Funtasia Version 2.0oo
Written: Jun 29 '00 (Updated Jul 06 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: great animation/great music
Cons: unknown artistic hacks/known and unknown musical hacks
|
|
|
| Boogus's Full Review: Fantasia/2000 |
I didn't get to see this movie at an IMAX theatre in glorious 70 mm, because no bleedin' cinema in my area would show it; therefore, I had to watch it in 35 mm at the local multiplex. However, since IMAX is the only category it's listed in, I have to give my epinion here. That's okay with me. Here goes. . . .
There has always been a great connection between Disney cartoons and music from "Steamboat Willie" through their "Silly Symphonies" to the present animated musicals. Well, I took my five oldest children to view the latest musical extravaganza shepherded by Walt's nephew, Roy, so that they could be my little barometers to gage the show, and I watched them out of the corner of my eye to see what their reactions would be. Were they restless or impressed? Did they react as the animators hoped they would with cheers or tears at the appropriate times? Actually, there are rarely ever tears in most Disney films--not for long, anyway. Kids that have watched very many Disneys know this and also know that if they wait only a few moments, all will be set to right or Disney-ized as I call it. Spielberg knew this, too, when he and Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter, gave us that sappy, contrived, maudlin ending to their biggest-grossing film for over a decade when "E.T. phoned home!" Disney-ized. Mathison wrote a much better screenplay for an earlier film Coppola produced and Carroll Ballard directed, THE BLACK STALLION. Not Disney-ized. What do I mean by Disney-ized? As in the usual Saturday morning cartoon fare, characters get shot up, beaten up, cut up, smashed up, and especially blown up; none ever dies! Think Wile E. Coyote. Remember this because I'll refer back to it later. And the nominees are. . . .
The first segment, set to Beethoven's FIFTH SYMPHONY and reminiscent of Bach's TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D MINOR from the first film, had abstract, colorful butterflies dancing around on the morning breezes until they were accosted and chased by a horde of black bat thingies coming from geysers in the ground. That was all I got from it. No story was present. Only masses of swoopin', swarmin', flitterin', friggin', flyin' creatures of some sort. Ho hum. Though the music was great, I didn't care for this piece. I felt the same about Disney's treatment of Bach's work earlier. Corner-eye evaluation: Kids weren't overly impressed. Wiggled and talked a little. Moving along. . . .
These guys must have had a thing for flying objects at the beginning of this project, and they must have watched other IMAX nature movies for inspiration. Standard fare for this 70 mm format of filmmaking appears to be a preponderance of jumping, swimming mammals (e.g., whales and dolphins). Thus, we get the sea-going sequence featuring freaky, friggin', airborne whales. I guess you could compare this to THE NUTCRACKER SUITE segment in the first flick. No dancing flowers or mushrooms here, but the whales Jitterbug or Breakdance or something. Maybe it's closer to aerial acrobatics or Olympic synchronized swimming. It's hard to describe, for cryin' out loud! All right, I'll say this piece is closer to FANTASIA's THE RITE OF SPRING. At least both deal with monstrous animals. This segment uses Respighi's THE PINES OF ROME. Let me state that music is a lot like poetry in many ways, and there are two major categories of poetry, lyrical and narrative. I prefer narrative because it tells a story. This one didn't as far as I could tell. The whales sequence went on way too long. They flew and soared through the clouds doing basically the same things they do when they glide through the water except that they sounded through the clouds instead of the surf. Yes, it was visually impressive using the c.g.i. animation and all that; however, what was the point? Were they inspired by the mysterious Mr. Hughes? I suppose it was to prove that they, as animators, could visualize and show the impossible, huge, flyin', friggin' whales. I personally doubt that whales would enjoy soaring skyward any more than they do swimming seaward. It's as though they had one tiny concept: If Howard Hughes can get off the ground/sea with with the world's largest aircraft, the Spruce Goose, then maybe so can a whale. They're sort of aero-dynamic with fins for wings and tails for rudders. . . . Heck, I don't know what was going through their minds. This explanation seems as logical as the next. It's a logical hypothesis. Not much of one, I'll admit, but it's at least a logical one. Isn't it? Anyway, this bit goes on too long. Audacious visuals but a weak idea without legs. Fins perhaps, but no legs. Corner-eye evaluation: Kids liked it at first but then got restless. Now that I think about it, maybe THE NUTCRACKER SUITE better compares to the finale. More on that to come. . . .
