Review of Fantasia 2000 (2000) by Alice S — 19 May 2013

My high school band had intimate relationships with several of the songs in this second incarnation of Disney's art and music fantasy. The slow yet strident "Pines of Rome" ended many an unconventional marching band show; the ubiquitous "Rhapsody in Blue" featured our prodigies in clarinet and piano; the bombastic and rhythm-mad "Firebird Suite" capped off my senior year concert; and "Pomp and Circumstance" (more widely known as "The Graduation Song") was played in its entirety by the junior band during commencement ceremonies.

"Fantasia 2000" is indeed a full movie-going experience with beautifully animated vignettes, classic but recognizable music, and entertaining if cheap celebrity appearances (instead of the plodding prologue of its predecessor). Watching it again recently though did provoke some criticism in me: the combination of sound and visual is sometimes too on-the-nose. The story is too clear; each audio beat is visually punctuated. There is very little room for abstract interpretation.