Disney Classics In Order - No. 3 Fantasia

In all honesty, it’s getting closer to three years at this rate before I get through them all. Don’t worry, it’ll pick up pace further down the line. This was a tough one to get through...

Fantasia (1940)
Dir. Samuel Armstrong; James Algar; Bill Roberts; Paul Satterfield; Ben Sharpsteen; David D. Hand; Hamilton Luske; Jim Handley; Ford Beebe; T. Hee; Norman Ferguson; Wilfred Jackson
Based Upon:- Well, music, really

The One Where
It’s completely unlike any other Disney ever made (with the obvious exception of Fantasia 2000 for anyone thinking of being a smartarse). It’s also the longest Disney movie ever clocking in at 124 minutes and, boy, does it feel every minute of that running time. It’s one of the few Disney films counted as one of their fully animated features that has live action sequences. Basically, it’s a selection of silent animations free from an overall narrative set to classical music with introductions by the orchestra. You know, for kids.

General Viewing Notes
It’s feels ahead of its time. Certainly in the 1960s, people like Jim Henson were experimenting with abstract animation set in time to music (although Henson’s preference was jazz rather than classical) but this feels like it was asking more than they’d bargained for from an audience expecting a follow up to Snow White and Pinocchio, even with the presence of Mickey for its most famous sequence, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. 

Disney Tropes
None at all. As I said, it’s so unlike the other two films released thus far that you can't really compare it. Even the animation styles for some sequences differ from the Disney norm, notably The Rite Of Spring and A Night On Bald Mountain. It doesn’t even have a title card until the intermission point halfway through and it ends without any credits whatsoever.

Things You Notice As An Adult
- Mickey’s hacking apart of the sentient broom in order to get it it stop is fairly brutal even though you do only see it in silhouette (the red flashes on the screen in time with the music for emphasis making it seem harsher). It seems violent in a way that’s a little out of character for Mickey.
- This is clearly aimed at achieving a measure of respectability amongst an adult audience. I can imagine that a vast number of kids, both then and now, would struggle to pay attention for the full two hours. I certainly did.
- The death of the dinosaurs in the Rite Of Spring (come on, it happened millions of years ago, that can't be considered a spoiler) is extremely bleak for a Disney film. Tonally, there are some elements in this film that you don’t normally get in Disney.
- This must be the only Disney film to use the word “Satan”. (Citation needed.)

Classic Songs - Are They?
Technically, they’re all classic(al) - ah ha ha. The music is, of course, lovely - the choices of music do fit the animation very well.

Any Good Then?
It’s technically an impressive achievement - the animation in its differing styles is certainly of a high quality and the level of experimentation on show in a Disney film is certainly refreshing. I’m just not sure that it makes for a satisfying experience overall, especially with such a long running time. It’s a curiosity piece and one for fans of animation as an art form but I don’t feel it works as a stand-alone entertaining feature film.

Next One Of These
An aerodynamically improbable big-eared pachyderm.