Rhapsody in Blue

"Rhapsody in Blue" is a 1924 musical composition by American composer George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects.
It was featured as a segment in Fantasia 2000, having initially been developed as a standalone short. It can also be heard in the lobby playlist of the Hotel New York. It is the longest segment in Fantasia 2000.
This segment was essentially a last-minute replacement for a repeat showing of the "Nutcracker Suite" segment from the original Fantasia.
==Summary==
Set during the Great Depression, it tells the story of several people going through rough periods in their day-to-day lives, including the following:
*Construction worker Duke who dislikes his job and wishes to fulfill his dream of being a jazz musician.
*A jobless man named Joe who is feeling depressed about being unemployed as he lacks money to pay for food.
*A little girl named Rachel has to go various classes throughout the day while her parents work in the struggling economy, having to be with her nasty nanny while doing things she has no interest in or is bad at (such as ballet, which leads to her crashing into a closet, swimming, where she is covered from head to toe with various swim aids, voice lessons, at which she sings so badly that a dog faints, art, where she accidentally splashes her teacher with blue paint, gymnastics at which she entangles another girl in ropes, tennis, where she holds the racket incorrectly and piano, at which she almost falls off her stool while playing.)
*A man named Flying John is out and about with his wife, Margaret, who is buying an obscene amount of stuff for her dog. He just wants to have fun but she won't allow it.
Midway through the day, each of them stop to watch a group of people skating on the ice rink at Rockefeller Center and fantasize about what their lives would be like if their wishes came true. Back in reality, they inadvertently help one another to get what they desire in various ways:
*Duke decides that he has had enough of his boring job and goes off to join a jazz band, but has trouble getting a ride to the local nightclub. So, he buys a kid's scooter that he uses to get to the subway and is able to make it in time.
*In quitting, Duke throws away his jackhammer which lands in Joe's arms. Duke's boss hires him to work the night shift on the spot, giving Joe a job that he can have to himself.
*Rachel, while resisting her nanny's forceful attempt to get her to the next class, ends up knocking her rubber ball off a window. As it falls to the street below, it bounces off Duke and ends up bumping into the windows of the buildings where Rachel's parents' work. They look out and see that their daughter is about to head right into oncoming traffic. In a panic, they rush to save her and are able to keep her from getting hit just in time, leaving her nanny dismayed.
*While lowering a hook to pick up a bucket of bolts, Joe accidentally snags Margaret. Glad to be rid of her, John goes to the nightclub where he dances with the chorus girls during Duke's grand debut in the jazz band.
==Credits==
*Directed by: Eric Goldberg
*Co-Producer: Patricia Hicks
*Conducted by: Bruce Broughton
Artistic Supervisors
*Art Director: Susan McKinsey Goldberg
*Artistic Consultant: Al Hirschfield
*Artistic Coordinator: Dan Hansen
*Assistant Artistic Coordinator: David Blum
*Layout Supervisor: Rasoul Azadani
*Background Supervisor: Natalie Franscioni-Karp
*Clean-Up Supervisors: Emily Jiuliano and Vera Pacheco
*Visual Effects Supervisor: Mauro Maressa
*Production Manager: Loni Beckner-Black
*Assistant Production Manager: Monica Lago-Kaytis
Animators: Tim Allen, James Baker, Jared Beckstrand, Nancy Beiman, Jerry Yu Ching, Andreas Deja, Robert Espanto Domingo, Brian Ferguson, Doug Frankel, Tom Gately, David Hancock, Jin Kim, Bert Klein, Joe Oh, Jamie Oliff, Mark Pudleiner, Michael Show, Marc Smith, Chad Stewart, Michael Stocker, Andreas Wessel-Therhorn, Theresa Wiseman, Anthony Ho Wong, Ellen Woodbury, and Phil Young
Layout
*Journeymen: Doug Walker, Antonio Navarro, and Jeff Purves
*Key Assistants: Mark E. Koerner and Trish Coveney-Rees
*Assistants: Kevyn Wallace, Donivan W. Howard, and Chung Sup Yoon
*Blue Sketch: Bill Davis
Backgrounds
*Journeymen: Greg Miller and Thomas Woodington
*Assistant: John Piampiano
Visual Effects
*Assistant Head of Effects: Marlon West
*Effects Animators: Colbert Fennelly, Michael Cadwallader Jones, Dorse A. Lanpher, Dan Lund, and David 'Joey' Mildenberger
*Key Assistant Animators: Mabel L. Gesner, Joseph Christopher Pepe, Steve Starr, and John Tucker
*Assistant Animator: Dennis Spicer
*Breakdown: Nicole Alene Zamora, Jay Baker, and Melinda Wang
*Inbetweener: Philip Pignotti
Production
*Production Accountant: Liza Breuninger
*Assistant Production Accountant: Maureen Mo O'Hare Davis
==Trivia==
*One of Hirschfeld's trademarks in his drawings was hiding his daughter's name "Nina" in various places. Here, it can be seen on the bottom of the tube of Duke's toothbrush. There are also other names of crew members hidden throughout.
*Hirschfeld being a caricaturist, this short features several caricatures of crew members and famous people of the time period:
**Eric Goldberg and his wife Sue can be seen coming out of the hotel revolving door, as can younger versions of Al and Dolly Hirschfeld, and theatre critic .
**"Flying" John is partially based on Hirschfeld's drawing of writer and humorist at the , but he is also based on animation historian John Culhane.
**Most famously, Gershwin himself is seen playing part of the "Rhapsody" on the piano.
*The scene at the end of the segment where John dances with the nightclub chorus girls was on the movie screen in the short Us Again.
*Margaret, the haughty rich woman, is most likely named after Margaret Dumont, an actress who appeared in many movies from the era the short takes place in, most famously with the Marx Brothers, playing snobby high society women.
Category:Fantasia
Category:Area-Music
Category:Songs
Category:Instrumental songs
Category:Fantasia segments
Category:Non-Disney songs
Category:Animated shorts