A series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpreted in animation by Walt Disney's team of artists. Released in 1940, represented Disney's boldest experiment to date. Bringing to life his vision of blending animated imagery with classical music. What had begun as a vehicle to enhance Mickey Mouse's career blossomed into a full-blown feature that remains unique in the history of animation.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” is also part of BSO’s Breaking Dawn concert repertoire!
BSO concert-goers receive a $1 ticket discount by entering the promo code Symphony51 on the payment screen at Pickford’s online checkout or by using it in person at the box office. Discounts are also offered to anyone with a ticket stub from our recent February 1st concert.
The third Disney animated feature film, it consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Disney conceived the project in 1938 during the completion of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which was originally planned as an elaborate Silly Symphony cartoon to revive the declining popularity of Mickey Mouse.
To accommodate the ambitious soundtrack, Disney and RCA developed Fantasound, a pioneering sound system that made Fantasia the first commercial film released in stereo and a precursor to surround sound.
The Pastoral Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven. A mythical Greco–Roman world of colorful centaurs and "centaurettes", cupids, fauns and other figures from classical mythology is portrayed to Beethoven's music. A gathering for a festival to honor Bacchus, the god of wine, is interrupted by Zeus, who creates a storm and directs Vulcan to forge lightning bolts for him to throw at the attendees.
Fantasia has since earned a reputation as one of the greatest animated films ever made. In 1990, it was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The American Film Institute ranked it as the 58th greatest American film overall in its 100 Years...100 Movies and the fifth greatest animated film on the 10 Top 10 list. The film's legacy has expanded into a multimedia franchise encompassing video games, theme park attractions, live concert tours, and the 1999 sequel, Fantasia 2000.
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