I was very excited when this arrived in the post - quite unexpected. The Fantasia trailer is different to the other one reviewed in this issue, it has several 'bits' not included in the other version, the 'Dance Of The Hours' with the Hippo and Crocs, it is better quality too, the colour and definition are better.
Of the two versions available from LA Films, this in my opinion is the best, and it does not has the water effect over the Mickey Mouse scenes. A closing caption is 'See Great Music Happen' which contrasts with the trailer I reviewed in issue No.8 for the digital stereo version of Fantasia, that trailer implored you to 'Listen for it'!
The second part of this reel is taken up by the out-take, and a rolling caption announces it as thus: 'You Are About To Experience An Unusual Work Of Disney Artistry - This Sequence Was Created For The Classic Animated Feature Fantasia But Was Never Included, The Atmospheric Music Of Debussey's'Clair De Lune' Was Played By The Philadelphia Orchestra Conducted By Leopold Stokowski'.
The sequence opens with a shot of the full moon. The camera then tracks in through foliage by a lake and reveals a heron who flies off into the night sky. Alighting in the water, the ripples travel out, and as they subside, reveal the moon reflected in the water. The heron takes off again, and this time is joined by his mate. Beautifully animated sequence, but obviously too dull for the general public, which I suspect is why it was dropped from Fantasia just prior to its release.
From what I can make out from a fellow Disney collector (Bernard Taylor) and reading Leonard Maltin's excellent book 'The Disney Films' a similar sequence appeared in 'Make Mine Music'. The description of the shots is identical -except that in 'Make Mine Music' Disney replaced Debussey's 'Clair De Lune' with a song written by Bobby Worth and Ray Gilbert - "Blue Bayou" - sung by the Ken Darby singers.
I am delighted to have this reel, and will cut it into the rest of my Fantasia material, which will all be soon dubbed into Dolby stereo.
This of course will stay as it is, providing a nice contrast to the now well known segments available.
The print is fair, little colour other than blue is to be seen, but as this is set during the full moon at night, that is to be expected.
There is quite a lot of fine negative scratches on the master used, but these did not bother me, likewise the sound is very thin and optically' so if you insist on 'hi-fi' sound then don't bother to get this.
If you are a Disney collector, or a student of animation however, then you should consider having this in your collection. It is quite different to anything else in Fantasia, beautifully animated, quiet and reflective, a little gem as far as I'm concerned.
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Distributed by: US LA Films
UK ?? |
The above review was printed in |
This page was last updated 02 Dec 2002