Customer Reviews

Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

5 star:		(116)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

For those of you who may be reading through the other reviews here on Amazon, and being turned off of this product due to all of the complaints of so-called "censorship", I feel the need to set things straight. You are not being told the whole story by the angry one-star reviews.

First of all, the missing (approximately) 15 seconds from the film has been missing since 1969. Most of us probably weren't even born at that time. So it's not like this isn't the Fantasia that we grew up with. Besides, Fantasia has undergone many edits over the years. The original theatrical version was only 81 minutes long (and included the 15 seconds of racism), the version on this new blu-ray/DVD release is 125 minutes (and does not include the 15 seconds of racism, but has 44 minutes of footage that has been restored since the original release). There have been almost a dozen re-edits of Fantasia since it's release in 1940, most of them to restore and repair lost or damaged footage, so making a big deal out of losing 15 seconds is redundant.

More importantly, if you actually saw the 15 seconds of edited film that has caused such a stir, you'd understand the need to remove it (by the way, if you're curious enough you can find the missing scenes on youtube, or do a google image search for "Fantasia Sunflower" to see the black centaur). This is no small offense. The Pastoral Symphony scene is packed with beautiful skinny centaur girls of many different vibrant colors, all with perfect bodies (at least the non-horse part) and long flowing hair. Of the many colors of centaur there is only on black one, and this one black centaur also happens to be short and goofy looking with crooked teeth, big hips, messy matted hair, and huge pail lips. To top it all off, she's clearly the servant to the other female centaurs, we first see her giving a pedicure to another centaur and then happily breathing on her hoof to polish it off like a good slave. She decorates her master centaur's flowing tail with flowers only to get comically slapped in the face by it when the master runs off to see the male centaurs coming. The last we see of her she is dutifully walking behind her master carrying a string of flowers worn like a gown. There's no doubt about it, this is racist as hell. The argument over this content is not whether or not the content is racist. We know, with absolute certainty, that it's racist. The argument is whether or not it's okay to excise it from the film.

Now I understand the need to preserve even the worst things in history, in fact, it drives me absolutely insane how many people completely disregard the fact that the founding fathers of this country were slave-owners. Just because this is a dark and abhorrent side of our history does not mean it should be ignored and that it shouldn't be in our children's school textbooks, this is stuff they shouldn't have hidden from them. I also don't think it would be okay to ban any re-release of the classic silent film "Birth of a Nation" even though it contains some of the most atrocious racism ever depicted on camera (and in a positive light, no less), it's still an important piece of cinema history and the controversy only makes it more interesting. And I even find it completely ridiculous that Disney has not yet released "Song of the South" on any recent home video format, albeit with an introduction/disclaimer to remind people that it's a product of a different time.

Be all that as it may, Fantasia is a different story, unlike the stuff mentioned above, Fantasia is not to be remembered as nothing more than a historical relic, Fantasia is still a culturally relevant movie with fans spanning many generations. It's not "Song of the South". If Disney was to release a remastered and unedited "Song of the South" on blu-ray next week, the only people to buy it would be fans of film history, it's not the kind of thing parents are going to give to their kids to watch, in fact, it would be seriously irresponsible of any parent to let their kid watch a movie that reinforces negative racial stereotypes as much as that one does. The same could be said of "Birth of a Nation" (though I doubt many kids are interested in that anyway). Fantasia is a movie that kids still love, it's timeless, it's perfect, and it would be a shame to lose it all because of 15 seconds.

What prompted me to write this review was one single review on amazon among all the negative reviews. There was one that stuck out to me, because this guy said that he would have loved to show Fantasia to his daughters, but he didn't want to show them the edited version, so he was boycotting this release. Think about that, this guy was basically saying 'I won't show this movie to my children unless it includes offensive racist material!' That's stupid. This is my point, Fantasia is a movie for children, and to include that 15 seconds of racism and market it to children would be a bad idea, even if they got Whoopi Goldberg to give an introduction to the film and forgive the racism (as many reviewers here have suggested they do) the point would still be lost on the kids, all they would see is an ugly black centaur acting as a servant to the others. Fantasia is a movie of a different time, we accept that either way, but there's two ways to deal with that, either we could preserve the racism and let Fantasia become nothing more than a relic that needs to be justified by Whoopi Goldberg before every viewing, or we can lose 15 seconds and let Fantasia remain relevant and thrive throughout the ages as a gorgeous and unspoiled piece of art.

