Customer Reviews

Fantasia (Special 60th Anniversary Edition)

5 star:		(212)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

As a lifelong musician and artist, Fantasia has been one of my all time favorite movies since I first saw it in theaters as a child. My wife, knowing my great love for this movie, bought the DVD version for me as a birthday gift. When I put the DVD on, however, my excited anticipation quickly turned to depressed disappointment.

I immediately realized that the voice of the narrator, Deems Taylor, whose wonderful and soothing voice spans the entirety of the movie, had been overdubbed with someone else's voice! Deems Taylor was a widely known and respected music critic in his time. He had a beautiful, deep sonorous and expressive voice. The sound of his voice was an essential part of the aural and musical magic of this film. Yet, the new owner's of Disney saw fit to overdub his voice with that of some squawky and squeaky sounding unknown, thereby ruining the entire film.

I did some research to find out why, in the name of "preservation", Disney studios would destroy this film in the way that they have. The reason, supposedly, was because they found old footage (which was NOT in the version we all knew and loved as kids) which they wanted to insert - but the audio on that obscure footage had been damaged. They felt they had to redub those voice overs. Fine. But then, in the process, they re-dubbed the entire film, even the parts that had not been damaged!

I understand, for historical interest, that some people might be interested in seeing the extra, obscure footage which had been edited out long ago , but that extra footage easily could have been put on a special features disc, not in the actual movie that millions of fans have come to know and love. This was a horrible decision by a studio which increasingly seems to have lost all sense of artistic taste and common sense. What a sad, sad disappointment.

Soon, I'll be buying a DVD recorder and I hope to preserve the original VHS version I have in that way.

Walt Disney's 1942 FANTASIA was a groundbreaking film and remains a landmark to this day, a brilliant series of animated sequences set to notable concert music conducted by Leopold Stokowski of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The three disk FANTASIA ANTHOLOGY, however, is extremely overrated.

The first disk is the original FANTASIA, which Disney describes as restored. This is not strictly true. First and foremost, the restoration of visual elements is sloppy at best, with the film plagued by streaks and blips, and at least one sequence ("Dance of the Hours") appears to be slightly cropped. That aside, portions of the Deems Taylor narration have been completely lost, and these have been rerecorded by Tim Matheson--and Matheson's voice is not a good match for Taylor and the sychronization is poorly done. Lastly, one selection ("Pastoral") has been censored: a brief image, which would be considered racist by today's standards, has been deleted from the sequence.

Even so, it is still FANTASIA, and it overcomes all of these liabilities. The animation, which was created by hand and photographed through a number of laborious processes, shows Disney Studios at the height of its powers. Every one is certain to have their favorites among the selections (mine are "Dance of the Hours" and "Night on Bald Mountain"), but every selection is brilliantly conceived and executed, and although the content varies from sequence to sequence the overall style of the film hangs together in a most remarkable way. FANTASIA was, is, and will no doubt will forever remain a touchstone in animation art.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the second disk, FANTASIA 2000. This particular film is extremely uneven, the sequences lack the same cohesive style that held the original FANTASIA together, and the entire film is beset by a series of often obnoxious "celebrity" introductions that give the film the feel of a made-for-TV variety show. Still, some of the visual ideas are very impressive, and while they are too few to offset the portions of the film that do not work, they still make FANTASIA 2000 mildly entertaining.

Both the FANTASIA and FANTASIA 2000 disks include documentaries and commentary tracks on each film. The third disk, called "The Fantasia Legacy," is a bonus packed with interviews, archieval footage, and sketches that show how each sequence in both films was developed and then filmed. Some of this material is redundant, for it is included on the documentaries on the first two disks, but most of it is unique to this disk alone. Disney originally saw FANTASIA as a film that could be re-released with a mix of old and new selections every few years, and the most interesting material on the "Legacy" disk is a restored "Clair de Lune" (made for and then cut from the original FANTASIA) and various storyboard ideas for future sequences.

The only way one can obtain the "Legacy" disk is to purchase this three disk package--and therein lies the rub. The original FANTASIA is brilliant, and even in its so-so state it is worthy of a place in any DVD library. FANTASIA 2000, however, is trivial, occasionally interesting but not greatly memorable and not a piece that one would normally go out of the way to purchase. And the price for the three disk package is quite steep.

