Monday, November 13, 2006

Called "Walt Disney's Masterpiece," Fantasia opened in New York on this day in 1940. The mix of animation and music called for such an elaborate sound system, only a dozen theaters ran the full "Fantasound" version of the film, and it was a re-edited (and re-mixed to mono) version of the film made the rounds to screens across the country the following year. Over a decade later, a re-release of the film included the rich "Fantasound" as theaters had caught up to the technology. As with many ambitious projects, Fantasia proved to be critically successful and financially disastrous, failing to earn a profit until a run in the late 60's aimed at the psychedelic pursuits of the hippie movement.