Ten Stars or Less

As the 20th Century came to a close, Disney studios saw an opportunity to give Fantasia another chance to shine much like it did some 60 years prior. Much like the original, there were things I liked and didn’t like. Although the difference this time was I absolutely loved the animation in the story set in New York and how Donald Duck survived Noah’s ark while Pomp and Circumstance played in the background. Granted, the music didn’t always fit the story, but thanks to advancements in animation, this movie was so much easier to sit through. I didn’t recognize all the music, which was okay given the great story that unfold behind them. One major flaw I thought the short film (1:31 long) had been all the celebrity guest appearances. When Steve Martin opened the movie, I was like okay this could work. Sadly he’s just there for about two minutes and after each story we get introduced to someone new who would go on to awkwardly introduce the next composer and animated story. Fantasia didn’t need this because that was really one of the charms that worked for the first one. Set in an orchestra pit, one man told the back ground stories, and then led us a magical path. One would assume with a much bigger budget and the importance of the Fantasia brand, Disney didn’t hold back on anything. In the end they gave us a special film that pays homage to the original while introducing a whole new generation to epic storytelling through music and animation. 7/10