conceived as an artistic and technical project and not necessarily a popular one.
The original film contained animation that dazzled in the 1940s and still looks terrific now. It contained many brilliant sequences, but also several which plumbed the depths of bad taste. Centaurettes, anyone?
The new film certainly follows in the tradition of its forerunner in that respect. It's a real curate's egg, except that rather fewer parts of it are good.
So, starting at the top. I could name SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE, but that would be cheating. Walt Disney's concept for FANTASIA was that it would be regularly updated, with new segments added and old favourites kept as the years went by. So the retention of SA honours Disney's wishes and I've no argument with it. If only it didn't show up so badly the Donald Duck segment that follows it!
The outstanding new segment is RHAPSODY IN BLUE, which is a delight - witty, beautifully drawn, perfectly matched to the music. It breaks no new ground, but it does exactly what it should do, and does it supremely well.
The all-too-brief CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS sequence is also great fun, although it suffers in comparison with THE DANCE OF THE HOURS in the first film, which it is clearly intended to echo.
As for the rest - flying whales, CGI toys, if-it's-Stravinsky-it-must-be-volcanoes, some extraordinarily clumsy links - ugh!
As a footnote - the DVD contains the Oscar-winning short TOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK AND BOOM, from 1953. It's well worth checking out. Historically, it was Disney's first foray into the minimalist style which was pioneered by UPA studios.
The original film contained animation that dazzled in the 1940s and still looks terrific now. It contained many brilliant sequences, but also several which plumbed the depths of bad taste. Centaurettes, anyone?
The new film certainly follows in the tradition of its forerunner in that respect. It's a real curate's egg, except that rather fewer parts of it are good.
So, starting at the top. I could name SORCEROR'S APPRENTICE, but that would be cheating. Walt Disney's concept for FANTASIA was that it would be regularly updated, with new segments added and old favourites kept as the years went by. So the retention of SA honours Disney's wishes and I've no argument with it. If only it didn't show up so badly the Donald Duck segment that follows it!
The outstanding new segment is RHAPSODY IN BLUE, which is a delight - witty, beautifully drawn, perfectly matched to the music. It breaks no new ground, but it does exactly what it should do, and does it supremely well.
The all-too-brief CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS sequence is also great fun, although it suffers in comparison with THE DANCE OF THE HOURS in the first film, which it is clearly intended to echo.
As for the rest - flying whales, CGI toys, if-it's-Stravinsky-it-must-be-volcanoes, some extraordinarily clumsy links - ugh!
As a footnote - the DVD contains the Oscar-winning short TOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK AND BOOM, from 1953. It's well worth checking out. Historically, it was Disney's first foray into the minimalist style which was pioneered by UPA studios.