The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Composer Deems Taylor serves as the film's Master of Ceremonies, introducing each live-action segment. Fantasia opens with live-action scenes of an orchestra tuning its instruments. Master of Ceremonies Deems Taylor enters the stage and introduces the program.
"Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" by Sebastian Bach
Serves as the opening segment and sets the tone for the film's mixture of music and imagery. The sequence begins with live-action of the conductor Leopold Stokowski and the orchestra bathed in colorful lights and shadows. As the music progresses, it transitions into abstract animation, with swirling shapes, shifting patterns, and beams of color that visually interpret the piece's rhythm and emotion rather than telling a story. The result is a vivid, dreamlike visualization of classical music meant to capture the imagination and mood of pure sound.
"The Nutcracker Suite" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The segment features fairies, flowers, mushrooms, and fish dancing in sync with the music's movements. Highlights include the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy with delicate fairies spreading dew, the Chinese Dance with charming mushrooms, and the Waltz of the Flowers showing blossoms swirling in a graceful finale. Through vibrant animation and rich color, the piece celebrates the beauty and rhythm of nature in harmony with Tchaikovsky's classic score.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Paul Dukas
The film's most iconic segment, starring Mickey Mouse as the apprentice of a powerful sorcerer named Yen Sid. When his master leaves, Mickey uses the sorcerer's magic hat to bring a broom to life to do his chores, specifically to carry water. However, the magic quickly spirals out of control as the broom multiplies and floods the workshop. Unable to stop the chaos, Mickey is rescued only when the sorcerer returns and restores order. The sequence blends humor, fantasy, and moral lessons about responsibility and the dangers of misused power, all perfectly synchronized with Duka's dramatic score.
"The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky
This segment tells the story of Earth's early history, from the planet's formation to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The segment begins with swirling cosmic imagery showing the creation of the solar system, then transitions to the birth of life in the oceans and the rise of prehistoric creatures on the land. The animation vividly portrays volcanic eruptions, the struggles of dinosaurs for survival, and their eventual demise. Set to Stravinsky's powerful and primal score, the sequence combines scientific imagination and artistic interpretation to illustrate evolution and the relentless forces of nature.
Intermission / "Meet the Soundtrack"
The intermission serves as a lighthearted break between the film's two halves. It begins with the orchestra relaxing on stage as the musicians chat and stretch. Narrator Deems Taylor returns to discuss the upcoming segments, introducing "The Soundtrack," a humorous animated line that visually reacts to various musical instruments. This playful sequence transitions the audience back into the concert atmosphere, bridging the film's abstract first half with the more narrative-driven segments that follow.
"The Pastoral Symphony" by Ludwig van Beethoven
This segment transforms the composer's music into a colorful vision of Greek mythology. Set in an idyllic Mount Olympus landscape, the segment features centaurs, fauns, cupids, unicorns, and gods celebrating a joyful festival. The mood shifts from playful courtship and merriment to awe as the thunder god Zeus disrupts the festivities with a storm, only for peace and sunshine to return afterward. The sequence blends whimsy, romance, and grandeur, visually interpreting Beethoven's symphony as a celebration of nature, mythology, and harmony.
"Dance of the Hours" by Amilcare Ponchielli
A comedic ballet performed by a cast of animals representing different times of the day. The segment features graceful ostriches welcoming the morning, hippos dancing through the afternoon, elegant elephants blowing bubbles in the evening, and alligators arriving at night for a dramatic finale. The piece humorously combines classical ballet with cartoon antics as the animals' dance devolves into a chaotic but joyful spectacle. Blending elegance and slapstick, the sequence playfully interprets Ponchielli's music with wit and visual charm.
"Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky and "Ava Maria" by Frank Schubert
"Night on Bald Mountain" depicts the demon Chernabog summoning dark spirits and ghosts to dance and wreak havoc atop a mountain during the night. The scene is filled with fire, shadow, and haunting imagery, representing chaos and evil at their height. As dawn breaks, the tolling of church bells disperses the spirits, leading into "Ava Maria," a serene and reverent procession of robed figures walking through a forest toward the light of a rising sun. The transition from darkness to light symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, bringing "Fantasia" to a peaceful and hopeful close.
At the 14th Academy Awards on February 26, 1942, "Fantasia" was awarded two special Academy Awards, one for Walt Disney, William Garity, John N.A. Hawkins, and the RCA Manufacturing Company for their "outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia" and one for Leopold Stokowski "and his associates for their unique achievemnetn in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Walt Disney's production Fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form."
Re-released in theaters on September 1, 1946; February 7, 1956; February 20, 1963; December 17, 1969; April 15, 1977; April 2, 1982; February 8, 1985; October 5, 1990; April 2, 2009 (Buffalo, New York); and November 18, 2015 (limited engagement).
Released for the first time on home video on VHS and LaserDisc on November 1, 1991, as part of the Walt Disney Classics series. Released on DVD on November 14, 2000, as a special 60th Anniversary Edition. Released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 30, 2010, as a Special Edition along with "Fantasia 2000." Released on DVD and Blu-ray (Blu-ray + DVD Combo) on April 20, 2021, in the Best of Mickey, Disney Movie Club Exclusive, along with "Fantasia 2000" and "Celebrating Mickey." Fantasia is available on Disney+.
