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| Fantasia 2000 will fulfill Walt Disney's dream that the film would be refreshed and revised over the years. | The Lion King on Broadway has played to standing-room-only crowds for more than a year at The New Amsterdam Theatre. | Tarzan® will give Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic adventure story an animated retelling. |
Walt Disney Feature Animation had a strong 1998, with two highly successful films, and is poised for 1999 with three diverse and distinct new animated productions.
In June came the release of Mulan, the first Disney animated film to take place in Asia, telling the ancient Chinese tale of a young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to join the army and save the life of her ailing father. Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post wrote of Mulan, "It has all the epic scale of Lawrence of Arabia combined with the emotional virtuosity of Bambi," while Time magazine's Richard Corliss wrote that it "recalls the color experiments of Fantasia as much as the delicacy of Chinese graphic art… what's terrific about Mulan is its reaching for emotions that other movies run from: family love and duty, personal honor and group commitment, obedience and ingenuity. Nice notions for kids to think about."
Then came the Thanksgiving release of A Bug's Life, the second computer-animated production to come from Disney's long-term partnership with Pixar. A Bug's Life was hailed by Jim Svejda of CBS Radio as "a masterpiece: Disney's best film since Beauty and the Beast. An astonishing achievement." Newsweek's David Ansen advised readers, "If you want to see the giddiest, most inventive family movie of the year, you're going to have to look under a rock."
Coming this June is Tarzan®. The magic of Disney animation, combined with dazzling new production techniques, will bring this classic to the screen as it has never been seen before. In the film, we follow Tarzan® from his discovery by Kala, a female gorilla who finds the orphaned human baby in a tree house. As Tarzan® matures, he meets the unique challenges of growing up in an animal world while wondering why he is so different from those around him. Finally, with Jane at his side, he realizes that his home is in the jungle with the gorilla family he loves. Tarzan® features the voice talent of Minnie Driver, Glenn Close and Rosie O'Donnell, and original songs composed and performed by Phil Collins.
For Thanksgiving comes Toy Story 2, the sequel to the landmark 1995 computer-animated film produced by Pixar. This time around, the toys have to rescue Woody from a toy collector before Andy comes back from summer camp. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger, Jim Varney and Annie Potts also return to lend their voices to the movie.
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| Roy
E. Disney Vice Chairman, The Walt Disney Company, and Chairman, Walt Disney Feature Animation
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Almost six decades after Fantasia's
introduction in 1940, its successor will premiere during the holiday season.
Fantasia 2000 offers six new segments, which will be integrated
with three of the original sequences. The score is performed by the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro James Levine. As with
the first Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 promises to push the envelope
of animated entertainment. The film will be premiered in December at Carnegie
Hall in a special presentation during which the music will be performed
live with maestro Levine conducting the London Philharmonia Orchestra.
Fantasia 2000 is being supervised by Roy E. Disney, chairman
of Walt Disney Feature Animation, who was a captivated 10-year-old at
the premiere of the original film.
