The Magical World Of Disney #341: Top 100 Disney Movies, Part 11

80. Remember The Titans (2000)

Remember the Titans is a 2000 American biographical sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel Washington, and his attempt to integrate the T. C. Williams High School (now Alexandria City High School) football team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. Will Patton portrays Bill Yoast, Boone’s assistant coach. Real-life athletes Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell are portrayed by Ryan Hurst and Wood Harris, respectively.

The film was co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films and released by Buena Vista Pictures. On September 19, 2000, the film’s soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records. It features songs by several recording artists including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Hollies, Marvin Gaye, James Taylor, The Temptations, and Cat Stevens.

Remember the Titans had a budget of $30 million and premiered in theaters nationwide in the United States on September 29, 2000. It grossed an estimated $115.6 million in the U.S., and $136.7 million worldwide. The film is often listed among the best football films

One of the greatest sports movies of all time, it just has everything you need, Denzel Washington, a great sports drama script, great cast, great writing, memorable moments, what’s not to love?

79. Fantasia 2000 (2000)

Fantasia 2000 is a 1999 American animated film by Walt Disney Feature Animation and Walt Disney Pictures, and released by Buena Vista Pictures. Produced by Roy E. Disney and Donald W. Ernst, it is the 38th Disney animated feature film and the sequel to Fantasia (1940). Like its predecessor, Fantasia 2000 consists of animated segments set to pieces of classical music. Celebrities including Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Penn & Teller, and Angela Lansbury introduce each segment in live action scenes directed by Don Hahn.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts to develop a Fantasia sequel, the Walt Disney Company revived the idea shortly after Michael Eisner became chief executive officer in 1984. The commercial success of the 1991 home video release of Fantasia convinced Eisner that there was enough public interest and funds for a sequel and he assigned Disney as executive producer. The music for six of the film’s eight segments is performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine. The film includes The Sorcerer’s Apprentice from the 1940 original. Each new segment was produced by combining traditional animation with computer-generated imagery.

Fantasia 2000 premiered on December 17, 1999, at Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of a concert tour that also visited London, Paris, Tokyo, and Pasadena, California. The film was released in 75 IMAX theaters worldwide from January 1 to April 30, 2000, marking the first animated feature-length film to be released in the format. Its general release in traditional theaters followed on June 16, 2000. Some critics praised the film while others singled out its uneven quality. Budgeted at about $80–$85 million, the film has earned $90.8 million in gross revenue worldwide.

The film begins with the sound of an orchestra tuning and Deems Taylor’s introduction from Fantasia. Panels showing various segments from Fantasia fly in outer space and form the set and stage for an orchestra. Musicians take their seats and tune up and animators draw at their desks before James Levine approaches the conductor’s podium and signals the beginning of the first piece.

Symphony No. 5 (first movement) by Ludwig van Beethoven. Abstract patterns and shapes that resemble butterflies in various colorful shades, tints and hues explore a world of light and darkness whilst being pursued by a swarm of black bats. The world is ultimately conquered by light.
Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi. A family of humpback whales are able to fly. The calf is separated from his parents and he becomes trapped in an iceberg. Eventually he finds his way out with his mother’s help. The family join a larger pod of whales who fly and frolic through the clouds to emerge into outer space. Introduced by Steve Martin and Itzhak Perlman.
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. Set in New York City in the 1930s, and designed in the style of Al Hirschfeld’s known caricatures of the time, the story follows four individuals, Duke, Joe, Rachel, and John, who wish for a better life. The segment ends with all four getting their wish, though their stories interact with each other’s without any of them knowing. Introduced by Quincy Jones with pianist Ralph Grierson.
Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Based on the fairy tale “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” by Hans Christian Andersen, a broken toy soldier with one leg falls in love with a toy ballerina and protects her from an evil jack-in-the-box. Unlike the original story, this version has a happy ending. Introduced by Bette Midler featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman.
The Carnival of the Animals (Le Carnival des Animaux), Finale by Camille Saint-Saëns. “What would happen if you gave a yo-yo to a flock of flamingoes?” A flock of flamingoes tries to force a slapstick member, who enjoys playing with a yo-yo, to engage in the flock’s “dull” routines. Introduced by James Earl Jones with animator Eric Goldberg.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas. Based on the poem “Der Zauberlehrling” by Goethe, the segment is the only one featured in Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. It tells the story of Mickey Mouse, an apprentice of sorcerer Yen Sid who attempts some of his master’s magic tricks before knowing how to control them. Introduced by Penn & Teller.
Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4 by Edward Elgar. Based on the story of Noah’s Ark from the Book of Genesis, Donald Duck is Noah’s assistant and Daisy Duck is Donald’s wife. Donald is given the task of gathering the animals to the Ark and misses, loses, and reunites with Daisy in the process. Introduced by James Levine featuring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Firebird Suite—1919 Version by Igor Stravinsky. A Sprite is awoken by her companion, an elk, and accidentally wakes the Firebird, a fiery spirit of destruction in a nearby volcano who destroys the forest and seemingly the Sprite. The Sprite survives and the elk encourages her to restore the forest to its normal state. Introduced by Angela Lansbury.
As Roy Disney mentioned in the trailer, Fantasia 2000 represented Walt’s idea to turn Fantasia into a continuing series of films with new blendings of music and animation every couple of years. However, the original box office run of Fantasia was a disappointment and a costly one, hence why future sequels were dropped afterward.

Nearly 60 years later, Fantasia 2000 was released and now, the question becomes whether or not if it was worth the wait and overall, it genuinely is.

Like the original Fantasia, the animated musical segments are all nicely handled, they all show a real testament to Disney for their abilities to hire these amazing animators and allow them to showcase their impressive talents because many of these segments are all nicely animated. The Firebird Suite alone is the highlight, just gorgeously animated with beautiful music to go along with it. Runner-up would definitely by the Hirschfield tribute.

Where the film starts to lose its’ focus is the wraparound segments, the reason why they worked in the first film because it was one person simply introducing the segments, not trying to do too much to get cheap laughs because they think people will fall asleep during those segments…well, Fantasia 2000 does the complete opposite of that. It would be just fine if the celebrity wraparounds were just like the ones from the original film but no, they just feel out of place, Steve Martin can be really funny but when you have him do a comedy skit for something that should be, at least, a minute in length, there’s desperation there. The wraparounds here just feel like wastes of time, it’s like “come on, get to the shorts, that’s why we’re here.”

Another little problem I have is that there are a couple of shorts that do fall flat, particularly the flamingo with the yo-yo one, it just felt like something that feels so out of place in a Fantasia movie. It’d be more in line for a segment on Tiny Toons or Animaniacs but not in a Fantasia movie. Even the toy soldier segment doesn’t really work well but that’s mostly because of the choppy like animation style they went with, it just doesn’t really come together as well as the other segments do.

Trying to top such a great movie like Fantasia with a sequel six decades after the original’s release is a tough thing to do and for the most part, Fantasia 2000 works all the way through. Again, the celebrity wraparound are distracting and a couple of the shorts don’t really fit well but overall, the movie is still really solid. It would’ve been nice to see this movie on a big IMAX screen to get the full experience but at home on Blu-Ray, you definitely do get your money’s worth. If you liked the original Fantasia, you’ll more than find yourself happy with Fantasia 2000.

#100 & #99

#98 & #97

#96 & #95

#94 & #93

#92 & #91

#90 & #89

#88 & #87

#86 & #85

#84 & #83

#82 & #81

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