Gershwin's RHAPSODY IN BLUE piece reminded me of the stuff Disney cartoonists did for MAKE MINE MUSIC and MELODY TIME. I never much cared for the Hirschfeld art that this was based on. Wasn't he the same source of inspiration they used for Aladdin's Genie, by the way? I'm of a later generation who admires the caricatures of those Mad Magazine boys, whose names escape me at the moment, so I'll move on. Oh yeah, now I remember; they were Mort Drucker and Angelo Torres--among others. Their caricatures were hip and cool. Not old hat, fuddy duddy stuff like Hirschfeld's. There was a cross-section of cosmopolites from the Depression Era in this segment. Let's see. There was an unemployed businessman/stockbroker, a blue collar worker/musician wannabee, a henpecked husband/would-be free spirit/Walter Mitty guy with his snotty, shop-till-you-drop, socialite, status-seeking wife, and a poor child with a backstage mother or maybe just an overzealous one that drags the little minimally-talented thing all over town to every kind of artistic afterschool lesson offered in New York City. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" here sometime in the near future. All of these people, except the shopping fiend, feel trapped in their present circumstances, it seems. They are part of the "huddled masses yearning to breath free." As I said before, I agree with Mr. Horse from "The Ren and Stimpy Show," "No, sir. I don't like it." There were a few clever moments which mostly involved the bits with the cute put-upon tyke. There wasn't enough to sustain the piece, though. It used stereotypes and, thus, was predictable. I might add, however, that the artists must have been fans of the Nelvana animation studio cartoonists because I am sure I saw a profile or two that greatly resembled the characters in that studio's television show, "Beetlejuice." Particularly in the snozzolla department. Corner-eye evaluation: Being girls, I think they could relate to the one in this segment. They think they have too much "schooling" to do every day, also, but then don't all children? This was so much like all the junk they watch on Nick and The Cartoon Network that I think they enjoyed it. Again, it had a few inspired moments--very few. We can agree to disagree here and leave it at that. Coming up next. . . .
Dukas's THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE was in here somewhere. Though this was one of my favorites in the original FANTASIA, it did look old and dated. Instead of the modern, stylized, attractive, draftsmen, angular designed animation we see today, it had the outmoded rounded, squash-and-stretch, floppy-eared, baggy-pants kind of cartooning that even Disney left behind with SLEEPING BEAUTY. It looked like the proverbial fish out of water. Corner-eye evaluation: Kids had seen this on tape, so it was no big deal for them. Now, my favorite piece. . . .
Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," one of my favorite stories, was done to the music of Shostakovich's PIANO CONCERTO NUMBER 2, ALLEGRO, OPUS 2. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, "Shostako. . .who?" Yeah, me too. I don't give a rip either. However, I couldn't help but enjoy this sequence. Save one thing. Remember when I mentioned Disney-izing? Well, here it comes. It's not as if Disney hasn't done Andersen before. There's the sweet, heart-warming "Ugly Duckling" short, and the first of their contemporary musicals, THE LITTLE MERMAID. I'm not sure they ever understood Hans, though, because many of his stories end in a wonderful but bittersweet, nay, even a bit of a morose close. Who can forget his "Little Match Girl" if they've ever read it. If it doesn't pull at your heart strings, you must be dead! Sad, yes, but with a sense of a hopeful tomorrow. I won't give it away. Just read it if you haven't already! The melancholy Swede or Dane or whatever Scandinavian he was saw life that way. People die! Things go wrong. "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley (i.e., oft go astray)," as Robert Burns said. Oh, by the way, that's ASTRAY not ASHTRAY. Pay attention. Andersen did believe in a loving Heavenly Father and a glorious resurrection for the good and faithful. You know, Little Match Girl types. I'm not sure where ducklings and mermaids go. Anyway, here's the Disney-izing I've been promising. The animators at Disney always feel compelled for some strange reason to give us a happy ending. You know what I mean. He's dead! The strings wail in the background. No, wait! He twitched. His eyes opened. He shook his head and groaned. He's breathing! The music swells. HE IS ALIVE! Oh boy! Oh joy! Kiss! Kiss! Yeah, see I told you you'd seen it all before--many times before. By now you know this