Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck may be the stars of Fantasia/2000, but Disney's IMAX film is also an attempt to draw young audiences to classical music.
Troy Whynot, a music teacher at Ryerson Public School on Denison Avenue, said that the Fantasia /2000 soundtrack will help his students, aged 6 to 12, appreciate classical music.
"It will expose more my students to classical music, but knowledgeable people are also needed to guide them along in furthering their appreciation of the music," he said.
Fantasia/2000, like all of Disney's animated features, is mainly intended for entertainment purposes. But it could also inadvertently serve as an educational film.
"I have shown the original Fantasia film as a teaching tool for my students, who may be discovering classical music for the first time," said Leslie Hall, a music professor in Ryerson's philosophy department. "I plan on seeing this new Fantasia with my daughter soon. I'm very impressed with the pieces listed on the soundtrack."
Fantasia/2000 is a continuation of the original film, released in 1940. It features music by Beethoven, Respighi, Gershwin, Shostakovich, Saint-Saens, Elgar and Stravinsky, set to beautifully aminated fantasy sequences. The only returning segment from the original Fantasia is Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice starring Mickey Mouse.
"We live in a visual society, and it is difficult to purely listen without having a visual component present," Hall said.
"If the music lacks integrity, then I'm not impressed, but if it is used in a meaningful, respectful way, then that's a good thing."
Some purists reject the idea of using classical music in animated films.
"Some of my colleagues have a problem with that, but I think (the Fantasia films) would serve as useful teaching tools for music students," Hall said.
Evana Valle, a supervisor at the HMV Superstore at 333 Yonge Street, said the soundtrack is popular with parents of young children. Seventy-two copies of the CD have sold in the store since it was released Nov. 30.
"We've had to reorder it several times since it was released, especially after the movie came out (Jan. 1)," she said. "I've seen parents buying them more than kids, because most of them don't have enough money to purchase it themselves."
Kids are mainly drawn to the animation, Valle said, but may find themselves enjoying the classical selections on the soundtrack.
The (Fantasia/2000) soundtrack is selling briskly, and we are reordering them constantly," said Percy Ashburner, manager of The Music Store at Roy Thomson Hall. "The reason for the (soundtrack's) success is that it is heavily publicized with good music behind it. Older people the first film buy the CD and then take their children to see the movie."
Walt Disney intended Fantasia to be an ongoing project to be updated every five years or so, with new animated segments set to classical works. But when the original film was poorly received by audiences in 1940, Disney abandoned the idea. Fantasia's 1990 theatrical re-release and subsequent 1991 video release stimulated audience and studio interest in a sequel.
The Disney studio honoured its founder's vision of making the Fantasia experience fully realized, with the music recorded in digital sound, and the visuals produced on the giant IMAX screen.