This is one hell of a blu-ray, I can't think of any movie that can show off the technical splendor of blu-ray more than this one, the perfect combination of stunning visuals and magnificent music. I recommend this product to everyone, with a reminder that the missing 15 seconds does not diminish the enjoyment of this classic one bit.

After originally looking at this item and its reviews, I was worried that I wouldn't get the version I'd grown up with (I'm 26) - people were complaining about censorship and edits (one review said the movie was only 90 minutes long). I checked the VHS I own - it's 120 minutes. So, of course, I was concerned.

However, after looking into it, this seems to be one of the most complete copies that exists. I looked for images of the back of the actual box - the running times are listed as 125 minutes for Fantasia, and 75 minutes for Fantasia 2000. Both of these times are LONGER than their respective VHS times. The original roadshow release of Fantasia was 125 minutes long, so it sounds as if everything has been restored.

This leaves the censorship. The "censored" scenes haven't been in the releases of the film since 1969, so I'd never even seen them. After viewing the "uncut" version on YouTube, I have to say that this is VERY minor, and I don't miss it at all. The character of Sunflower (besides being very racist) is very jarring amongst the rest of the sequence. She simply doesn't fit in, which was probably the original racist intention, but it disrupts the rest of the art. Besides, in total, the cuts number a few seconds in length, and have no impact on the storyline. I don't think it's that important - especially since OTHER black centaurs exist in the film. (They accompany Bacchus/Dionysus into frame - they are the "zebra" centaurs, and in my opinion are some of the prettiest.)

Finally (and look down on this if you like), I read the release history of the film on Wikipedia. The history confirms that this is likely the most complete release available (it mentions no differences between this release and the 60th anniversary edition). We are also lucky that Disney was able to restore as much as it has, since there have been numerous problems with the film or its audio degrading. The only other thing that hasn't been restored is the original Deems Taylor audio - the full audio track of the live action scenes (shortened in early edits) has been unusable for decades, so Disney had a voice actor redub it. Perhaps in the future, new techniques will make restoration possible; but for now, be happy that the video has been restored.

If you're looking for the highest quality presentation of Fantasia available, this is the set to purchase. The Blu-ray versions of both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 in 1080p are positively beautiful. Crystal clear animation with no discernible artifact (banding), lush grays and blacks, and the artistic beauty of Disney's animators at their best is featured in these two extravagant movies. And yes, the movie has been censored in that we're missing a portion of one frame for a few seconds thanks to some overanxious lawyers at Disney, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying what are otherwise superb video presentations. (One star lost to the censorship issue).

There's an additional downside. The prior release of this set was the Fantasia Anthology. This was a DVD (not Bluray) release with three discs. You'd not be faulted for thinking: "That set has three discs. This one has four. This one, therefore, has more content." You would, however, be wrong. In both sets, one disc is Fantasia and one disc is Fantasia 2000. In the Anthology, Disc 3 is Fantasia Legacy, a bank of hours of supplemental features. In the new four disc set, Disc 3 is simply a DVD (non Bluray) of Fantasia while Disc 4 is simply a DVD of Fantasia 2000. Where did the Legacy supplemental material go? It's now on BD-Live in the "Disney Virtual Vault." So the picture resolution and overall quality has deteriorated AND you get to wait for the BD-Live connection to come to life AND you're counting on Disney making this available for the life of the disc (e.g. forever) which may or may not be the case.

Fantasia lovers out there will therefore want both the Bluray set here for the best possible presentation of the movie AND the Anthology 3 disc set for the supplemental feature disc.

I have Bluray. Why would I want two discs for an older format? Why wouldn't I want the supplemental disc that was included on the earlier set? Another star lost for a bad marketing decision by Disney.