routine by heart. Disney-izing! I, however, much prefer Hans's original ending with the fireplace emptied and a melted piece of lead found in the shape of a heart being all that remains of the tin soldier and paper ballerina. Don't worry. I'm not giving anything away since Disney chose not to use that closing. They friggin' DISNEY-IZED IT!!! Read the original story, if you haven't. It's Go-oo-od! Don't want a copyright infringement here. Andersen's tales have been the favorites of millions for years, and he didn't feel like he had to guarantee you a happy, sappy, ending to win you over. Maybe that's the difference between a master storyteller and merely a commercial one. As I said before, I can't help liking this segment because I love this story, anyway. Since Hans originally tried to be an opera singer before becoming a writer, I'm sure he would have been proud. That is, except for them messing with his resolution. This is one adaptation that's been long overdue. I only wished they hadn't Disney-ized his lovely, bittersweet, heart-touching conclusion. That's all. Corner-eye evaluation: It was one of the few sequences that the kids sat quietly and attentively throughout from beginning to end. I was watching the screen more than them at this time, however. And now. . . .
There were flamingoes with yo-yos in Saint-Saens's CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS similar to the ostriches with gators in Ponchinelli's DANCE OF THE HOURS. They're both long-legged birds, anyway. It's cute and entertaining. It's also nice and short with very bright, eye-catching colors. Speaking of eyes, my corner-eye evaluation: They really enjoyed this piece with its traditional animation technique. What little boy or girl wouldn't? There isn't much else to say here. So I'll go to one of my other favorite segments. . . .
Donald Duck joins Mickey in this FANTASIA sequel. This also seems a bit like the DANCE OF THE HOURS sequence in the first film. Mainly due to the animals and vibrant hues, I guess. I enjoyed the Noah's Ark retelling done to the music of Elgar's POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE. Who ever thought they could make POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE entertaining? I mean, except when some wise acre graduate flashes the audience or something at Commencement to this same theme. The best part was that I didn't have to hear Donald's annoying quack/voice either as it was originally performed by Clarence "Ducky" Nash. Let's just say I'll never look at a graduation the same way again after seeing this. The music fit perfectly since the animals went in two by two the way most senior classes do. My only question: Did they have photography in Noah's day? Just asking. By the way, this isn't the first Disney toon to portray "Father Noah," which is what it was called. Corner-eye evaluation: Girls loved it. All smiles. And now the big finale. . . .
I'll admit that Stravinsky's FIREBIRD SUITE was the only segment that gave me some goosebumpy chills. This final sequence could have been called NIGHT ON MOUNT ST. HELENS since that is what seems to have been the inspiration for this piece with the amazing recuperative and regenerative nature of God's creation after the massive upheaval of the region after the 1980 eruption. The Harbinger or Sprite of Spring or whatever she was looked as though she was prompted into action by the Elk of Life. Along comes the Phoenix of Vulcanism and there's trouble, but the E.O.L (not ELO) urges S.O.S. (not Save Our Souls) to "pick herself up, dust herself off, and start all over again." There is a song in there somewhere, I think. Maybe not AVE MARIA, but they could have updated Minnie's theme to "When I Hear My Little Spring Sprite, Yoo Hoo!" There's some parts that remind you of THE NUTCRACKER SUITE by Tchaikovsky in the first FANTASIA, and also the original film's final segments with Mussorgsky's NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN and Schubert's AVE MARIA, as I've already indicated. This was my second favorite piece. As for the corner-eye evaluation: I believe the kiddies enjoyed it, also. Again, I was really watching the film more than I was watching them, but they said they liked it after the movie was over. They were quiet and attentive during it. That's a good sign. Conclusion. . . .
I think you will enjoy this film. It has merit. It's cool. Thank you, Roy Disney. I only wish I could have seen it on an IMAX screen. Oh well, maybe some day.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Boogus
|
|
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
My children's science-fiction adventure book, ADAM OF ANTARES, is available from eBay.com.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.