London SE1 > News & Features > January 2000

Fantasia 2000 at the IMAX

The BFI London IMAX is one of just two cinemas in the UK to be showing the remake of Disney's 1940s classic Fantasia, showcasing the work of animators with seven new interpretations of famous classical pieces. The film starts with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony - the abstract animation does not provide the most compelling introduction, but things soon improve with Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue - it's worth going to see the film for this section alone. Unfortunately the film is spoiled by the celebrity "hosts" introducing each item. The lineup may include Steve Martin, Bette Midler and Angela Lansbury, but the badly scripted jokes are better suited to a third-rate comedy show. The Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence (featuring Mickey Mouse) from the original film has been digitally reworked for the IMAX format, and children will love the Noah's Ark sequence featuring Donald Duck, set to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance. Fantasia 2000, initiated by Walt Disney's nephew Roy, is the first full-length animation in the IMAX format. It's worth seeing, although I found it enchanting and irritating in equal measure.

Buy the book Fantasia 2000: A Vision Of Hope by John Culhane

Buy the soundtrack on CD from Amazon.co.uk

James Hatts