REVIEWS

"FANTASIA 2000" (IMAX VERSION)

I remember seeing the original "Fantasia" as a child, but I don't remember if I enjoyed it or not. I think I liked the segment called "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," but I'm not sure. When I got older and "Fantasia" was available on video, I was happy about finally getting to see it again. I watched it, and I was bored outta my mind. I tried to watch it a second time a year or two later, but I couldn't even get through it. Nevertheless, when "Fantasia 2000" was released, I was curious. Animation has gotten incredibly sophisticated since the release of the original, and I also liked the idea of it being released in IMAX theaters for a limited time. After ordering tickets in advance, I went to see "Fantasia 2000" in an IMAX theater in Miami (one of only two theaters in the entire state of Florida playing it... the other is in Orlando). This "Fantasia" follows the same general concept as the original, yet it's very different. Different enough for me to absolutely love the movie.

Supposedly, Walt Disney wanted "Fantasia" to be a constantly growing, ever evolving movie. Every few years, they would re-release it, but with new stuff replacing some of the older stuff. I guess they were pretty ambitious, because the only segment from the original that remained was "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." That's okay, though. I'm not complaining.

Each of the animated musical segments in "Fantasia 2000" is introduced by a different celebrity, including Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, James Levine, James Earl Jones, Penn & Teller, and Angela Lansbury. All of the appearances are brief, but they provide nice breaks.

I can't begin to explain to you how incredible this movie is. I wanted to stand and applaud after each and every segment. Probably the one that made me wanna clap loudest is the story of Noah's Ark done to "Pomp and Circumstance." There's a story within the story involving Donald and Daisy Duck, and as simplistic as the story is, it had me. That particular segment was directed by Francis Glebas, one of the writers of "The Lion King"

All of the animated musical segments are amazing. There's a great one done to "Rhapsody in Blue." The animation (and the story too, I imagine) pays homage to Al Hirschfeld with Hirschfeld's blessing and approval. It's set in New York during the depression, and it's the most "realistic" one. That one was directed by Eric Goldberg, one of the directors of "Pocahontas." There's a great one based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," there's an emotionally-charged one about whales in the arctic that somehow have the gift of flight, and I won't even get into the flamingo with the yo-yo.

Seeing "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" again was cool, but I don't think that it shoulda been included. Compared to the other segments, the animation is crap, and since it was blown up to fit the IMAX screen, it looks even worse. It just ended up being a big distraction.

This movie is filled with one delight after another, but I'm not so sure how much I'd like it if it were played on a regular movie screen as opposed to an IMAX screen. This is my fourth IMAX movie (but the first that was feature-length), and if you've never seen an IMAX movie before, "Fantasia 2000" is an excellent introduction to it.

In a way, the movie is nothing more than a collection of animated music videos for classical music. And since MTV seems to have stopped playing music videos, everyone should go out and see "Fantasia 2000." Yeah, there are a few slow parts, and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is very dated, but it's still an awesome movie to sit through... especially in an IMAX theater.

Scale of 1-10: 9