I feel terrible giving this wonderful movie three stars, so let me underscore that the movie gets 5 stars as one of Disney's all time best works. The dropped stars are for hypervigilant attorneys and the transition of supplemental features to BD-Live instead of providing them as part of the overall package.

Two of Disney's best and most unique animated classics are finally coming to Blu-Ray -- Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. This is exciting news for Disney fans everywhere, but even better, Disney is including Destino, an animated collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. This unique animated short was planned back in the 1940s, but was only completed by Disney's animators a few years ago.

This 4-disc collection includes the movies and extras on two Blu-Ray discs, along with two DVDs with the movies and limited extras. Contents for each disc are as follows:

Disc One: Fantasia Blu-Ray
* DisneyView
* Disney Family Museum
* The Schultheis Notebook - Newly discovered document reveals movie secrets
* Interactive Art Gallery
* Audio Commentaries

Disc Two: Fantasia 2000 Blu-Ray
* Destino - 2003 animated short debuting on Blu-Ray
* Dali and Disney - A date with Destino documentary
* Musicana - Walt's inpiration for a sequel
* Disney's Virtual Vault - BD-Live
* Audio Commentaries

Disc Three: Fantasia DVD
* Audio Commentary
* Disney Family Museum

Disc Four: Fantasia 2000 DVD
* Musicana - Walt's inpiration for a sequel

This will be a must-own Blu-Ray set for all Disney collectors and animation fans alike. For years, fans have been clamoring for the release of Destino, so picking this up at Amazon's discounted price is a no-brainer. For those who have been putting off upgrading to Blu-Ray, this might finally be the incentive for which you've been looking.

The movie and quality of the picture and sound are terrific. I was very disappointed that all of the great special features from the last DVD release were not on the BD except via BD Live which requires a BD player with internet capabilities. I was really hoping to see a restored HD version of the Claire de Lune sequence. Please Disney, make past special features easily available, like other studios do, on the new BD versions.

O.K, I understand that alot of people are pissed because the original version was edited. I know I'm not the only one here who grew up with the movie, so this review is coming from someone who is quite familiar with the source. In case you don't know, the pastoral symphony has been edited to where you cannot see a black centaur, and thats...about...it.
Even in the original cut, that centaur I spoke of earlier is only on screen for about fifteen seconds if even, and that is all that really has been trimmed. When first reading these reviews, I was not aware if I had grown up with the censored or uncensored version of the movie, but upon watching it i found out something else. The original version of fantasia has been recut and edited multiple times since 1969, so there's little chance anyone anyone below the age of forty grew up with the uncensored version. I understand that people dislike changes to movies they've grown accustomed to, but this really isnt that different.
Anyway, I'll end my review on this note. If you grew up with fantasia as i did and don't have a vhs version, or just have seen it once and enjoy it then i highly recommend getting the dvd version. The music is still classic and the imagery is beautiful, and isn't that what made fantasia so popular in the first place?

Some of us can remember a time not long ago when it seemed unthinkable that a classic Disney animated feature would be shown on TV at all, and with the rare exceptions of Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland (which was edited), they were not broadcast for decades but only reissued to theaters.

When home video came along, again it seemed out of the question that Snow White, Sleeping Beauty -- and especially Fantasia -- would ever, ever be released on VHS tape. Now it's become a nostalgic memory to recall the fervor that arose when, one by one, they all did become part of many home libraries.

The release of Fantasia was always an event when I was growing up because Disney didn't release it nationwide with a big ad campaign. It just suddenly appeared every few years in theaters and each time, seeing it was like living through a multi-sensory experience. It's not like a movie, per se, but more of a journey.

When it was issued on VHS, it was a huge seller. Surely Walt Disney, who was apparently disappointed throughout his life that the public never embraced Fantasia the way he dreamed they would, might have felt some closure. It was the success of the VHS sales that helped Roy E. Disney convince Michael Eisner to green light what became Fantasia 2000.

