“Fantasia / Fantasia 2000”
Directed by: James Lgar, Bill Roberts (II), Hamilton Luske, Pixote Hunt, Hendel Butoy, and Eric Goldberg
Starring: Leopold Stokowski (II), The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mickey Mouse, Deems Taylor, Leopold Stokowski, Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, and James Earl Jones
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated G – All Ages Admitted.
Walt Disney Home Entertainment has released both “Fantasia” and it’s sequel, “Fantasia 2000,“ on Blu-ray for the first time ever. This is in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the release of the first film in 1940 for starters. It is obviously also being put out now to coincide with the release of the live-action movie “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.“ As is usual, Disney is just in time to help us deliver Christmas presents to our families and relatives.
“Fantasia” is highly regarded as one of the greatest Disney films ever released. Pretty good for a movie that was originally considered a commercial failure. The movie is made up of eight classically animated segments. There’s no CGI to be found here boys and girls. This is your old-school Disney animation. It also features The Sorcerer’s Apprentice segment which was the inspiration for the live-action movie of the same name. Besides all-new digital restoration, they’ve even added back entire segments of narration and pre- and post-intermission scenes to the film so it will resemble the original release as closely as it can. Apparently, the film has been edited and chopped down tons of times for some reason or another and is being restored for this Blu-ray and DVD release. Beautiful classic animation and music in high definition? There’s no way you can go wrong with that!
The sequel “Fantasia 2000” moved into more modern technological areas after it began production in 1990. As time moved on, it was decided that some of the film would incorporate computerized animation. This movie also features eight segments that feature different musical scores and stories for each one. The original film’s segment The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was included in this movie as well. There are also introductions to the segments by well-known actors and guests like Steve Martin, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, and Penn and Teller. This is a great companion piece to the original movie that will be cherished for years to come.
Fans of Walt Disney and his classic films will find this new “Fantasia / Fantasia 2000” Blu-ray and DVD release an absolute must-have. First of all, a new high definition picture and sound for both “Fantasia” and “Fantasia 2000” can’t be passed up. Then on top of all that you get an all-new digital restoration of “Fantasia.“ What a great present to find under the tree Christmas morning.
I was sent the “Fantasia / Fantasia 2000” 4-Disc Special Edition, which would be the ideal choice to own. Disc 1 has the “Fantasia” Blu-ray Feature Film and Bonus materials that include All-New Digital Restoration On Feature Film; DisneyView; Disney Family Museum Featurette; The Schultheis Notebook – Newly Discovered Documents Reveal Movie Secrets Featurette; Interactive Art Gallery; and Audio Commentaries. Disc 2 has the “Fantasia 2000” Blu-ray Feature Film and Bonus materials that include Destino (Academy Award Nominated Animated Short, 2003); Dali & Disney: A Date With Destino Documentary; Audio Commentaries; Disney’s Virtual Vault-BD Live Feature; and Musicana-Walt’s Inspiration For A Sequel To “Fantasia” Featurette. Disc 3 has the “Fantasia” regular format DVD Feature Film and Bonus materials that include All-New Digital Restoration On Feature Film; Audio Commentary; and Disney Family Museum Featurette. Disc 4 has the “Fantasia 2000” regular format DVD Feature Film and Bonus materials that include Musicana-Walt’s Inspiration For A Sequel To “Fantasia” Featurette.
The technical specifications for the Blu-ray Feature Films include 1080p High Definition / 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio for Fantasia and 1080p High Definition / 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio for Fantasia 2000; English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48kHz / 24-bit); 5.1 DEHT French and Spanish Language Tracks; and English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles. The regular format DVD Feature Films have 1:33.1 Aspect Ratio for Fantasia and 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio for Fantasia 2000; 5.1 DEHT English, French, and Spanish Language Tracks; and English SDH, French, and Spanish Subtitles.
“Fantasia / Fantasia 2000” comes in two different packages. They are the 4-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack I have described above and the regular DVD format 2-Disc Special Edition. The regular format DVD Special Edition only has Bonus material that includes Musicana – Walt’s inspiration for a “Fantasia” Sequel Featurette; Disney Family Museum Featurette-Explore the new Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California with Walt’s daughter Diane Disney-Miller; and Audio commentaries.
