Fantasia 2000 (January 1, 2000)

I was not a fan of the original Fantasia. I acknowledge that it was groundbreaking for its time, but it was too long, too strange, and too boring. I went into this movie thinking I would, similarly, dislike it. But I actually enjoyed it. It is about half the length of the original, which was the right call. Instead of having one conductor lead us through the pieces, Fantasia 2000 has a revolving door of famous actors who make cringey attempts at humor and intrigue. The segments themselves are fine (Rhapsody in Blue segment was fantastic, but it is the outlier). This movie was made during the early years of CGI animation, so the first segment was a hybrid with CGI whales against a stunning hand drawn background. The whales were not well animated and did not fit into the environment. I understand they wanted to showcase the latest technology like Fantasia did 60 years earlier, but it did not work out well. Overall, the film lacks the charm of the original and, similarly, was not a hit at the box office. I appreciated the effort at producing an updated version of the film and I would be interested in seeing a third version in 40 or 60 years showing how far animation will have come. But besides being an attempt at tapping into nostalgia this film is not as groundbreaking nor as charming as the first and, as such, is not worth seeking out on its own (unless you are interested in watching a few segments on their own).

Final Rating: 3/10