Despite its legacy as one of Disney’s most enduring big-screen triumphs, was as much an act of desperation and experimentation as one of high-minded art.
The 1940 film, which interprets eight different pieces of classical music through lush, hand-drawn animation, arrived as flagship character Mickey Mouse was slumping in popularity.
“They had already done ‘Snow White’ and ‘Pinocchio,’ but Donald Duck was really more popular than Mickey at the time,” said , the Spanish-born conductor who will lead the 75th anniversary tribute to “Fantasia” for the .
“Disney didn’t want him to lose that popularity, so they approached (conductor) Leopold Stokowski for ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ short, and the movie grew out of that.”
Mickey’s “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is perhaps the most iconic of the film’s segments, which range from the trippy, interpretive visuals for Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” to a silly, literal take on Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours,” capped by the sacred/profane juxtaposition of “Night on Bald Mountain” and “Ave Maria.”
That breadth makes “Fantasia” an ideal choice to close out Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s 2014-2015 Pops season, May 8-9 at the , since it straddles legitimate classical territory and kid-friendly entertainment. Parts of the original film, along with the vastly inferior (but endearing) “Fantasia 2000,” will be shown in HD while the symphony plays the pieces live.
“So many people have grown up seeing the film, either parts of it or the whole thing,” said Caballé-Domench, 42 , the Philharmonic’s music director. “For many people, it was their first or only exposure to classical music. So it’s something we have in our minds, and that’s what we’re paying tribute to.”
In our minds, perhaps, but not set in stone. “Fantasia” was conceived as a living multimedia art project to be tinkered with as new artists took ownership.
And it has been — just not in the idealistic way Walt Disney intended.
“Fantasia” bears the marks of nearly a dozen spit-shines, dissections, remasters and re-releases over its seven-plus decades, most of them driven by commercial and political concerns. For example: early versions of the segment for Beethoven’s “Pastoral Symphony” featured black centaurettes polishing the hooves of white centaurs. The scenes were removed in the late 1960s for fear of perpetuating racist stereotypes.
Despite that, “Fantasia” has also proven to be one of the most fearless and pioneering of all Disney films, both artistically and technically. With a few exceptions, its patient, thoughtful pleasures remain intact from their pre-WWII conception.
“The appeal of (this program) fits nicely with the Philharmonic’s priority on throwing open the doors for young audiences and families,” said Nathan Newbrough, president and CEO of the Philharmonic. “Hearing a live orchestra is an experience that stays with you. If you hear it when you’re a kid, even if you don’t come back until your 30s or 40s, it creates a memory and an impression you can’t duplicate.”
Indeed, the Philharmonic’s “Free for Kids” program, which launched in August, offers select shows free-of-charge to attendees aged 7-17. Newbrough expected about 300 kids to show up for the first year’s offerings, but the “monstrous” response has resulted in more than 1,100 young people visiting the Philharmonic this season (“Fantasia” is not, unfortunately, part of that program).
It’s doubly encouraging to Newbrough, as season ticket sales at the Philharmonic have risen more than 250 percent since he joined the nonprofit orchestra in 2008, he said.
As with “Fantasia” itself, experimentation seems to be paying off over time.
“It’s a magical film because even with all the multimedia appeal — the colors, the characters, the styles — it’s the music that gives it importance,” said Caballé-Domench. “When you’re experiencing it you’re feeling all these different emotions and you’re maybe not sure what is causing them. But really, it’s classical music that has been driving the history of it this whole time.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642, jwenzel@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johnwenzel
“DISNEY FANTASIA” Colorado Springs Philharmonic performs live to select video segments from the 1940 original and “Fantasia 2000.” 8 p.m. May 8-9 at the Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave. in Colorado Springs. $21-$65. 719-520-7469 or .
