Fantasia

The most sensational sound you'll ever see!
Fantasia (1940)
Timing: 2:4 (124 min)
7.7/10
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7.3/10
3396
7.7/10
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Budget
$2 280 000
Box office
$76 408 097
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Short description

Walt Disney's timeless masterpiece is an extravaganza of sight and sound! See the music come to life, hear the pictures burst into song and experience the excitement that is Fantasia over and over again.

What's left behind the scenes

  • For some elements of the sorcerer's appearance in the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence, the animators drew from details of Walt Disney's own persona—specifically, the raised eyebrow. The character's name, Yen Sid, is 'Disney' spelled backward in Latin characters.
  • The cartoon was the first to use the "Dolby Stereo" stereophonic sound system.
  • When "Fantasia" was released on video, "Night on Bald Mountain" was cut from the film. Upon the film's initial release in 1940, the studio was flooded with complaints from parents who claimed this segment frightened children. The episode was restored in subsequent re-releases.
  • Chernobog in the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment was drawn based on actor Bela Lugosi, who served as a model. Lugosi spent several days (some sources claim it was all done on a single day, November 12, 1939) with Disney's animators, portraying the malevolent deity, whose image the animators then worked with. Bill Tytla, the animator responsible for Chernobog's appearance, was dissatisfied with Lugosi's performance and cast director Wilfred Jackson in the role of Chernobog. In other words, Jackson, not Lugosi, ultimately served as the prototype for Chernobog. Tytla was also responsible for the appearance of the wizard.
  • While working on the film, for the first time in the company's history, the animators received no instructions regarding color. Walt Disney simply told them to paint everything as they saw fit.
  • At the time the film was being made (1940), only one composer of those whose musical works were used in the project was still alive. That was Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). When he was asked for permission to use the music from his ballet "The Rite of Spring" (which premiered in Paris in 1913), he suggested that Walt Disney compose an entirely new piece, but the offer was declined. Stravinsky was extremely displeased with how Stokowski handled "The Rite of Spring" (Stokowski made a new arrangement, changed the order of elements in the original structure, and omitted two elements altogether).
  • Initially, the "Pastoral Symphony" segment included a scene in which black centaurs polished the hooves of white centaurs. When the film was re-released in 1969, it was decided to remove the overly grotesque depictions of the centaurs – with full, bright red lips and wild hair. This scene was absent from all re-releases until 1980. In re-releases after 1990, the scene is present, but it has been altered – only the faces of the white female centaurs are shown in close-up.
  • The cartoon failed at the box office, so the planned sequel 'Fantasia-2' remained unfinished. The 'Peter and the Wolf' segment, based on the music by Sergei Prokofiev (who personally brought the score to Walt Disney's studio), became a separate short animated film.
  • Initially, Walt Disney and composer Leopold Stokowski intended to spray fragrances in theaters at specific moments in the film to enhance the effect: the scent of cereus (a member of the cactus family) during the 'Moonlight' episode set to Claude Debussy's music, the scent of jasmine during the 'Waltz of the Flowers' from Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker,' incense during 'Ave Maria,' and the smell of gunpowder in 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice.' This idea was abandoned due to the practical difficulty of clearing one scent from the air before spraying another.

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