This new multi-DVD/Blu-Ray package combines both films for the first time. If you didn't get the DVD last time, do not hesitate this time because it should be in every home. If you want to see and hear it as never before -- plus finally get a look at the fabled Disney/Dali collaboration, Destino, this may be the thing that tips the scales in favor of getting that Blu-Ray player for a holiday gift.

There is nothing like Walt Disney's Fantasia, including its countless imitators. You never run out of things to notice with each viewing. And thanks to the generous audio commentaries and supplemental materials, you can gain an even greater insight into what a mammoth enterprise Walt Disney had the tenacity to take on. It was produced during a period when his artists were at the peak of their form and right before the strike and the war changed things forever.

Some of my own little notes about the original Fantasia:
Ever notice how many characters are waking up and going to sleep? What's that big blocky thing going down the hallway in "Toccata and Fugue?" (Even Roy didn't know.) How many action, horror and sci-fi movie scores must have borrowed elements of "The Rite of Spring?" And was I the only person in the late '60s/early '70s who burst out laughing during "Dance of the Hours," not because of the funny hippos and ostriches, but because Allan Sherman used the tune for "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh?"

It's fitting that Fantasia 2000 is being reissued to the public after Waking Sleeping Beauty, in which we learned more detail about Roy E. Disney's pivotal role in turning the Disney corporate tides, and then seeing and hearing him as a major guiding force behind this film, which was very much a personal triumph for him.

The miracle is that such an ambitious project as Fantasia 2000 is excellent, too, combining reverence for the original film and its techniques with the newest innovations. How can you not admire the brilliant "Rhapsody in Blue," the hysterical flamingos, the lush and lovely "Firebird" sequence, and the rest?

The live-action 2000 "interstitials," though largely amusing to diffuse the stuffiness that one might have found in the 1940 Deems Taylor hosting duties, will probably date 60 years from now, too, with several of the celebrities being obscured by time and generations, but they are there merely for marquee value and are fine.

My only quibble is that Bette Midler seems a little too flip and dismissive of the early Fantasia sequences that were considered then dropped from the original. Nothing against her, but the segment comes across as if these lost concepts were all "losers," reducing these ideas to mere eye-rollers, like the one about "Salvador Dali and baseball." It kind of flies in the face of the years of effort Roy put into restoring Destino and to the countless artists whose work was deleted for reasons other than "dumbness." It's a cute segment, and she is charming as ever, but it just seems a little insensitive.

The new audio commentary by the always welcome historian Brian Sibley is, as expected, richly detailed with endless facts about every minute of the 1940 film, along with mini bios on the artists involved. Some of it overlaps with earlier commentary from other historians, particularly John Canemaker, but if you don't have a Blu-Ray, you only get the new one and not the two earlier ones.

The two earlier Fantasia commentaries are wonderful because they feature Roy, Canemaker and "2000" Conductor James Levine on one, and Canemaker again on the other one with none other than Walt Disney himself in various clips, plus spot-on readings of his notes by an astonishingly gifted voice actor, who also redubbed Deems Taylor when the restored footage was found to be missing a lot of original audio.

[Note to collectors: If you have the three-disc Fantasia Collection DVD set, you'll probably still want to keep it, though, because there are still a lot of extras, like all the concept art and background materials, that were included on the Fantasia Legacy disc that are not in the new package.

The most touching moment, for me, came when the audio commentary for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" started, and there was Roy talking with Mickey Mouse, performed in the vocal persona who we have had the pleasure of enjoying for the past several decades. This was the Mickey I have personally witnessed doing radio interviews at various Disney events, filled with good humor and crackling wit. What a wonderful treat and what a irreplaceable treasure to have now.

So what's the big deal with Destino? Well, it is a big deal because it was considered unfinished and never to be completed. With the help of John Hench, who worked with Walt and Dali originally, and again Roy's dogged determination, it was completed with the original soundtrack intact (it's a Latin pop love ballad, by the way, sung by Dora Luz, who sang "You Belong to My Heart" in The Three Caballeros. It is strange? Weird? Disturbing? Nutso? Oh yeah! But how cool! And what a miracle that this once-in-a-millennium collaboration survived and we can actually see it at home!

