Fantasia Bonus Features!

The Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) package has some fantastic bonus features! There’s not much I can say about the films that animation critics and historians haven’t already stated. Simply that the films are gorgeous on Blu-ray and deserve a fresh viewing in high-definition.

What captivated me were the bonus features! Hands down, the most exciting were the tour of the Walt Disney Family Museum and the Shultheis Notebook. I have highlighted some of the best features below. In particular, the Shultheis Notebook was very eye opening; imagine discovering a treasure that no one knew existed! Also, woven throughout the features were interviews with some of my favorite bloggers and authors: Dider Ghez, Michael Barrier, John Canemaker, JB Kaufman, Brian Sibley, Charles Solomon and more!

• New Audio Commentary with Disney historian Brian Sibley
• Disney Family Museum (running time: approx. 5 minutes) – Walt’s daughter Diane Disney-Miller takes viewers on a tour of the new Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California featuring a very large exhibit on Fantasia and most importantly, the Schultheis notebook with long lost Fantasia production notes found in more recent years in the walls of a convent.
• Disney View – This viewing mode maximizes the Blu-ray viewing experience with a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. Original artwork created by a Disney artist, in a style that complements the beauty of the film.
• The Shultheis Notebook: A Disney Treasure (running time: approx. 14 minutes) –An in depth look at the recently discovered Schultheis Notebook. The detailed log was created by Herman Schultheis, an effects man on Fantasia, and intricately breaks down the film from a technical view. Many of the special effects used in Fantasia were a mystery to modern day animators until this notebook was recovered.
• Interactive Art Gallery and Screensavers – Viewers can explore the artwork of Fantasia asnever before, in HD resolution with unique Blu-ray interactivity and programming.
• Audio Commentaries from Fantasia Legacy Collection With executive producer Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, animation historian John Canemaker, and Scott McQueen, manager of film restoration.
• Audio commentary with interviews and story note recreations by Walt Disney, hosted byJohn Canemaker.

Fantasia 2000 Bonus Features:

• Musicana – Walt’s Inspiration for a Sequel (running time: approx. 10 minutes) – This documentary reveals rarely-seen art created for Musicana, a late 1970’s project intended as a Fantasia sequel with a focus on exploring other cultures via their greatest musical compositions. Viewers are offered a look at the origins of pieces that were started by Walt, such as “The Emperor and the Nightingale” which was then taken over by a very young John Lasseter. Ultimately, Musicana was stopped to begin production on “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” but the memories of this piece still live onwith the animators who conceived it.
• Dali and Disney: A Date With Destino (running time: 82 minutes) – This feature length documentary explores the collaborative relationship between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali, revealing how and why the Destino short came to fruition under the lead of Roy E. Disney in 2003 so many years after its inception in 1946.
• Destino (running time: approx. 7 minutes) – The legacy of Walt Disney and Salvador Dali lives on in this highly anticipated short film.
• Disney’s Virtual Vault — BD-Live Feature
• Original DVD Bonus Features from Legacy Collection
• Audio Commentaries from Fantasia Legacy Collection (total running time: 84 minutes) With executive producer Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and producer Don Ernst. Audio commentary with the directors and art directors for each segment.

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