Lucien’s First Take: Fantasia: Music Evolved

For those of you who don’t know, my favorite Disney film is also my second favorite film of all time.  It was my favorite film up until I saw The Sky Crawlers and 5 Centimeters Per Second, which are now tied for the top slot.  This was the first Disney film that I ever saw.  It was what got me so in love with music.  I LOVE that film.  It has such resonance with me that if you sit my ass in front of a TV and put that on, I’m just fine.  For real, I’m set.  If you want to talk to me, I can do that, except when Rite of Spring, Nutcracker and A Night on Bald Mountain are playing.  Seriously, you shut the fuck up when those come on.

I remember seeing the trailers for the sequel, Fantasia 2000, and I was like – oh fuck yeah!  It looked amazing!  And aside from the TERRIBLE cameo openings to some of the skits (which were PAINFUL to watch), it was everything I wanted and then some.  For real, the scenes with Pines of Rome, Rhapsody in Blue and The Firebird, you can shut the fuck up.  I’m busy.

I wrote an entire post about what I would love to see in a third movie.  I would have loved it if they got Studio Ghibli to put their talents into a part of the film, using some music from famous Japanese composers.  I can think of a couple off the top of my head who would be nice for that.  Pixar could have created something of theirs to add in.  With a third film, and all these studios they have, they could have let the animation BREATHE a little!  I can see it all in my head, and it looks awesome!  You know what I can’t see?  You know the thing that I never saw when I thought of a new venture into the world of Fantasia – a fucking video game for the fucking Kinect!  Seriously, what the fuck?!

Here’s a preview to this game that I can already tell you is going to be a giant piece of shit –

Seriously, what the fuck is that?!  Disney, I’m going to try and contain the bottomless depths of my rage and actually talk to you for a moment – what in the HELL were you thinking?!  What on Earth compelled you to make a game about Fantasia?  What compelled you to make it for the Kinect?!  Have you seen the Kinect’s track record?!  That thing is worse than were you unaware of Sonic Free Riders and Star Wars Kinect?  Has nobody told you about how much nobody likes the Kinect?  The latest version of the Xbox One (a system I never mean to own) doesn’t come with it.  Microsoft finally decided to stop trying to get the public to like this piece of crap.

But you know, I could actually forgive all that.  I could actually be willing to give this trash a chance, until you make it clear – this thing will have modern music!  WHAT?!  No!  Modern music?!  Modern popular garbage?!  With words?!  Did you all just forget what Fantasia was supposed to represent?!  Did you all just forget why people were such fans of the film in the first place?  I literally don’t understand how you could possibly believe that this was a good idea.

But you know, I think that I know where this came from.  Just like all other terrible decisions of exploitation on video games, it came from you seeing a chance to make a cheap buck.  After all, if we’ve learned anything from the video games that you are behind over the last 10 or so years, it’s that you don’t care about them and are trying to pander to kids.  Well, nice work, Disney, you branched out.  Instead of pandering to kids, you are now trying to pander to brainless teenagers.  Well isn’t that special.

If only Walt could see you now – a greedy, money-grubbing company that butt-fucks all of your past successes.  It’s not enough to just let a good idea lie.  No, you have to exploit it, because it can still make you money.  For as bad as the intros and one of the skits in Fantasia 2000 (the one with the flamingos) are, I could still see a TON of heart put into that.  Heart that is CLEARLY not in this piece of shit!  This is pandering at its worse, and laziness at its best.

See, I think I’ve figured out what Disney does now, having become a giant and totally evil megacorporation that is trying to take over all entertainment.  See, here’s how it works, and I learned this from when I saw the sequels to Aladdin and The Lion King – you take franchises that already have established fan bases and you decide that you want more money.  Since you seem to be out of people with fresh ideas, you think – hey, let’s just keep going with these ones!  Because the people are dumb and they’ll watch it.  So again and again and again, you take the things we loved as children and decide to chew them up and once you can’t squeeze any more money out of them, you throw their mangled corpses out on to the floor.  That’s how evil you are.  Let’s remember – you decided to buy Lucasarts and then kill them, destroying Star Wars 1313 too.  I shouldn’t expect much.

And now, you’ve gone and shit on one of my favorite movies of all time.  Fuck you, Disney.  Fuck. You.

Initial Verdict
0 out of 10

Peace out,

Maverick

Fantasia 3?

Now, I have talked to death about why I like this movie, so I have been thinking about a future this film could potentially have.  I didn’t so much like the second, but honestly, I want to put a few things in context.  This film had such an impact on me, that whatever potential future it may have is very intriguing to me, and I like to think about it.  Originally, the idea had been that this would be a forever-growing experience when the first Fantasia came out.  Of course, since it took a metric ton of money to make, such a fate didn’t come to pass.  There was a sequel, and we’ll be talking about that, but it never stuck to the formula of each showing of the film being different.  All of this said, where do I think a sequel should go?

