Piano Concerto No. 2

"Piano Concerto No. 2" written by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, is the fourth segment in Fantasia 2000. The animated segment is based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Steadfast Tin Soldier.
==Synopsis==
A boy receives a set of toy soldiers and arrays them on a tabletop. One Tin Soldier stands on a single leg, having been the last one cast from an old tin spoon.
At nightfall, the clock from a nearby toy dancing rink strikes to midnight, and all the toys in the room come to life. The first one to come to life is the Ballerina standing atop the dancing rink. The second being the Jack-in-the-box, yawning as he rises from sleep. He sets his sights on the Ballerina, and tried to kiss her hand, but she pulls away, and dances once more.
Then the tin soldiers come to life and begin to patrol the room, as the Jack-in-the-box sees them patrolling, and hides from them in his box. The last one is the title character. As a result, he tips over almost knocked down, and knocks down every tin soldier in front of him.
Nearby, he notices the Ballerina and for a moment, thinks she has one leg like he does. He goes to her and gives her a plastic rose from a part of the dancing rink. However, as she smiles at the gesture, she then lets down her second leg from under her dress, disappointing him. Despite this letdown, she accepts his gift and takes it, smelling it. This act surprises him, and they quickly fall in love. However, the Jack-in-the-box grows jealous, as he wants the beautiful Ballerina all for himself. The Ballerina and the Tin Soldier playfully tease each other, she dances for him, and him tapping on her shoulders while she isn't looking. She gets in front of him, and they smile at each other. As they are about to grab hands, the Jack-in-the-box springs out from his box, and grabs the Tin Soldier. The Ballerina saves him, by throwing a small ball at the Jack-in-the-box. After trapping the Ballerina in a water goblet, the Jack-in-the-box casts the Tin Soldier out of the house using a barrage of blocks and a wooden boat. Using the boat to stay above the water, he rolls into the sewers, and, after evading an army of hungry rats, is eaten by a trout. Fishermen reel it up soon after and find the Tin Soldier in its mouth. They return him to his owner, and he soon re-engages the evil Jack-in-the-box.
The Jack-in-the-box utilizes a sword and attacks the Tin Soldier. However, he dodges the attack and outmaneuvers him into a fireplace. The Jack-in-the-box burns to ashes after falling into the pit and the Tin Soldier and the Ballerina happily reunite.
==Development==
"Piano Concerto No. 2" was the 2nd segment chosen after "Pines of Rome" for "Fantasia Continued", Roy E. Disney was fascinated by the original composition of the music and called it the "Bouncy Bouncy" song as he would bounce his daughter on his knee to the music.
When Roy discovered the remnants of a compilation movie from his uncle, Walt Disney featuring the stories of Hans Christian Anderson, he discovered concept art of a proposed film of "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" and paired it with the music of "Piano Concerto No. 2" where he found the perfect match. Before the release of Pixar's first Computer animated film, Toy Story in 1995 and to stretch the use of Computer-Generated Characters, the Disney artists work to successfully create the three-dimensional characters in traditional animated backgrounds utilizing the Computer Animation Production System, better known as CAPS. Hendel Butoy, who directed on the "Pines of Rome", segment was the director for "Piano Concerto No.2".
"Piano Concerto No.2" was recorded on April 24, 1995 and was the fifth piece composed by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Fantasia 2000.
The sewer rats were originally intended to be more comic; there were three of them, who tried to stop the soldier after his boat accidentally causes them to lose their food. This version of the rat attack was completely animated, but then it was decided to make the rats more realistic and more menacing, so the attack was reanimated with an army of realistically drawn rats attacking the boat.
Originally, the segment was supposed to end like the original story, which had the Tin Soldier and the Ballerina melting together in the fireplace. However, the ending was completely revised to make it much happier because the musical piece being used concluded on a high, triumphant note.
==Characters==
*Tin Soldier
*Ballerina
*Jack-in-the-box
==Screenshots==
Fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-3486.jpg|Bette Midler hosting the segment.
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Category:Fantasia
Category:Fantasia segments
Category:Non-Disney songs
Category:Instrumental songs
Category:Animated shorts
Category:Films
Category:Music