WDAC announces Fantasia 2000 Animation Art
The Artistry and Visual Maginificence Walt Disney's Fantasia / 2000, showcased in an all-new array of releases from Walt Disney Animation Art
New Artwork Debuts in November 1999, With Additional Releases Planned Through June 2000
November 1, 1999 - - On January 1, 2000, moviegoers around the world will experience the artistry and visual magnificence of Walt Disney’s highly animated feature Fantasia / 2000. Walt Disney Animation Art, published by Walt Disney Art Classics, salutes the release of this landmark film with an array of all-new images based upon seven of its eight distinct sequences. The new artwork has been created in a variety of mediums including hand-painted cel set-ups and fine art giclée prints.
Walt Disney’s original animated masterpiece Fantasia (1940) was conceived as a “repertoire program” with changing animated sequences set to fine classical music. Fantasia / 2000, Disney’s 38th animated feature, builds upon that original vision by bringing together seven new vignettes and one returning favorite, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” starring Mickey Mouse.
Walt Disney Animation Art captures the beauty, imagination and inventiveness of Fantasia / 2000 with eight impressive artwork releases. The creation of each Walt Disney Animation Art image in the Fantasia / 2000 portfolio was personally supervised and approved by Roy E. Disney (Chairman of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Executive Producer of Fantasia / 2000), along with the film’s lead artists and directors.
The new Walt Disney Animation Art limited-edition releases are derived from the following segments of Walt Disney’s Fantasia / 2000:
- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - Composed by Paul Dukas
“A Lesson Learned” depicts Mickey Mouse in his most popular and memorable role.
After causing an uncontrolled enchanted tempest, a contrite Mickey, apprentice to the
mystical sorcerer Yen Sid, timidly returns the pilfered magic cap to his disapproving
master. This artwork represents the first depiction of the Sorcerer Yen Sid in any release
of Walt Disney Animation Art. The original Fantasia animators named the Sorcerer “Yen
Sid” as an inside joke (Yen Sid is “Disney” spelled backwards).
Hand-Painted, Limited-Edition Cel: Framed Size Approximately: 24½ x 20 ½.
General Edition Size: 300.
Suggested Framed Retail Price: $2,500.
Signed by: Disney Legend Joe Grant (One of the Story Directors from the original Fantasia in 1940).
Release date: November 1999
- The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - Composed by Paul Dukas This
interpretive artwork, entitled “Apprentice Adventure,” depicts Mickey riding the
waves of mayhem aboard his master’s book of spells as his own initial magic spell
goes awry and he gets caught up in a terrible deluge of water. The pan artwork depicts
various stages of Mickey’s watery dilemma.
Limited-Edition Sericel: Framed Size Approximately: 17 ½ x 29 ½.
General Edition Size: 2,000.
Suggested Framed Retail Price: $345.
Release date: November 1999
- Carnival of the Animals - Composed by Camille Saint-Saëns A
flock of flamingos swims in a row. Except for the non-conformist with the brand new yo-yo
who learns that doing your own thing is infinitely more fun than following the pack.
Limited-Edition Giclée Print entitled “Yo-Yo No-No” General Edition Size: 400.
Release date: December 1999
- Piano Concerto #2, Allegro, Opus 102 - Composed by Dimitri
Shostakovich Story adapted from the tale of “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” by Hans
Christian Andersen. She’s a lovely ballerina. He’s a loyal soldier toy. And
their romance begins with a soft and delicate ballet. But their lyrical moment of
discovery is ended when a malicious Jack-in-the-Box brings an ominous chord of discord to
their love.
Limited-Edition Giclée Print General Edition Size: 300.
Release date: February 2000
- Pines of Rome - Composed by Ottorino Respighi In a true
flight of fancy, a whale family leaps from the crystal Arctic waters. Their tiny fins
become wings as the parents gracefully navigate the cloudscape while their child tries to
keep pace. Rising and soaring as if lifted by music, the whales embody the spirit of
wonder in a place where sea meets sky.
Limited-Edition Print General Edition Size: 300.
Release date: April 2000
- Pomp and Circumstance - Composed by Sir Edward Elgar As
Noah’s assistants, Daisy and Donald help load the Ark but become separated. The
stately strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” only serve to emphasize the confusion
as Donald’s job turns into an ordeal of biblical proportions, and for a
heart-wrenching moment, it looks as if he’ll have to board the Ark one by one instead
of two by two with his own darling Daisy.
Limited-Edition Sericel General Edition Size: 2,000.
Release date: May 2000
- The Firebird Suite - Composed by Igor Stravinsky To a
lyrical melody, a Sprite is born, and as she glides across the land, Nature’s cycle
of rebirth is carried out in her wake. But some places cannot be touched by the blanket of
her hair, and when she ventures into dangerous volcanic wastelands, the music rages as
tempestuously as the Firebird she awakens.
Hand-Painted, Limited-Edition Cel General Edition Size: 150.
Release date: May 2000
- Rhapsody in Blue - Composed by George Gershwin. Images
unfold against the bustling backdrop of New York City: a construction worker dreaming of
being a jazz drummer, a young man down on his luck and a girl studying her lessons.
Gershwin’s dusky-toned rhapsody of modern yearning inspires pictures of five
different lives … dreams … and stories. The music’s pulsing rhythms and
wailing melodies, remind us of our own.
Limited-Edition Sericel General Edition Size: 1,000.
Release date: June 2000
The story of Walt Disney's 1940 classic Fantasia is fairly well-known in the popular culture: A chance meeting between Walt Disney and famed conductor Leopold Stokowski resulted in a collaboration on an animated version of “The Sorcerer's Apprentice,” which was then expanded into a complete "Concert Feature" which eventually developed into the feature-length animated masterpiece Fantasia.
Walt Disney’s original plan for Fantasia was to continue developing and changing the concert components of the film over the anticipated years of its release. Disney abandoned the plan when Fantasia proved unprofitable, but with its renewed success in the ensuing decades, and the resurgence of Walt Disney Feature Animation in the 1990s, Walt Disney Company Vice Chairman Roy E. Disney told Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner that he wanted to keep Walt's promise of a revived and continually renewed Fantasia.
The result is Fantasia / 2000, which builds upon Walt Disney’s original idea with the creation of a musical repertoire program that includes seven exciting new animated segments. Using breakthrough animation technology along with time-honored traditions of Disney craftsmanship, the film showcases the talents of a new generation of animators and filmmakers as they push the boundaries of their imaginations and visually interpret the some of the world’s most beloved classical compositions.
Adding to the fun and entertainment are celebrity hosts from the various performing arts that appear on screen to introduce each of the segments. Included in that prestigious group are Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones, James Earl Jones, Penn & Teller and Angela Lansbury. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro James Levine provides the music for the film. Fantasia / 2000 opens in select IMAX Theaters around the world on January 1, 2000.
The Fantasia / 2000 artwork is released as part of the portfolio of Walt Disney Animation Art, published by Walt Disney Art Classics (the art and collectibles division of The Walt Disney Company). The Walt Disney Animation Art portfolio includes one-of-a-kind original production art, hand-painted, limited-edition cels, limited-edition sericels, limited-edition prints and maquettes (character models).
Walt Disney Animation Art is available at independently owned Preferred Gallery retailers worldwide, The Disney Store, The Walt Disney Gallery and the Disney Theme Parks. Walt Disney Animation Art - - which captures the timeless images of Disney’s classic animated films in beautiful two-dimensional gallery artwork - - has charmed serious art collectors and Disney enthusiasts alike for nearly six decades since its debut back in the late 1930s.
For more information on Walt Disney Art Classics Fantasia 2000, click here to visit their official website.