To answer that, I first, like I said, need to put a few things on context.  So far as I can remember, Fantasia was the first Disney film that I have seen.  For all of you who want to make the argument that Disney is an evil corporation – you won’t hear me arguing.  But the fact is that it doesn’t matter.  For most of us, we grew up with Disney.  It took our childhoods to new heights, and we love it for that.  But Fantasia was the first piece of Disney work that I saw, and from that day on, it formed a lot of my loves and passions.

The first is a passion for music.  I LOVE music.  Good music can not only intrigue the mind, but amaze the soul.  I am not a religious man, but if I was, music would be my god.  The best things in life are brought to us by music that makes us think and makes us feel.  Classical music is especially good for both.

It is interesting that Disney’s fourth film decided to do something that was entirely different from any of the ones previously, and almost all of the ones since – make an emotional film without words or story.  Just pure expression, and each piece of expression having pure emotion.  Another difference is that this movie wasn’t made for children.  This was an animated film for adults.  Of course, a kid like me could (and did) get something out of it, if they are of a certain mindset.

What I love most about Fantasia is the fact that it was allowed to run with the abolute free expression.  This film, you could tell, was about showing you into the minds and hearts of the animators.  Each segment was perfect, and I mean perfect.  My favorites are The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker.  I love nature, and I love dinosaurs.  To this day I orgasm to the sound of the T-Rex from Jurassic Park.  I was such a nerd for it when I was younger, and I still am.  But The Nutcracker suite was also great, showing the changing seasons, along with a fantastical element, but also merging in the absolute natural, like the bit with the fish.  I love stuff like that.

You’re probably wondering what I thought about the sequel.  Now that I have some more time to articulate, I think I will tell you.  Fantasia 2000 made my heart soar.  The ads for it looked awesome, and I was totally stoked when my cousin bought it on DVD.  I must have gone there to see it I don’t know how many times.  But, with that said, I both love and hate this movie.  The bits that I love are many.  And let me say, when this film hits a high note, it REALLY hits a high note.  When it got stuff right, it got it VERY right.

Pines of Rome, with the flying whales, was incredible.  I don’t share Nostalgia Critic’s belief that it should have been the finishing piece, but it was still awesome.  And there was Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin.  I loved that pieces.  It combined a Hirschfeld style of animation with one of the classic pieces of big-bang American jazz.  As a matter of fact, this was one of the first pieces of American jazz.  The version of A Steadfast Tin Soldier was pretty good.  I actually didn’t like their Noah’s Arc story, mostly because, as a non-religious person, I find the story ludicous and the topic boring.  Not to mention it highlights what an asshole God is.  But then it finishes on a major high-note.

I loved The Firebird suite.  This was a story of life, death, and rebirth.  The animation was nothing short of incredible.  It was some of Disney’s finest, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.  The high-note ending was beautiful.  It even had some subtle animation right at the end of it that just made me feel so much more in-tune with it – the grass blowing in the wind.  So subtle, yet so beautiful.  Simple touches like that just make me feel so much for things like that.

All of that said, there were parts I didn’t like.  The Carnival of the Animals number, for one.  It wasn’t terribly bad, but didn’t belong in a Fantasia movie.  It was cute, cuddly, and fun.  Not something that I want to see in a movie that should be this serious.  Then there were the celebrity cameos, which were almost all totally painful.  In the original, it banked on there being one narrator, and his role was brief.  Just to tell you what was coming next, and to have a cool intro for it.  That’s it.  That was all that was needed.  This movie had some celebrity cameos that just made me gag.  There were a couple that added class, like Angela Lansbury, but for the most part, it was junk, pure junk.

So, I’ve kind of rambled for a while, but I wanted to put into context all of this, so when I say my bit about what I could and really would like to see in the third film, you would get where I am coming from.  That said, what do I want to see in a third part of this tale?

I am just going to say what I want to see most because it just is really important to me, and I hope it is to you.  If any sequel films don’t have a Hayao Miyazaki style animation section, I will kill somebody.  No joke.  This man has brought the anime genre into the public eye in a way nobody thought possible.  And this would be a place where all of his talent could shine.  Not only that, but I can think of at least for great pieces of Japanese classical music that would go so well.  It could be a testament not only to a great man’s style of work, but also to a great nation and the music that it has created.  I can’t stress enough how much I would want to see this in a film.

Next up, I want to see more of old-school American jazz.  That was a fun addition.  Gershwin would be awesome.  or Afro-American Symphony.  Either of those would be just great, and there are a lot of animation formulas that could bring them to life.  I would really hope they will run with it.

I could also see them running with a segment, or even the entirety of Gustav Holst’s The Planet’s suite.  Seeing their interpretations of several parts sounds incredibly fun.

Another thing – have the opening section, which is supposed to be abstract, be abstract.  They were trying to do that in Fantasia 2000, and failed.  Miserably.  It was almost annoying how bad that section was, for me.  In the first film, the level of abstract was very clear, and it left you thinking, and pondering.

