When Walt Disney released Fantasia in 1940, it didn’t just entertain—it revolutionised how generations would hear, see, and feel classical music.
Disney collaborated with conductor Leopold Stokowski for his third animated film, presenting a feature divided into eight separate segments set to well-known works, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The film was originally conceived as a comeback vehicle for Mickey Mouse in which the beloved cartoon character stars in the Sorcerer's Apprentice, but spiralling costs instead convinced Disney to include the short as just one of segments of the feature-length production. Making use of 'Fantasound', a new system developed by Disney and RCA, Fantasia was the first commercial film shown in stereo, paving the way for cinematic surround sound.
A sequel was released in 1999, titled Fantasia 2000, which, like its predecessor, uses pieces of classical music alongside the animated segments, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with conductor James Levine.
Here are the eight pieces of music that lend Disney's Fantasia its unforgettable magic.
1. Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor
This bold and abstract opening sets the tone for Fantasia, transforming sound into striking visual form and showcasing music’s power to paint with light and shadow.
Fantasia's graphic opening introduced viewers to the symphony orchestra, with live action scenes of members of the orchestra playing against a blue backdrop. Animated lines and graphic details then reflect the sound of Bach's Toccata and Fugue.
2. Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker
Bursting with colour and whimsy, this sequence turns a ballet into a magical nature fantasy, with dancing flowers, mushrooms, and fairies bringing seasonal change to life.
There is an entire animated section devoted to The Nutcracker, with music from the 'Sugar-Plum Fairy', the 'Arabian Dance', the 'Trepak' and the 'Waltz of the Flowers'. We named it as one of the most unexpected uses of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker in popular culture.
3. Dukas The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Mickey Mouse’s star turn turns this tale into a comic, cautionary fable about ambition gone wrong, blending music, story, and character with unforgettable charm.
Paul Dukas's symphonic poem The Sorcerer's Apprentice is intrinsically linked with Fantasia thanks to its use in the now-iconic sequence starring Mickey Mouse as (you guessed it) a sorcerer's apprentice. Bored of mopping the floors, the apprentice noses through the sorcerer's spell book to find a spell that will give him a break from the work... with disastrous results. Although it was already a popular concert piece, Disney acquired the music rights in 1937 when he planned to release a unique Mickey Mouse film, which became part of Fantasia.
4. Stravinsky The Rite of Spring
A daring choice for its time, this intense, primal piece accompanies the dramatic evolution of Earth—from fiery beginnings to the extinction of dinosaurs.
One of the animations featured in Fantasia shows a visual history of the beginning of Planet Earth, from the planet's formation to the first living creates and subsequently the rise and demise of the dinosaur population. Stravinsky's bold, primal Rite of Spring makes the perfect sonic backdrop.
5. Beethoven Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'
Set in a mythological countryside, this piece brings a peaceful, idyllic world to life, blending classical serenity with playful gods, centaurs, and creatures of legend.
This animated sequence features the world of Centaurs from classical mythology, set against the music of Beethoven's warmly bucolic 'Pastoral' Symphony. Zeus disturbs a festival for Bacchus, and creates a storm, directing Vulcan to make him lightning bolts to throw at the party's attendees.
6. Ponchielli Dance of the Hours
A comedic ballet with animals in tutus, this segment delights with its humorous contrast between high art and lowbrow slapstick, all to sparkling orchestral rhythms.
This comic ballet features four sections: Madame Upanova and her ostriches (Morning); Hyacinth Hippo and her servants (Afternoon); Elephanchine and her elephants (Evening); and Ben Ali Gator and his alligators (Night). In the finale, all the characters dance together until their palace collapses.
7. Mussorgsky Night on the Bare Mountain
This stunning finale moves from demonic chaos to spiritual calm, using music to contrast darkness and light, fear and hope.
Inspired by Russian legend, Mussorgsky's Night on the Bare Mountain is already a story in itself. Tone poems are perfectly designed for film adaptation, due to the fact that they illustrate a continual story and evolve as the piece progresses. In Fantasia, the devil awakes and summons evil spirits from their graves to the mountain.
8. Schubert Ave Maria
Serving as a serene epilogue, this gentle hymn provides emotional resolution and peace, guiding Fantasia to a luminous, contemplative close.
Schubert's tranquil Ave Maria appears in Fantasia just after Mussorgsky's Night on the Bare Mountain. As the evil spirits are dancing on the mountain, a chorus is heard singing this celestial hymn as monks are seen walking through a forest and into the ruins of a cathedral.
We named the organ at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles as one of the best pipe organs in the world.