It’s been almost sixty years since Walt Disney’s Fantasia debuted in theaters.  Disney had always meant his beloved 1940s classic to be a perpetual work in progress, replacing one of the original seven segments with a new animated short each year.  But it never happened that way.  In fact, Fantasia tanked at the box office when it was originally released, which probably had something to do with Walt’s unrealized dream.  The film did win an honorary Oscar for “unique achievement,” but it didn’t come until two years after its initial theatrical release.

The funny thing about the original Fantasia is that most kids just didn’t dig it.  I couldn’t stand it when I was little and, when I grew older, always assumed that the film was used primarily to enhance the highs of stoned college students that couldn’t find a theater playing 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Fantasia seemed like Walt’s attempt to make “Sgt. Pepper,” even though the Beatles version was still a quarter-century away from being realized.  Hey, I was just a kid – give me a break.

What I did take away from Fantasia, be it subliminally or not, was the music.  If it weren’t for this film, and a myriad of Bugs Bunny cartoons, my knowledge of classical music would be limited to Schroeder’s references in the “Peanuts” cartoons.  The original film, which ran a full two hours, included seven classical classics that accompanied each animated segment.  Each piece was performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which contributes the music for Fantasia 2000, as well.  So even if you aren’t particularly interested in the visuals, the music is still damn enjoyable (especially coming from the state-of-the-art IMAX sound system).

Each section of Fantasia 2000 is introduced by a series of special guest celebrities, ranging from the funny (Steve Martin), to the serious (Angela Lansbury), to the completely unexpected (Penn & Teller).  The first is called “Symphony No. 5,” after Ludwig von Beethoven’s masterpiece – and features these flying triangle-shaped bird thingies in a battle against these other flying triangle-shaped bird thingies.  Good versus evil?  Who knows?  It was over before I could figure it out.

The second segment was about whales that flew to the tune of Ottorino Respighi’s "Pines of Rome.”  It looked like those Coke commercials with the polar bears.  George Gershwin’s "Rhapsody in Blue" kicked off the next portion of the film, which featured very un-Disney like animation of New York City that began with one simple line.  The fourth (and best) portion, "The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” was set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s "Piano Concerto No. 2" and was about a one-legged soldier that fell in love with a ballerina because he believed that she shares the same disability.  Number five was another short piece, called "Carnival of the Animals,” after the Camille Saint-Saëns song of the same name.  It featured a flamingo with a yo-yo.

"The Sorceror's Apprentice" is up next, and it’s the same as it was in the original.  The seventh segment is called "Pomp and Circumstance” after Sir Edward Elgar’s musical contribution.  Probably the most enjoyable for children, “Pomp” features a duck named Donald that is placed in charge of rounding up animals to board Noah’s Ark.  And the last portion of the film uses Igor Stravinsky’s "The Firebird" to show the effects of a volcanic bird on a nearby forest.

Each short features a different director and animators, which gives them all a unique look.  And like any Disney film, there are things that will rile certain people.  Penn chops off Teller’s hand as they introduce "The Sorceror's Apprentice.”  “Rhapsody in Blue” used some pretty bad racial stereotypes, including one character that lived in Harlem, frequented jazz clubs, was bald with a big nose and lips, and couldn’t hail a cab to save his life.  I can already envision Danny Glover picketing.

Other than that, Fantasia 2000 is perfect family entertainment.  Plus, it’s only seventy-seven minutes long, so your bratty kids won’t get bored, either.

1:17 – for gleeful family entertainment