directed by : pixote hunt , hendel butoy , eric goldberg , james algar , francis glebas , gaetan & paul brizzi conducted by : james levine composed by : ludwig van beethoven , ottorino respighi , george gershwin , dmitri shostakovich , camille saint-saens , paul dukas , sir edward elgar , igor stravinsky rated : g scripture references : 1 samuel 16 : 23 , ephesians 5 : 19 , 1 chronicles 15 : 15-16 
in 1940 , walt disney released a filmed experiment . 
fantasia was a blend of two art forms : classical music and animation . 
while it was not immediately popular with the audiences of its day , it has since become recognized as something of a classic . 
according to the program notes , it was mr . disney's intention to have fantasia be a continual work in progress . 
sixty years later , thanks to the ongoing efforts of walt's nephew , a new fantasia is being released . 
it was not only worth the waiting , it is evidence to just how far animation has come during the past half-decade . 
with seven new sequences and one old favorite , fantasia 2000 exhibits an imagination and respect for its art form that is absent from most other feature films . 
like the original , fantasia 2000 will more than likely bore the very young , although there is more narrative appeal in this newer version and the segments appear to be substantially shorter , perhaps a nod to the shorter attention span of the studio's primary audience . 
ranging from the silly to the sublime , each segment is preceded by a short , humorous introduction or interstitial by a guest celebrity host , steve martin ( bowfinger ) being the first and most effective . 
these are quickly forgotten as conductor james levine leads the chicago symphony orchestra through the musical program which , along with the images drawn by the disney team of animators , is thoughtfully and beautifully brought to a stunning synthesis . 
fantasia 2000 is being released exclusively in the giant-screened imax theaters , making for a unique viewing experience . 
there is enough variety in the program to provide something enjoyable for everyone and surely , people will exit the theaters with their own personal favorites . 
for me , that would have to be the jazz age story of four unconnected and discontented people living in nyc who , unknowingly , help each other realize their dreams . 
drawn in the style of caricaturist al hirschfeld and inspired by george gershwin's rhapsody in blue , the music and images are blended perfectly resulting in a product greater than the sum of its two parts . 
children will like the short piece set to carnival of the animals by camille saint-saens . 
here , a goofy looking flamingo irritates the rest of the flock with his yo-yo playing antics . 
they will also giggle as donald duck , playing noah's assistant , tries to load the animals into the ark to the familiar strains of pomp and circumstance by sir edward elgar . 
 ( while the depiction is not biblically accurate , it is entertaining and might be excuse enough to familiarize ourselves with the true record by reading what is written in genesis 7 . ) 
a positive note is that the studio has avoided any segment which is as perversely dark as nihgt on bald mountain upon which the original film ended . 
there are some images based upon fantasy such as the flying whales in respighi's pines of rome or images which have their roots in mythology such as the ethereal creatures which tell the story of nature's cycle of life , death , and rebirth in igor stravinsky's firebird suite . 
but the stories they tell are uplifting , containing nothing too frightening for our younger children . 
the darkest segment , spiritually speaking , actually belongs to the only holdover from the original fantasia , mickey mouse in the sorcerer's apprentice by paul dukas . 
but overall , the emotions evoked from fantasia 2000 are positive ones , being full of hope and promise . 
music has an impact which can be undeniably felt , capable of leading the listener to emotional peaks and inspirational highs simply not attainable through other mediums . 
it is no wonder that the levites , as the priestly tribe of the old testament , were also the appointed musicians . 
if fantasia 2000 is able to introduce a new audience to music which inspires and exalts , it will have done an incredible service .