FANTASIA (1940)

 With only one entry left after this for the year, guest writer Phil Congleton finally takes on Disney in this month’s entry. 

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Walt Disney's animation studios was in full swing by the time we got to 1940. Fantasia (1940), had its New York City world premiere on November 13th, 1940. Along with that, Walt Disney's co-producer on this film, the main supervising producer, Ben Sharpsteen, was born on November 4th, 1895. This film is an important one, because it was a come-back film for its biggest star, Mickey Mouse. Mickey, who makes his appearance in this film, as the "Sorcerer's Apprentice", debuted in movie theaters for the first time, on November 18th, 1928, in the film Steamboat Willie (1928). Fantasia (1940), has always received great praise from the critics, but it was a box office disappointment when it first came out. It was not your normal Disney animated faire at the time. It had a more adult edge to it, which was something not tried until this point. Since then, it has become a huge contributor and influencer, when it comes to film history, especially in animation.

Photo by Phil Congleton

Fantasia (1940)

My exposure to Fantasia (1940), is scattered at best. I saw the film in the 1970s as a kid and like most kids, didn't quite get it. Then I saw it in my early 20s in film school and I finally understood what all the talk was about. I then revisited the film about 15 years ago and that is when I really started to appreciate the magnitude of this film's existence. After watching Fantasia (1940), again, recently, I still come to the same conclusion. Do you really think something containing this amount of work could be done today? Sure it could, but proportionately, no. The amount of work needed to draw, design and animate this beautifully produced piece of art in 1940, would be the equivalent today of spending one billion dollars and the film would probably be a 12 hour long movie. Today's CGI is nice and almost flawless, but you can clearly see the talent, personality and determination, needed to get this film produced, emanating from the screen. Fantasia (1940), utilizes hand drawn artwork, camera lens filter techniques and brilliant, classical music recordings, that brings everything together in the film, including the spirit of the filmmakers themselves. That is something you could never see in computer generated animation.

There are seven different sections to the film. They have breaks in-between the various chapters of the film. They are moments of introduction for each piece. They range from the bright mood of the Nutcracker Suite to the darkness of Night on Bald Mountain. It features the story about the beginning of Earth's history in the Rite of Spring, which also covers the extinction of the dinosaurs. There also is a now-famous chapter featuring Disney's favorite mouse, in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. In some instances, the introductions before each section may feel a little long-winded, but you almost need the break, in order to catch your breath. You need to catch your breath, because the images seen, are mind-blowing, artful representations, coupled with a kaleidoscope of colors and beautifully, fluent, hand-drawn animation. Sound film was slightly over a decade old by 1940. The music and the audio is fantastic in this film. It is awe-inspiring seeing these images move, with synchronized audio/music, highlighting the brilliant displays of animation on the screen. It is important to remember this is just a dozen years after sound film technology was born. Remembering that, makes the experience of Fantasia (1940), even more mesmerizing.

8.8 (B+ MyGrade) = 8 IMDB, 4 Stars Letterboxd

The Mouse owns Star Wars

Regardless of what we compare with Star Wars, one thing is true. We are definitely getting the feeling of a "full-circle moment". Today in the 21st century, Disney now owns Star Wars. The entity that made Fantasia in 1940, 75 years later, bought the rights to the Star Wars franchise. So far it has been pretty good. The Star Wars shows seen on Disney+ have been received very well by viewers and fans alike. The movies are another story. There are good ones, like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and not-so-good ones (I'll let you pick which ones). It is just another similarity that finds its roots in the production background of the films.

This intersection of Hollywood entities, which was formed over those 75 years, is completely evident in Fantasia (1940). It happens once you get to the third section of the film entitled, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". You notice the guise of the apprentice's appearance, which influences a key character in the Star Wars saga, 40 years after the fact. Wearing his master's magical hat, coupled with his huge Mousey ears, wearing his robe, he totally reminds us of master Yoda, with his pointy ears, bald dome and robe. The apprentice tries to use his master's powers, in order to sleep on the job, while walking buckets and mops clean the castle. He uses his hands to make the magical gestures for his spells, which is a characteristic seen in Yoda. Yoda uses his powers of the Force to move objects through the air, using the same movements with his hands to utilize his power. When Mickey is running through the castle, frantically trying to stop the tragedy he created, it reminds us of Yoda doing back-flips, while fighting Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), in Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Another huge similarity between these two films happens in the fourth section of the film, entitled Rite of Spring. This section shows us the beginnings of the planet Earth, which culminates in the extinction of the dinosaurs. The Igor Stravinsky composition, "Rite of Spring", along with the blistering desert terrain, that the dying dinosaurs have to cross to their final resting-places, signals another influence towards the Star Wars world. First we have to make clear, that Fantasia (1940) is so old, that the preferred hypothesis for the extinction of the dinosaurs in 1940, was the result of an intense drought. The theory of the dinosaur's mass extinction from the results of an asteroid strike, wasn't proposed until 1980, which is the same year Empire Strikes Back (1980), came out. So, the magician's at Disney create a dinosaur range, that looks just like the deserts of Tatooine in Star Wars (1977). In the scenes with the Jawa scrap cruiser moving along the sands, while the sand people watch them on top of their own dinosaur-like creatures, looks every bit like the dinosaur range in Fantasia (1940). Watch the scene in Star Wars (1977) and take note of the music John Williams decides to use. It sounds almost like Stravinsky's composition. 

Another fun comparison, comes near the end of "Rite of Spring", which involves volcanoes, complete with lava flows, while the Earth goes through another evolutionary change. It is a finality, that is also felt strongly in Revenge of the Sith (2005). It is the same finality that comes to Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), as the lava rivers of the planet Mustafar, course around him, while his master Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor), locks with him in mortal combat. I don't want to say anymore, for those who have never seen Revenge of the Sith (2005), but most people should have a general idea of the origin of Darth Vader already. For those who have, its all about the lava flow and the vision of the world burning in Fantasia's "Rite of Spring". The saving grace of the whole thing is finality is canceled and becomes change. The Earth does not die. It goes through a change. The end results of Revenge of the Sith (2005), is not a finality, but a change also.

About the Author

Phil Congleton is a lifelong, but retired, film buff, who worked in television for 30 years and produced some small independent films in the 1990s. He just loves the art of film. You can read more of Phil's film reviews on Letterboxd.