Fantasia 2000 is the thirty-eighth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It premiered in the United States on December 17, 1999, was released to IMAX theatres on January 1, 2000, and was later released to standard theatres nationwide on June 16, 2000. The film uses a similar format to Walt Disney's 1940 film Fantasia, visualizing classical music compositions with various forms of animation and live-action introductions. The music is performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, arranged and conducted by James Levine, excepting two pieces arranged by Peter Schickele and the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment from the original film.
The composers and their works, in the order they are used in the film, are:
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in c minor-I. Allegro con brio – abstract patterns resembling butterflies and bats explore a world of light and darkness which are conquered by light at last.
Ottorino Respighi's Pines of Rome – this segment features a pod of frolicking humpback whales in an unusual 'aerial' setting, and within icebergs. The final section, the Via Appia gives the impression of the larger pod of adults in migration.
George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue – an episode of 1930s-era New York City, depicting the day in the lives of several people within the Depression-era bustling metropolis, as scenes drawn in the style of Al Hirschfeld's famous cartoons of the era, including an animation of Gershwin the composer, himself at the piano. The little girl in the hotel is based on the Eloise character created by Kay Thompson.
Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro – a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Steadfast Tin Soldier. The setting is appropriate - the concerto was written as a gift by Shostakovich to his musically gifted young son, and the percussive rythms also suit a story about a soldier. However, the ending is a happy one in contrast with that of the original story.
Camille Saint-Saëns's The Carnival of the Animals, Finale – A flock of ballerina flamingos (itself a nod to the Hippopotami, Ostriches and Elephants of Dance of the Hours from Fantasia), with a rebellious slapstick Flamingo with a yo-yo, designed to delight children with the on-screen hysterics; music arranged by Peter Schickele
Paul Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice – a segment from the original Fantasia featuring Mickey Mouse, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance - Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4 – a retelling of the story of Noah's Ark, with Donald Duck as first mate to Noah. Donald musters the animals to the Ark, and misses, loses, and is reunited with Daisy Duck in the process; music arranged by Peter Schickele, including a wordless soprano solo as part of the No. 1 march ('Land of Hope and Glory').
Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite - 1919 Version – the story of a spring sprite and her companion Elk. After a long winter she restores the life to the forest but accidentally awakes the Firebird spirit of a nearby volcano. Angered the Firebird proceeds in destroying the forest and seemingly the sprite. She is restored to life however after the destruction and the forest life is reborn with her. The story is considered an exercise in the theme of Life-death-rebirth deities.
