Fantasia (1940)

I first saw this movie as a kid an was not very impressed because of the lack of dialogue. but just like wine as you age this movie becomes an awesome piece of entertainment, the soundtracks and the scores in this movie with the amount of detail in the animation are just stunning. the greatest part of this movie is the fact that it is one of the first animated movies to use color and it is brilliantly done. at Disney it is one of the most viewed attractions at the park for a reason and has become a testament to how pioneering this film was.

One of those silent movies that captures the eye so many scenes with gorgeous illustrations. Each illustration and movie picture express a scene tell a story. The film starts out slow the theme starts to change colors fade out. This film is very relaxing not to dramatic like other mis-en-scene. The theater audience would most likely feel verisimilitude listening to the orchestra gives that soothing vacation. When the song speeds up you start to feel like someone is chasing you. The art is so crisp.

Fantasia is the one animated movie I actually appreciate more as as an adult than I did as a boy. It is, quite simply, a masterclass of animation. It didn't do so well on its initial release, perhaps because of its uneven tone. You have the light comedy of a ballet dancing hippo contrasting with a Tyrannosaurus tearing out the throat of a Stegosaurus. You have The Sorcerer's Apprentice (possibly Mickey Mouse's finest hour), but then you have the truly nightmarish Night On Bald Mountain. Disney movies had their fair share of darkness, as I'm sure anyone who saw the donkey scene in Pinocchio will agree, but with Bald Mountain they went all out. I find it creepy to this day.Years ago I had it on video, naturally, but now on DVD with good speakers, it really is a treat. I have lazy days where I lie on the couch and play this.

2017 is a year of technical marvel. Looking at movies of today, we see massive, stunning works of animation. We can now achieve computer generated images that look nearly indistinguishable from reality, and at the forefront of movie making today is Disney. Through Marvel, Disney creates multiple action packed superhero blockbusters a year. Star Wars, after it's 2015 revival, has new movies being released annually. Pixar, after creating several successful franchises, is now resting on its laurels, creating sequels like Finding Dory, Toy Story 4, Cars 3 and Incredibles 2. Even Disney's in house animation team is finding success, bringing back the Disney princess formula with movies like Frozen and Moana. However, amidst all this success, we have lost the truly human touch. Fantasia perfectly captures all that was lost in today's Disney movies. The movie has a very personal and human feel to every aspect of it. The orchestra, a very tangible presence in the movie, feels alive. They laugh, play their own little tunes during the intermission, but most importantly, they make mistakes. The animation is the same way, It's very rough at times and sometimes lacking, with some animations being reused, however every shot is filled with passion. You can tell that people worked on this, people with ambition, though they were not perfect. In modern movies, this beautiful animation that looks so real lacks the touch of individualism that Fantasia has in spades. The scene of the Sorcerer's apprentice dancing around the broom is burned into our collective memory for a reason. In all its flaws, its rough edges, it feels real to us. We can see all the raw effort and energy that the animator's put into each of Mickey's footsteps and that resonates with us. Fantasia speaks to the viewer not because it's perfect, but because it's flawed.