Fantasia Anthology (DVD, 2000, 3-Disc Collector's Edition DVD Box Set)

Disney wanted to take classical concert music and set it to visuals that he thought a person might conjure up while they sat and listened. When he finished his film, he had created one of the most creative and innovative pieces of animation that contained animation years ahead of its time. Originally, the idea was to release Fantasia every few years with some new animation pieces and some old ones as well. The film did not do as well commercially and the idea was scrapped because of it. That is until Roy Disney, Walt's nephew, decided to revive the concept of Fantasia with a new version Fantasia 2000. Fantasia 2000 featured six new animated pieces and one old favorite. The Fantasia Anthology is a three-disc set that includes the original and the new film, as well as the Fantasia legacy disc that is jam packed with extras.

DISC 1 - FANTASIA - This is the original Disney Fantasia film. The print has undergone a digital restoration and it shows it. The print looks brand new and the color restoration is fantastic. The film is presented in letter boxed format and it shows off the animation brilliantly. The sound has been painstakingly re-mastered, it is available in both the Dolby, and DTS formats. The music totally envelops the room in either format and alone makes this a great disc. There is also a making of feature, which examines Fantasia from its origins to its theatrical release. It also covers the innovations in animation and sound processing that it inspired. This is a great feature. The disc also features two commentaries. The first is with Roy Disney, James Levine who conducted Fantasia 2000, John Canemaker who is a historian of animation and Scott MacQueen who is the manager of film restoration for Disney. There is a ton of good stuff in this commentary and the four voices keep it fresh throughout. The next commentary is different interviews that Walt Disney gave through out his lifetime about the Fantasia film.

DISC 2 FANTASIA 2000- the first time that this film was released it was only shown in Imax theaters. The animated segments are shorter than the original film but they are a bit more fluid and they move at a brisk pace. The first thing I wondered was if a home version would hold up to the impressive size and scope of the Imax format. Despite the limitations of my television set the visuals of this film remain quite powerful due in a large part to the flawless visuals that were possible by the digital to digital transfer. The video is flawless. An amazing audio transfer matches the video quality. The music is available in Dolby 5.1 and in the DTS formats. The disc has two commentaries, one with Roy Disney, conductor James Levine and producer Don Ernst. The other features insights by the segment and art directors of each feature. Both are solid commentaries and fans will not want to miss them. There are also two short cartoons produced by Disney in the 1950's that were supposed to be educational films for music.

DISC 3 THE FANTASIA LEGACY - This is a great supplemental disc that allows you to learn things about any segment in both films. You can see how they were pieced together, concept art, visual and musical development as well as alternate ideas that were not used for the segments of both Fantasia films as well as other assorted features. Other features include a short film showing how certain special effects were done in the original film. Another great feature is "The Fantasia that never was".