Jim on Film
Page 7 of 9

Musically, Tarzan is daring for its use of music, which has three purposes in the movie. In several of the songs, it is used to speak for the characters of the film as in Bambi. You’ll Be in My Heart speaks for Kala, and Strangers Like Me speaks for Jane and Tarzan. But like in The Rescuers, Two Worlds and Son of Man seem to speak to the characters, commenting on what is happening. And of course, Trashin’ the Camp is more traditional in its placement. Curiously enough, despite the presence of Phil Collins singing and the use of pulsating drum rhythms in most of the songs, each song sounds different. It is great music.

Visually, Tarzan is also a groundbreaking film. There are, of course, the amazing deep canvas scenes in which the camera follows Tarzan as he surfs and flies among the trees in the African jungle. And that amazing depth is carried throughout most of the rest of the film, once again courtesy of the computer. And even though there are three dimensional trees and foliage, the entire movie retains a feeling of hand-drawing with depth beyond the multiplane camera or the multiplane effects achieved previously. Because of this, the integration of the two styles meshes together nicely, creating a stunning and thrilling visual adventure.

In the previous decade, the animation industry seemed to be heavily influenced by live-action films, but with the deep canvas process, animation was pulled back into the world of pure animation art. The scenes seem to go on and on, and it adds a measure of excitement and wonder to the art form.

Not only does the film have this amazing depth, but there is also luscious detail in the jungle with magical and saturating colors throughout. The result is another amazing and beautiful film.

When compared to the original Fantasia, people have criticized Fantasia 2000 for not having the weight of the original film, as if laughter and adventure is inferior to beautiful images. But what is important to remember is that these films were made to bring classical music to a widespread audience (at least for the conductors involved), and because of this, even though neither film seems dated, they were made for the audiences of their time. For many, Fantasia 2000 was a pleasant surprise because it had stories and characters rather than just beauty and imagery. It reached out to its audience.

As part of the technological advancement of the film, in the Symphony No. 5 segment, as in the other segments, there is quite a bit of computer generated animation; however, it never really seems apparent. In the Pines of Rome segment, the whales’ textures do betray their CGI origins, but they fly and glide with grace and beauty, though not with the mechanical smoothness of most CGI creations. And if there is something about their colors that allow their origins to be seen, they are camouflaged by the deep and rich tones of the backgrounds and other elements in the piece.

Unlike most sections of either Fantasia films, Rhapsody in Blue matches significant points in the music with events in the story. Besides its creative art direction and the creativity in the visuals, it is amazing how intricate the groups of stories are, and yet, they all interconnect and fit perfectly with the beautiful Gershwin music. It’s an awesome piece of animation.

According to Roy Disney, animators on The Steadfast Tin Soldier segment animated the trio of main characters before Toy Story came on the scene. This is quite amazing considering how realistically the humanized dolls move. Visually, they look like dolls in the shine and gloss in their faces and costumes. While the ballerina’s hair looks CGI, the rest of her and the other two characters mesh perfectly with the hand-drawn elements. And with the exception of her hair, she moves like a real human being, and it’s amazing. While some of this may be because she is dancing for most of the scene rather than moving like a regular person, when she is called upon to move without dance, such as when she laughs or when she throws the ball at the villain, it looks real. This is interesting in comparison to the stiffness typically associated with computer animated human characters.

Even though it appears in the previous film as well, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is interesting because it lacks the contemporary computer-aided technology in colors, animation, or backgrounds, but it stands equally among the other pieces. It is beautiful and fun, visually stunning, and very enjoyable. While watching it, one never thinks about how it’s sixty-years old or how it doesn’t have the current technology. It’s still an amazing piece of art and entertainment.

All the segments of Fantasia are excellent, but the Firebird Suite-1919 Version is the highlight of the whole show. Much of this has to do with the music selection, but the artists equaled it in power and beauty. It’s a beautiful segment with deep colors, stunning character design and animation, and a message of hope.

The interstitial segments, like with the original film, were creatd to appeal to its audience. While Steve Martin’s introduction seems a bit on the odd side, the segments are all informative and humorous. Though, while Fantasia’s interstitials celebrated classical music, in Fantasia 2000, there is also a celebration of the concept of Fantasia.

In contrast to Fantasia 2000, The Emperor’s New Groove seemed like a shocking change, and while it breaks new ground, it really isn’t all that shocking when viewed in sequence. The film’s technique is to do what Disney has always done best, which is to create rich and fun characters and place them into interesting situations.

What does set The Emperor’s New Groove apart is that it takes humor into fresh and bizarre places. From the moment Kuzco offers his narration, it is clear that this film is going to be special in its approach and style. The filmmakers take the humor to bizarre extremes, pushing the boundaries of what is logical and, more importantly, expected. Because of this, it’s a fresh and hilarious film, dependant on verbal takes, clever situations, and funny visuals centered on beloved characters.

The film has several highlights. Yzma is fresh and funny, even to look at, and Mudka’s Meat Hut is also a humorous highlight, but the real showpiece scene is the chase at the end of the film. In a moment that makes one remember the highlight of The Sword in the Stone, Kuzco changes in shape from animal to animal in an attempt to escape Yzma’s henchmen. Its pacing and staging is very effective, and the concept is not only funny but brilliantly executed.

The film also does something very different in its use of awkward silences between two characters. It’s interesting because, first of all, it depends on crucial comedic timing in staging, acting, and pacing. There is nothing innately humorous in the dialogue, but the humor is found in the artists’ vision. It’s also important because both of the times this occurs, it also advances the plot, telling us more about the characters and situations than other dialogue would have done.

Visually, there are few thrills in The Emperor’s New Groove. Though it does have moments that hearken back to the South American features, it is not a film that requires lots of flash and awe-inspiring backgrounds to entertain and delight. And entertain and delight it does.