Review of Fantasia (2004) by Jason O — 10 Sep 2009

What do you get when a very talented orchestra combines with a brilliant idea for a film? You get a Disney masterpiece of course. "Fantasia" isn't at all like the typical film from Walt Disney. A live orchestra plays several familiar music tunes throughout the two hours of running time, while at the same time, you get to watch animated cartoons that enact with the music. The orchestra has a lot of great instruments ready to play such as percussions, drums, harps, horns, and many more.

Some of the cartoons and music are just there to make up pictures like you might picture in your mind while simply listening to the music, and others tell a story while music plays in the background. For example, you'll see Mickey Mouse star in an unforgettable cartoon where Mickey serves as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which is my favorite part of "Fantasia." Another good example is when the conductor tells you to imagine what it would be like if you were in outer space looking at a desolate planet called earth. Right after he tells you that, the orchestra starts playing and then the cartoon starts out in outer space, dinosaurs eventually appear, and then from there, I'll let you find out the rest that "Fantasia" has in store.

I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of orchestras or music without the aid of singing, but I did like most of the music in "Fantasia" and the cartoons were interesting to watch. And in my opinion, the idea of combining great orchestra music with live-action cartoons was brilliant, especially for the time that this film was made. Even if you're not a huge fan of instrumental music or even cartoons, I recommend giving "Fantasia" a try....you just might be impressed. I know I was! NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. Actually, I was being nice that day. I like Fantasia and it's definitely a one of a kind, which I always appreciate, but it's never been one of the Disney films I thought the most of.