Fantasia

Release Date: November 13th, 1940
 
It is no secret that Walt Disney was a dreamer, and he constantly wanted to experiment and push the boundaries of what was possible. In some cases, he was ahead of his time, and that could be said about Fantasia. 

The idea for this feature began with The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment. Walt thought it would be a great Mickey Mouse cartoon, done in the style of his Silly Symphonies. One day, Walt ran into Leopold Stokowski and told him of his idea. Stokowski was excited by it and offered to conduct the piece. The cost of that single cartoon was so high, that it would never make money as just a short cartoon. Walt decided to make a series of musical pieces and combine them into one movie.

At the beginning, Walt was not a huge fan of classical music. But he studied it and learned to appreciate it. His enthusiasm and excitement for it spread to his animators, some of whom were also skeptics in the beginning. One person Walt never convinced was his brother Roy, who exclaimed, "Can't you put some music in this picture that an ordinary guy like me can enjoy?" Walt banned Roy to his office after that.

Unfortunately, Fantasia was a flop at the box office. Walt took the time to appreciate classical music, and he got some of his animators to appreciate some of the finer arts, such as ballet. But the general public did not have the education Walt and his animators went through, and the movie did not connect with them. Troubles for the film continued as time wore on, as certain elements of the movie were deemed extremely offensive and have been removed from all recent releases.

The modified version that remains today, however, is a brilliant movie, in my opinion! The Nutcracker Suite, the Pastoral Symphony, and Dance of the Hours are my favorite segments, of course, with The Sorcerer's Apprentice topping them all! But I also enjoy The Rite of Spring and Night on Bald Mountain. Fortunately this film enjoys more appreciation today than it did when it was first released.

Pinocchio

Release Date: February 23, 1940

Walt Disney's second full-length animated feature continued to push his animators into new territory as they improved their animation skills and ingenuity. This was not just limited to what they did on paper. I once came across a story that shared when Walt saw the array of clocks that were designed for Geppetto's workshop, he commented that none of those clocks could exist in the real world. The animators took on that challenge, and eventually presented a fully functioning replica to Walt. His response? "What took you so long?"

The legendary multi-place camera used by the Disney studio was finished in 1937 and Pinocchio became the first full-length animated feature film to extensively use this new technology, which added even more depth to the animation. One of Walt's trademarks was that he never rested on his laurels; he always pushed himself and his employees to excel.

Unfortunately, Pinocchio was not a financial success for Walt and his studio. This can mostly be blamed on the outbreak of World War II and lost revenue in Europe due to the world events taking place. That being said, Pinocchio was not forgotten, and the opening song, When You Wish Upon a Star, has basically become the theme song for the entire Disney company.

I love this movie. It has a great story, and is filled with a lot of humor. I love Pinocchio's innocence. For example, shortly after coming to life, he and Figaro are playing with a candle flame. Pinocchio's wooden finger catches fire and his response is, "Look! Pretty!" Or there's the part on Pleasure Island when he exclaims, "Being bad is a lot of fun, ain't it!" It's funny to me! This movie also probably has my favorite plot hole of all time. Pinocchio spends an extended amount of time on the bottom of the ocean with no problem, but at the end of the movie he ends up face down in a puddle and drowns! It doesn't make sense, and it makes me laugh!

Through his experiences, and with Jiminy Cricket (mostly) at his side, Pinocchio learns the difference between the frivolous pleasures of the world and what matters most. In the end, he learns how to become brave, truthful, and unselfish. I think Pinocchio represents most people as we go on our own journeys through this life and learn for ourselves how to tell between right and wrong and choose what has the most lasting value.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Release Date: December 21, 1937

So much has been said and written about Walt Disney's first animated full-length movie, that I can't expect to add anything that most people don't already know. Instead, I will share some of my favorite trivia about this movie.

Walt Disney always looked to the future and sought to reach beyond what was thought to be possible. His first animated feature length film is a great example of that. To prepare his animators for the idea, Walt fed them dinner, and then acted out the story of Snow White for about three hours. After acting it out, he announced that making this movie would be their next project.

Word got out, and nearly everybody thought making this movie was a terrible idea. It became known as "Walt's Folly." But Walt was undeterred. At one point, when the studio had run out of money and needed a bank to lend them more, Walt had no choice but to show a bank executive the rough, unfinished cut they had of the movie. When it was over, the bank executive went back to his car and before he drove away he told Walt he would get the loan he needed, saying, "That movie is going to make a hatful of money."

He proved to be correct. The movie was wildly successful, and the profits from the movie enabled Walt to build the movie studio he wanted. Walt Disney received a special academy award for the movie, and Snow White, the original Disney princess, eventually received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Music and songs had already become synonymous with Disney cartoons, but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs took it to a whole new level. This movie introduced timeless songs such as Whistle While You Work, Heigh-Ho, and Someday My Prince Will Come.

As for my personal opinion and experience with this movie? I absolutely love it! I watched it on VHS growing up, and I once had the opportunity to see it in the theater. I have always found the dwarfs to be funny and delightful. Dopey and Grumpy have always been my favorites, but I love every single dwarf. I love Snow White's character. I love her example of kindness and hard work. I love how she does what she can to change her situation instead of passively waiting for things to get better. The Queen set the standard of a good Disney villain, and even after all these years, there are few other villains who rival her.

This will always be a timeless classic to me, and a movie I recommend 100%!

What to Expect from this Blog

I have had an idea in mind for quite some time now to create a blog or a YouTube channel that I could use to keep track of movies I have watched, share what I liked (or didn't like) about them, and perhaps even share some behind-the-scenes information when possible.

A while ago, I decided to watch every single movie released from the Walt Disney studios. I found a list on imdb.com (which, it turns out, is not an all-inclusive list), and decided to go off that list as I explored every Disney movie. I was familiar with many of the movies, but there were also several that I watched for the very first time. Some movies were easy to find. Others were not!

My intention is to publish a review of each movie in the order that it was released. I apologize in advance if I make any errors. I am going off the information I find on imdb.com for movie release dates. Also, if I miss any movies because they were not on the list, I apologize for that as well.

If you are reading this, I hope you enjoy this blog and what I have to share. I would also love to hear about your experiences and memories with these movies, if you feel so inclined to share your thoughts in the comments.

Enjoy this journey through Disney's movie history with me!