The Tale of Tsar Saltan
The orchestral interlude "Flight of the Bumblebee" was composed (c. 1900) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It represents the turning of Prince Guidon into a bumblebee so he can fly away to visit his father, Tsar Saltan, in the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", although the music may reflect the flight of a bluebottle rather than a bumblebee. The music inspired Walt Disney to feature a bumblebee in his 1940 animated musical "Fantasia" and have it sound as if it were flying in all parts of the theater. This early attempt at "surround sound" was unsuccessful, and the music was excluded from the film's release.