One last note : on the commentary for the interstitials for Fantasia 2000, producer Don Hahn talks about the design of this otherworldly concert hall, with its "sails" carrying images around the frames (and on the selection menus).

How appropriate that a film that is so much a result of the teaming of Roy E. Disney with great Disney artists, past and present, should have "sails," since sailing was his passion?

Along with Disney heritage and legacy, of course.

To start, I can't say I know anything about the censorship in Fantasia and personally I grew up never noticing any revisions made: I think the film is just fine as it is.

The most important thing to know about Fantasia is that it isn't a conventional Disney animated film: it is (like the title says) music an animation paired together. If you like such things, it can be a wonderful experience. If you're like some of my family, you may be turned off by the fact that there is "no plot". As they say within the movie, some of the sequences tell a definite story (The Magician's Apprentice, Pomp and Circumstance). Other's are less coherent, but are still obvious as to what is being portrayed, and then there are a few completely abstract pieces. There's no princesses in distress here.

The second most important thing to know about Fantasia is that one of the movies is very old. The original Fantasia has no widescreen support, although they do supply an alternative through Disney Vision, which fills the extra screen space with different paintings throughout the movie) The age of the movie also means that the sound quality... the music recording is less than ideal. I'm told that the music was re-recorded with earlier releases, and it would have been nice for Disney to include it as an alternate audio track, but it is missing, perhaps in an attempt to maintain authenticity. The quality of the 1940 recording will be immediately noticeable, but eventually, like the age of the animation, you become used to it (or I did anyway). It is the quality of the recording in the original Fantasia that made me rate the set only 4 stars.

The animation for both films is top-notch, and even the original fantasia still looks good today.

Because of the age of the original Fantasia, and all the less than ideal sound quality, Fantasia 2000 is probably the better release in this bundle, which is a little sad seeing as the Original Fantasia featured 8 pieces of music to Fantasia 2000 's 6 (and one of those was brought back from the original Fantasia)

Still, both films combined make for a powerful experience that is ultimately easy to enjoy, despite the age of it's source material and whatever censorhip occurred (I understand it was about 10 seconds of altered material).

Awesome as I expected. This is the same version I saw as a child on VHS (except now in beautiful high definition). I've seen the uncensored clip and I prefer it edited out (the movie was edited numerous times, something most of the naysayers probably don't know). In any case, the reason I prefer this version is because the "cut" scene didn't fit at all. The humanoid centaurs, the beautiful environment, the masterful music that is Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, all fit perfectly. Then the goofy black centaur shows up for a few seconds just makes the film look dated, I guess it's a product of its time?-- but the rest of Fantasia looks, feels, and sounds so timeless.

If the clip was added back in, would I complain? not at all. But Fantasia is such a great film regardless and definitely one of Disney's best.

My only complaint (kinda) is that it comes with Fantasia 2000 of which I'm not a fan.

I speak of course about Sunflower. She is a big lipped, buck toothed, nappy haired mule and extremely racist. Why would you want to ruin a masterpiece with a bad decision that someone made in 1940. This is my favorite Disney movie and I watch it with my daughter. At some point in her life We'll have to talk about how people judge other people over things that are superficial and how life was different 70 years ago. I'd prefer to have that lesson come up elsewhere. All the other DVD releases that people are referring to, like the Silly Symphonies collection are sets geared towards adult collectors. With Fantasia we are talking about a general release for people of all ages. Put yourself in the shoes of a black child who just wants to watch a innocent movie. Is it worth the slap in the face so some middle age white nerd who lives with his mom can pontificate about the purity of the art of animation all for what amounts to 8 seconds of the movie? Get a grip people. I've seen this movie 20 time since I bought it and only now can I identify the pan and scan where they edited this out. All of you who are talking about being able to see the footage on YouTube, well, go to youtube and watch it. Do you research, learn the lesson that's there to be learned. When you sit down to watch this masterpiece try focusing on the music and the visuals that are beautiful and stop wasting your time pining for some taboo. Frankly I question the ethics of anyone who feels this needs to be in the movie.