If you are a Disney fan who must have every scrap of material available, I would recommend the investment this package requires. But if your primary interest is the original FANTASIA, you are much better off simply purchasing a DVD of that film alone--the other two disks are simply not worth the expense. Purchasers should alos remember that the original FANTASIA does not often appeal to very young children, and if the purchase is being made for a child you are likely to be disappointed in their response. Final thought: the original FANTASIA is brilliant, FANTASIA 2000 is so-so, and the bonus disk is for hardcore fans. This pricey package is recommended to the latter only.

The quality and presentation of this restored version of FANTASIA is wonderful. Finally restored, unseen since the initial release, are the complete introductory sequences, including a chimes player's accident with his instrument, the orchestra applauding Mickey Mouse, and the orchestra shuffling out for the intermission. Even the original title card has been returned to its proper place, during the intermission. (Some of the narration was rerecorded due to original voice tracks being no longer available.)

But there is CONSIDERABLE CONTROVERSY over the continued censorship of the "Pastorale" sequence. Circa 1969, the seemingly racist shots of a black centaurette (similar to Our Gang's "Buckwheat") attending on the white centaurettes were cut from the film, resulting in a "jump" in the music. Allegedly, the 1980 release's newly recorded music soundtrack covered up the clumsy edit, so that the remaining choreography was in sync. Subsequent releases to video have used optical tricks to remove the appearance of black centaurs, so that the original music track scans properly.

In this "restored" version, these optical edits are still glaringly obvious. (E.g., an optical zoom to avoid the black centaurette shows you the film grain up close, in another shot, a green bush magically slides across the ground by itself!)

The film survives as a masterpiece of filmic art, and this presentation of a "politically correct, original version" (my description) is tempting. But Disney does this release, and all customers and fans, a disservice by inappropriately calling it a "restored" and "uncut" version, when in fact it is NOT the version that was seen in the 1940 road shows.

Let your buying conscience be your guide, but consider the significance of buying an "original, restored" version that is neither, and perpetuates revisionist cuts as if they never happened.

Please becareful when buying this DVD. The package say it's uncut but it really isn't. Disney felt they needed to censor some scenes because they might offend some black people. I'm a black person and I'm more offended by Disney lying to me then the scenes. I hope someday in the future Disney will think I'm mature enough to own a real uncut version.

It was great to see all of the narration put back into the film, but this so called "Uncut" edition, is not what is seems. Being a life-long fan and collector of "Fantasia" items, I was shocked to see (or not to see), the small black centaurette pyganinnies, totally removed from the film in the "Pastoral Symphony". Disney's "pan & scan" techinque in one sequence chopped them out and when Bacchus is ushered up the stairs, they have been totally wiped out of the segment (the carpet now rolls itself up to the throne...ah,Disney magic). I have many of the above mentioned sequences on video and was really hoping that they would find their way back into the DVD "uncut version". I realize that in this age of 'racial discrimination" that certain things can't be shown or referred to, but give me a break, "Fantasia" is art and should not have been censored, besides, these are mythical creatures. Also,......I remember Demms Taylor as having a different voice, the one in the DVD really does not sound like him at all. Anyway these are my thoughts. Having waited so long for the "uncut version", I feel very let down.

Don't get me wrong -- this film is fantastic, and by itself it rates 5 stars. But this DVD edition is not all its cracked up to be.

First, there's the editing in the Pastoral Symphony, as noted by other reviewers. This is nothing new -- that editing was originally done back in the 60s -- but it makes for some very grainy frames in an otherwise beautiful print.

Then there's the re-dubbing of Deems Taylor's parts. As I understand it, this was necessary because the original soundtrack was missing for parts of the extended interstitials. However, I can't believe that they couldn't find a better voice match for Taylor, given the wealth of voice talent in Hollywood these days. If you're used to the original, the difference is kind of jarring.

My biggest gripe, though, is the apparent re-mixing of the music. The original soundtrack was full-on surround sound (what Disney called Fantasound) that had the music literally surrounding the viewer, often sweeping about the room to follow movement on the screen. The 1990 theatrical and video releases contained this Fantasound mix, but the DVD seems re-mixed as a static symphony recording, with the rear channels carrying only reverb. The sound is a bit cleaner than the last go-round, but it's far less dramatic. And the differences are noticable even in plain stereo.

All of these things add up to considerably less than a faithful rendering of this film. The editing is understandable since racial stereotypes are unacceptable these days, but the rest is a shame, and hard to understand in view of Disney's usual attention to detail.

