Whether you were the child musical-prodigy or just the kid who
played trumpet for two years in middle school, the source of your
classical music know-how was most likely dominated by
Disney’s 1937 masterpiece, “Fantasia.” Worried
that his beloved Mickey Mouse was becoming a tool for commercial
success, Walt Disney turned his fun-loving mouse into the main
character of a cartoon version of “The Sorcerers’s
Apprentice.”

With the aid of the London Symphony Orchestra and their
conductor, Leopold Stokowski, this adaptation of the famous French
fairy tale came to life in a whirl of colorful animation. This
lively Disney classic will be put to rest on Jan. 31, as it joins
its 2000 counterpart and “Sleeping Beauty” in becoming
the newest members of The Disney Vault. Once a movie is sent to the
famed lockbox, it will be removed from shelves, and possibly never
re-released.

As the last section before “Fantasia’s”
intermission, there’s a good chance your childhood self never
even reached Mickey’s disastrous adventures, which included
charmed broomsticks carrying his dreaded pails of water. Or perhaps
you were more enchanted with Disney’s vision of Bach’s
“Tocatta Fugue in D minor.” Reminiscent of the
tri-color lights at familiar parties of the collegiate variety,
flashes of animated patches dance across the screen with classic
Disney flair.

Without a doubt though, the most memorable aspect of
“Fantasia” is Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker
Suite.” In six varying thematic segments, this romantic
ballet captivates audiences of all ages with Sugarplum Faeries,
Tinkerbell-esque in nature; Chinese red-headed mushrooms, dancing
their way through the Orient; “Dance of the
Reedpipes’s” flower ballerinas; Arabic goldfish,
swimming in Mata Hari -inspired costumes; the Russian
“Trepak,” where dancing radishes jump and leap in fuzzy
hats; and the “Waltz of the Flowers,” as nymphs turn
leaves to gold with a mere touch and ice skate on crystalline
ponds.

Post-intermission, “Fantasia” turns into an
explosive display of sound and visual accompaniment, supported by
Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony,”
Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours,”
Moussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” and
Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” Beethoven’s
pastoral setting was altered to become animation set on Mount
Olympus, with centaurs and centaurettes prancing along this
mythical mountainside. As the music continues, colorful ostriches
and ballet-dancing hippos in tutus take the screen.
“Fantasia” concludes with an impressive combo number of
“Bald Mountain” and “Ave Maria.” While the
gargoyles and macabre aspects of Moussorgsky’s music are dark
and somewhat frightening at first, Schubert saves the day by
proving that light and good triumph over evil.

Literally meaning a composition which strays from the intended
form, and a potpourri of familiar arts, “fantasia” is a
remarkably accurate title for this Disney masterpiece. Walt Disney
said of his work, “ ‘Fantasia’ is an idea in
itself. I can never build another. I can improve. I can elaborate.
That is all.”

And he did just that. In 2000, Disney released “Fantasia
2000,” an extension of the first audio/visual sensation. The
music selection is different, including Elgar’s “Pomp
and Circumstance March No. 1,” Gershwin’s
“Rhapsody in Blue,” Shostakovich’s “Piano
Concert No. 2,” Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony in C
minor, Opus 67,” Respighi’s “The Pines of
Rome,” Saint-Saens’s “The Carnival of the
Animals” and finishing off with Stravinsky’s “The
Firebird.” The animation aspect is quite similar, however, as
both “Fantasias” lack the vocals that accompany most
other Disney films.

While much of the public grumbles about what appears to be
Disney’s latest ploy to make more money, the fact remains
that “Fantasia” and “Fantasia 2000” will
soon share vault space with other childhood favorites, including
“The Parent Trap” and “Swiss Family
Robinson.” Accompanying these two is “Sleeping
Beauty,” the enchanting story of Princess Aurora, who pricks
her finger on a spinning wheel and is cursed to spend the rest of
her life in dreamland until Prince Phillip comes to her rescue.