Films/DVD Asylum

Thumbs up for Fantasia 2000.

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TAFKA Steve

Saw Fantasia 2000 at the local IMAX last night. Animation was not as "edge of the art" as it could have been, but it was entertaining (unlike some of the music introductions by Steve Martin, etc.). They included Mickey's Sorcerer's Apprentice piece from the original (what, no dancing hippos?). New music pieces include Beethoven's 5th (probably the most abstract animation piece), Rhapsody in Blue, Carnival of the Animals, the 1919 Firebird, Shostakovich's Piano #2, and Pomp and Circumstance (first time I've heard a soprano singing the last bars). A safe bet as kids and adults will be entertained and anything that supports classical music listening can't be that bad.
The sound, while more natural and less painful than typical IMAX effects, still pales in comparison with a decent home high end system.

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Re: Thumbs up for Fantasia 2000. Mike Craig 17:22:08 01/07/00 (0)
I agree with Steve that this is a thumbs up movie. Before you go, however, put away all memories of Fantasia. This is another beast. Disney nicely transitions the scene from the original with Mickey (complete with new Mickey voice) congratulating Leopold Stokowski to congratulating the new coductor (Levin?). The colors are more contemporary, and there are underlying messages as much as pure entertainment. The price is $10 at my local IMAX theater.
It is surprisingly not loud. My wife loved the "Rhapsody in Blue" segment. I was touched by the opening and last segments (Beethoven's 5th Symphony and Stravinsky's "Firebird"). There is more of a message and story in the Fantasia 2000 than in Fantasia. From an artistic standpoint, I found the use color to express moods in 2000 contrasted with the blending of colors to produce a visual experiencein Fantasia. You will feel deja vu as you view 2000 however ("This seems like ???? in Fantasia" feeling) at times.
For old time animation lovers like myself, Disney combined some of that techniques with computer generated images. The LARGE screen is a big plus, bringing out detail that is incredible. Fantasia 2000 is s departure from the adventure/exploration/nature films normally seen on IMAX screens, and I am wondering if this is the first of more traditional films that will be shown on IMAX. IMAX's CEO mentioned a project about exploring Mars on CNBC last week which sounded somewhat like a sci-fi movie.
Like Fantasia I believe most young children will be disinterested except for the reprised "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and Donald Duck's rendition of Noah's Ark (majestically done to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" marches). For more mature children and adults this will be a pleasing 90 or so minutes. The musical interpretaions performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are quite different, especially the vocals in "Pomp and Circumstance." It seems as though the musical performances and mixing were engineered for the IMAX environment. I wonder what the result will be in a regular theater and a home theater.
The theater I visited had extensive displays detailing the story lines, animation techniques, music recording, and other details. If you have that available I urge you to arrive at least a half an hour early to preview.
Was it also too loud? jj 11:14:00 01/03/00 (1)
At this point, we all wear earplugs to the movies.
It sorta stinks, but SO LOUD. Why?
- Surprisingly, no. TAFKA Steve 13:45:30 01/03/00 (0)
  The trailer promo for other IMAX releases was loud as hell, but Disney seemed to understand that recreating orchestral playback levels in a large space means only about 80 dB avg., maybe 95 dB on peaks (the Firebird was probably the loudest). I am surprised (and somewhat happy) that Disney did not attempt to animate the 1812 Overture or one of those Strauss Fox Hunt songs with the live ammunition. Also, in my original post I forgot to mention Respighi's Pines of Rome and those flying whales (?!?). As Mart once quoted: "Too much LDS."

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