As I noted, the film itself is well worth seeing, and aside of the editing, it has never looked better. But the original laserdisc/VHS release is far more interesting.

As a child, I grew up watching the "almost original" VHS copy of my favorite Disney film of all-time.

Since purchasing the DVD, I was thoroughly disappointed. The redubbing of Deems Taylor's dialogue was blasphemous, and I'm sure that it could be easily restored with the technology we have today. Also, another point of interest is the censored "Black Centaur" scene (talk about 'political correctness'). Hasn't anyone seen the recent "Donald Duck" and WWII cartoon shorts from the "Walt Disney Treasures" series? They can at least have someone come on before the movie to warn those who may be offended by an animated African-American caricature.

All I can say is I hope Disney will have the common sense to faithfully restore the entire "Roadshow" edition on DVD and Blu-Ray next year for their upcoming "Diamond" release in Fall 2010. Oh, I pray that the day will finally come!!!

This right now is my top recommend for DVD owners and first time buyers. Without any hesitation, I can say that this box set tops all box sets released on DVD so far (even the TOY STORY: ULTIMATE TOY BOX you say? - say it isn't so). Disney has left nothing to chance, nothing out, and hasn't held back (if they managed to come up with another limited issue special edition limited time only release... they'll be hard pressed to add anything new). You get three DVD's - FANTASIA, FANTASIA 2000 and FANTASIA LEGACY - and each is packed with a wealth of material. From audio commentary, history, background material, deleated material, the list goes on and on (honestly - there is more material packaged here, so much insight and more gee whiz neato kind of things here that it makes you wonder why we put up just watching movies on tape for the last twenty years). The box set features a polished transfer of each film and superior sound (and if you have the right sound system, you literally have a concert hall in your living room). Simply put, the FANTASIA box set is a must. If you see it, buy it - if you're new to this and a Disney fan, this is the perfect way to start off your collection.

I am a big fan of Disney films. The animated classics will be forever imprinted in my mind. I do have a huge problem with any censorship! Unfortunately, the people at Disney decided to buckle under to it, because of a few cry babies complaining about racial stereotypes in some of their films. I know I am not the first to say this,but really are these people serious? I am Italian and German, do you think I have not seen my share of stereotyping in my 45 years on this planet? Why hasn't Stromboli from Pinochhio been altered for it's depiction of an Italian? It seems we are very selective with what we censor..hhmmm!I don't mind it because I know the characterization is just that and it doesn't reflect the entire race! Please stop censorship of any kind especially regarding these historic works of art. You can not change history you can only learn from it!

The original 1940 "Fantasia" has to be one of the greatest animated films ever and was made with an unbelievable level of creativity by all participants. The animation in the film is fantastic, whether it it is fairly abstract (as in the Bach Tocatta and Fugue) or more represenational (as in the "Rite of Spring" segment). My belief is that visually speaking, the original Fantasia is a stunning film, with a level of artistry that has never been equalled. The colors of the early Disney films were wonderfully rich (I am thinking of Pinocchio). In Fantasia, images were drawn in very fine detail and there are lots of very fine colors and effects (e.g., reflections from pools of water) here. The film was years and years ahead of its time and is way ahead of the corner-cutting animation that is too common today. I think Fantasia 2000 is a good film too, but can't quite reach the greatness of the earlier film.

Although all of the pieces are set to classical music, they are appealingly presented. The kids will love most of the segments of the film, especially the brilliant "Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Mickey Mouse that are included in both films. These films are great ways to get kids interested in music. The original had Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra at its peak and the sequal has Metropolitan Opera conductor James Levin leading the Chicago Symphony.

In terms of the music, Disney and conductor Leopold Stokowski made a multi-track recording that could only be played in very few theaters at the time (I think 40 speakers were needed). It will be very interesting to see how the original film's soundtrack is presented on the DVD. The sound for the sequel was of course excellent and performances were good too.

Disney's DVD releases of its cartoons have been very good in the past. If any films need to be well presented on DVD (in terms of sound and picture quality), they must include Fantasia and its sequal. It sounds like the DVD is going to have lots of extra background features for the fans of these films, and I for one am really looking forward to getting features about the background of the films, including music pieces that were not included.

My only complaint here (common when it comes to some really great older movies) is why does it take so long to get them to DVD when there surely is an audience for them? Let's hope more great films make it to DVD.