Fantasia 2000 (1999)

(On DVD, September 2019) The original Fantasia was planned to be an annual event—according to Disney’s vision for the film, it would regularly incorporate new segments and be shown around the country in slightly altered fashion, evolving throughout the years. This did not come to pass (World War II nearly bankrupted the studio and derailed most of their plans), but it does provide a bit of historical context to the Fantasia 2000 reboot, which keeps the famous “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” from the original while introducing new animated segments focused on musical numbers. One of those films that work equally as well as an audiovisual spectacle and as musical accompaniment, Fantasia 2000 is about as accessible as classical music gets, with a little bit of jazz thrown in. As you can expect from a film with eight segments, the quality is variable— “Rhapsody in Blue” is terrific with its nostalgic depiction of an urban area, while the most striking thing about “Symphony No. 5” is how incredibly dated the CGI looks. Indeed, if there’s a point of comparison between this Fantasia sequel and the original, it’s how much of the sequel is irremediably dated by its reliance on CGI—the eighty-year-old original, meanwhile, hasn’t aged nearly as much. Still, you do have the option to look away from the screen and still enjoy the music, so at least the Fantasia 2000 has that going for it. I still enjoyed it quite a bit—as a way to experience some great music, it’s worth at least a listen.