When I was a kid Fantasia was something that I watched a great deal. In the 80s, the Disney VHS library was not what it is now! However, we had a friend that traveled to Singapore for work regularly and he would always bring back bootleg Disney VHS tapes, and one time he brought back Fantasia.
How to Download Fantasia
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
I remember my mum being so excited for us to watch Fantasia! However, as a kid, Fantasia was not one of my favorites, but I would watch it over and over again! I know that makes little sense, but hear me out. Look, you know that 1940s Fantasia is a series of shorts that are set to classical music.
There are seven shorts, but there are only two out of the seven that I actually enjoy. The thing is, I enjoyed these two shorts so much that I would watch them over and over again. I am sure that already you probably have a good idea what the two shorts I enjoyed are, but I do want to go into a little bit of detail about them.
The first one I want to talk about is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Sorcerer Mickey is the most classic version of Mickey Mouse if you ask me. He is just so iconic and the thing is, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is an all-time classic from Disney and it is just as entertaining 80-plus years later as it was back then.
The Evolution of Disney’s Fantasia
Now, as much as I love The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the thing is, Fantasia 2000 does it better because it is introduced by Penn and Teller and that is awesome. Still, I have to say that Fantasia being where The Sorcerer’s Apprentice got its start makes this a truly iconic part of Disney’s history. Actually, as I sit writing this to the right of me is a large Sorcerer Mickey Disney Traditions sculpture based on Fantasia!
The other short in the original Fantasia that I love is called, Night on Bald Mountain. As a kid, this was one of my favorite things that Disney did. It is about a demon that summons a bunch of evil spirits. I loved stuff like Dungeons and Dragons as a kid so this short really did capture my attention.
Also, there is a storybook ride at Disneyland Paris and one of the scenes is Night on Bald Mountain which is something I have always found awesome. You know, while I will always admit that The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is the most well know and iconic short from Fantasia, I think for me personally, Night on Bald Mountain is the best.
For a movie that was released in 1940, Fantasia still holds up in terms of the visuals and the sound. The Philadelphia Orchestra did a wonderful job here and this was probably one of the first times I ever really listened to classical music. The animation here is that classic Disney style and Mickey with the mops/brooms still look amazing to this day.
I feel that this is a movie that everyone needs to have seen at least once. There is no denying that Fantasia is an all-time classic and that Sorcerer Mickey is one of the most iconic Disney characters of all time. You can check this out on Disney Plus where it looks great as I am sure it is the Blu-Ray restoration they have used there.
