Ep. 03 – Fantasia: Disney’s Most Ambitious Experiment (and its Ancient Origins) cover art

Ep. 03 – Fantasia: Disney’s Most Ambitious Experiment (and its Ancient Origins)

Ep. 03 – Fantasia: Disney’s Most Ambitious Experiment (and its Ancient Origins)

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

Welcome back to Disney Junkie, where we dive into the shadowy origins and dazzling magic of Disney’s animated classics. In this episode, host Jennifer Miller explores Fantasia—Disney’s strangest, boldest, and most divisive animated feature.

Released in 1940, Fantasia was Walt Disney’s attempt to elevate animation into high art, blending classical music with surreal, often storyless visuals. But did you know that Mickey’s role in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice goes all the way back to ancient Greece? Jennifer traces the tale’s roots from a satirical Roman story to German folklore, right up to the Mickey we know today—clumsy, ambitious, and wildly over his head.

You’ll hear how Disney revolutionized sound technology with Fantasound, why critics didn’t know what to do with the film, and how its re-releases made it one of Disney’s most profitable classics—eventually.

No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.