Fantasia Doesn't see wide release until April, 2000. I really don't think the IMAX release will be that much competition, or for that matter the live releases. There is more than enough room for "Toy Story II", especially compared to "A Bug's Life's" competition - "Might Joe Young" in December, "My Favorite Martian" in February, not to mention "Rugrats", "Prince of Egypt" and "Babe: Pig in the City".
FROM the Yahoo Board:
FANTASIA 2000
Clips were shown from three of the six new segments: one set to a
Saint-Saens piece that was just OK, and ones set to Elgar and Stravisnky that were stunning. The Elgar segment, set to "Pomp and Circumstance" (that's "Land of Hope and Glory" for you Brits) is F2K's answer to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice": it features Donald Duck as an assistant to Noah who is charged with rounding up the animals to get them on the ark before the flood starts. Beautiful animation, and Donald's characterization is spot on (although you never hear him over the music). Donald Duck fans are just gonna eat it up. We only saw half of it, but it was just amazing. The other new segment they showed was Stravinsky's "The Fire Bird", the movie's grand finale and answer to "Night on Bald Mountain"--very scary and apocalyptic, with an environmental twist. Really tremendous stuff. Again, they just showed half of it. Roy Disney also outlined F2K's release pattern, which you know about by now if you read VARIETY: It premieres at NYC's Carnegie Hall with live accompanyment by the London Symphonia Orchestra conducted by James Levine (!) on 12/17, followed by encore performances with Levine and the orchestra on 12/18 and 12/19. Then they take the show on the road, with live performances in London (12/21 @ Royal Albert Hall), Paris (12/22, Theatre des Champs-Elysees), Tokyo (12/27, Orchard Hall) and Pasadena (New Year's Eve, Pasadena Civic Auditorium). After that, F2K will play exclusively at IMAX theaters "worldwide" (whatever that means) from January-April 2000 before going into regular theaters. |
