Fantasia1940Fantasia
1940
Conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra perform great works of classical music, while Disney's animators bring each one to life: dancing mushrooms and fairies, Mickey Mouse as a sorcerer's apprentice, the age of the dinosaurs, and a night on a haunted mountain that gives way to dawn.
The default: films the whole family can watch together; any scary or intense moments for the littlest viewers are flagged in the Context Notes.
Why it’s here
Great orchestral music made visible, from Bach, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Schubert. It ends with the darkness of Night on Bald Mountain giving way to the Ave Maria, training a child's taste toward what is beautiful and enduring.
Context notes
For parents, before you press play.
"Night on Bald Mountain," with the demon Chernabog and spirits, is frightening, and dinosaurs die in "Rite of Spring." The "Pastoral" has partially nude mythological figures and a drunken Bacchus, presented without comment.
Fantasia (1940)
Discussion questions
When the credits end, go around the room. Each person gives the film a score out of ten and says why.
- Which piece of music did you like best? Why?
- What did Mickey do wrong in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"?
- How did you feel when the bells rang and the Ave Maria began?
- Was the music beautiful, or just loud?
Content advisory
Common Sense Media 6+: an out-of-control flood, frightening demons, and dinosaur battles; Bacchus gets drunk; partially nude nymphs and centaurs.
Trailer
Best edition
The disc comes first.
not determined (the only matched listing was a rental copy)
Edition link coming soon.
Coming later
Where to stream
Streaming services are not listed yet. When they are, this note stays secondary to the disc.