Next up, NO CELEBRITY CAMEOS!  I cannot stress to you enough how annoying this was.  I don’t know how they got those people into that gig in Fantasia 2000, but it was beyond annoying.  It was painful.  Just have one narrator, maybe like Morgan Freeman or something, and keep it simple.

That’s my take.  I loved these films, even though the second had problems.  I loved them both, and I hope they keep the franchise going, because we need more visual poetry.  America’s art community is getting more and more dead.  We need stuff like this.

Until next time, a quote,

“Walt Disney described the art of animation as a voyage of discovery, into the realms of color, sound, and motion.”  -Angela Lansbury, Fantasia 2000 

Peace out,

Maverick

Embrace Art, Not Faith

How is it that there are so many things in life that are able to just make the most profound reactions happen?  Where does this feeling come from?  Where exactly is it that the desire to feel something so profound comes from?  Really, this is a question that I have been asking myself for some time.  When one looks through human history, there is a constant that has endured to this day – that art is the universal language.

Every single culture has their versions of art.  They are all different.  Some people don’t understand the various cultures’ artwork, but the fact is that these works have been a part of all cultures.  The study of artwork throughout history is a field of interest that still generates a lot of debates, even today.  Talk to any art buff, and they will say that there is a form of artwork that is the best.  For real, these people will get passionate in their defense of what they are sure is the best form of art that exists.  Go to a college someday with a big art department and you can see some of these debates for yourself.  They are quite interesting.  But throughout culture, what constitutes artwork, and the works that go with it, is a huge part.

With modern “art” coming out of the realm of new and different, those who create it are having to justify their creations on a larger scale.  This is starting to become rather inconvenient for the artists who created them, because most of it is a bunch of crap.  Take a look at the piece outside of the Arts building at UAA, and you’ll understand.  That thing isn’t artwork.  It is…well, crap.  But there are people who will vigorously defend it’s merit.

Now, this isn’t exactly a popular message among the crowd of non-believers like myself, but even the religious groups have some very profound pieces of artwork on their resumes.  Go to some of the ancient churches in places like Rome, and you’ll understand just what I’m talking about.  Some great genius went into the creation of these works.  A lot of people gave their sweat, blood, and sometimes their very lives, to create these great works.  While I believe that the faith that guided them was completely misplaced, I completely respect the brilliance that went into it.  If only those who had that genius weren’t guided by faith, eh?

That brings us to the point of this little discussion – how those who have artistic merit, and those who look at it, should embrace artistry, rather than faith.  When you think about it, what can faith give you that art cannot?  When one sees a great work of art, it is universal that they have a profound reaction.  Whether it be painting, a sculpture, film, animation, music, video games, it will give you a profound catharsis.  So many people are shedding tears looking at pictures of their God, but how many of them would be better served shedding tears for a great piece of art?  How many of them could get more from watching the sun rise, or listening to a great piece of music, than feeling guilt that religion entails?

What most people don’t get about art is that it has a life of it’s own.  Really, artwork throughout history evolves with history.  Something that groups like those who want to ban books, or change the wording of books, like the group who wants to get rid of a certain word from “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn,” don’t seem to understand is that these creations are a window into the soul of the time period in which they were done.

When Igor Stravinsky wrote his famous ballet, The Rite of Spring, it was so beyond what people considered acceptable that he was driven out of town by a mob!  He life was potentially in danger!  The Beatles were able to effectively rule the world for a time.  There have been many artists throughout history who have cast a light on the time period in which they were talking.  Speaking of Huck Finn, Mark Twain cast a very critical eye on the culture of his time with his book.  It was not a very kind experience.  People back then had as much problem with it as people do now.

So those who are against how things are said, or what is said, need to realize that art is probably be the single best form of communication that the human race has.  And those of faith perhaps need to start looking longer at the world of art, than outdated book of faith.  Really, there is no art in the Bible.  The characters were painfully one-dimensional.  The plot is very disconnected.  If one views it in the context of mythology, then the merit that it does have is apparent, but when one looks at the effect it has had on modern culture, it is easy to see why people shoud look at art instead.

Religion has been the leader of more corruption and bloodshed than any other source.  Those who claim to have been acting on the words of God or gods have done more damage to civilization than at any other time in history.  But what of those who have been creating works of art?  What negative things have they done?  While they personally may have been very disturbed, as some artists most surely were (Van Gogh, anyone?), the movement itself has never been the perpetrator of some of the heinous crimes that religion has under its belt.  From psychotic murder, to the raping of little children, it is a force that is against the people who follow it.

The truth is that faith has had its place in society, as Patton Oswalt pointed out very cleverly in a bit he did, but now that that time has passed, faith really has no place in the society of today.  It only seems to be working against the greater good.  While there are a great deal of people of faith who are wonderful people, and not a detriment to society in any way, the cultural impact that it has had is beyond a doubt regretable.

So, the message to the people who go to church, Mosque, or Temple is this – don’t follow a book, enjoy good art instead.  It won’t leave you feeling guilty for liking to look at boobies later.  In fact…

Until next time, a quote,

“In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at
second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.”  -Mark Twain

Peace out,

Maverick