The American Film Institute (AFI), an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, released the "AFI 100 Years..." series between 1998 and 2008 and recognized Fantasia in a couple of categories. The film was selected for 100 Greatest American Movies of All-Time (1998): #58; and AFI's 10 Top 10 (2008) - The Top 10 Films in 10 Genres: #5 in Animation.
In 1999, the United States Congress deemed Fantasia "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Cast & Crew
Conducted By: Leoplold Stokowki and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Narrative Introductions: Deems Taylor. Production Supervisor: Walt Disney, Ben Sharpsteen. Story Direction: Joe Grant, Dick Huemer. Musical Direction: Edward H. Plumb. Musical Film Editor: Stephen Csillag. Recording: William E. Garity, C.O. Slyfield, John N.A. Hawkins.
"Toccata and Fugue in D Minor"
Direction: Samuel Armstrong. Story Development: Lee Blair, Elmer Plummer, Phil Dike. Art Direction: Robert Cormack. Background Paintings: Joe Stahley, John Hench, Nino Carne. Animation: Cy Young, Art Palmer, Daniel MacManus, George Rowley, Edwin Aardel, Joshue Meador, Cornett Wood.
"The Nutcracker Suite"
Direction: Samuel Armstrong. Story Development: Sylvia Moberly-Holland, Norman Wright, Albert Heath, Bianca Majolie, Graham Heid. Character Designs: John Walbridge, Elmer Plummer, Ethel Kulsar, Art Direction: Robert Cormack, Al Zinnen, Curtiss D. Perkine, Arthur Byram, Bruce Bushman. Background Paintings: John Hench, Ethel Kulsar, Nino Carbe. Animation: Art Babbitt, Les Clark, Don Lusk, Cy Young, Robert Stokes.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice"
Direction: James Algar. Story Development: Perce Pierce, Carl Fallberg. Art Direction: Tom Cedrick, Charles Philippi, Zack Schwartz. Background Paintings: Claude Coats, Stan Spohn, Albert Dempster, Eric Hansen. Animation Supervision: Fred Moore, Vladimir Tytla. Animation: Les Clark, Riley Thompson, Marvin Woodward, Preston Blair, Edward Love, Ugo D'Orsi, George Rowley, Cornett Wood.
"The Rite of Spring"
Direction: Bill Roberts, Paul Saterfield. Story Development and Research: William Martin, Leo Thiele, Robert Sterner, John Fraser McLeish. Art Direction: McLaren Stewart, Dick Kelsey, John Hubley. Background Paintings: Ed Starr, Brice Mack, Edward Levitt. Animation Supervision: Wolfgang Reitherman, Joshua Meador. Animation: Philip Duncan, John McManus, Paul Busch, Art Palmer, Don Tobin, Edwin Aardal, Paul B. Kossoff. Special Camera Effects: Gail Papineau, Leonard Pickley.
"The Pastoral Symphony"
Direction: Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe. Story Development: Otto Englander, Webb Smith, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Bill Peet, George Stallings. Character Designs: James Bodrero, John P. Miller, Lorna S. Soderstrom. Art Direction: Hugh Hennesy, Kenneth Anderson, J. Gordon Legg, Herbert Ryman, Yale Gracey, Lance Nolley. Background Paintings: Claude Coats, Ray Huffine, W. Richard Anthony, Arthur Riley, Gerald Nevius, Ray Forkim. Animation Supervision: Fred Moore, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, Art Babbitt, Oliver M. Johnston, Jr., Don Towsley. Animation: Berny Wolf, Jack Campbell, Jack Bradbury, James Moore, Milt Neil, Bill Justice, John Elliotte, Walt Kelly, Don Lusk, Lynn Karp, Murray McClellan, Robert W. Youngquist, Harry Hamsel.
"Dance of the Hours"
Direction: T. Hee, Norm Ferguson. Character Designs: Martin Provensen, James Bedrero, Duke Russell, Earl Hurd. Art Direction: Kendall O'Connor, Harold Doughty, Ernest Nordic. Background Paintings: Albert Dempster, Charles Conner. Animation Supervision: Norm Ferguson. Animation: John Lounsbery, Howard Swift, Preston Blair, Hugh Fraser, Harvey Toombs, Norman Tate, Hicks Lokey, Art Elliott, Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, Franklin Grundeen.
"Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ava Maria"
Direction: Wilfred Jackson. Story Development: Campbell Grant, Arthur Heinemann, Phil Dike. Art Direction: Kay Nielsen, Terrell Stapp, Charles Payzant, Thor Putnam. Background Paintings: Merle Cox, Ray Lockrem, Robert Storms, W. Richard Anthony. Animation Supervision: Vladimir Tytla. Animation: John McManus, William N. Shull, Robert W. Carlson. Special Animation Effects: Gail Papineau, Leonard Pickley. Special Lyrics for "Ava Maria": Rachel Field. Choral Director: Charles Henderson. Soloist: Julietta Novis.
Technical Specifications
MPAA Rating: G. Runtime: 126 minutes. Sound: Fantasound. Color: Color (Technicolor). Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1. Genre: Animation, Anthology, Fantasy, Music.
Box Office
Opening Weekend (U.S. & Canada): $980,798
Gross (U.S. & Canada): $76,408,097
Gross (Worldwide): $76,415,382
Ratings
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (Tomatometer) | 83% (Popcornmeter)
Metacritic: 96 (Metascore) | 8.2 (User Score)
IMDB: 7.7 (out of 10)
The Movie DB: 73% (User Score)
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